CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Demonstrators in Cedar Rapids rallied against the Trump administration’s expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warehouse detentions as part of a nationwide day of action.
Dozens of people lined 12th Avenue near Third Street SE, across from NewBo City Market, on a sunny spring afternoon Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The demonstrators remained peaceful, even when a Trump supporter accosted and yelled at them.
While the protest was smaller than the “No Kings” demonstration that attracted thousands of participants last month in Cedar Rapids, the busy intersection drew attention, as motorists honked in support throughout the two-hour stint and the popular EcoFest celebration took place across the street.
A sign leans against a building in New Bohemia during a protest in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
See photos from the March 2026 protest in Cedar Rapids
Saturday’s event, organized locally by Linn County Metro Indivisible, was part of a nationwide day of action to oppose the Trump administration’s expansion of ICE warehouse detention and its attack on the due process rights of immigrants and all Americans.
Organizers noted that the Department of Homeland Security is moving to lock thousands of people in massive detention warehouses, “disappearing” them from their families, their lawyers and their communities.
Protesters held signs calling for detention centers to be closed; recalling Nazi Germany’s history of detention camps; noting that due process is the law, and more, to show they stand in solidarity with detained immigrants and the communities fighting to protect them.
“We are angry & intelligent enough to protest Trump for free,” one sign stated.
A demonstrator gives a “thumbs up” to a passing vehicle during the protest in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
The event was part of the Communities Not Cages National Day of Action organized by the Disappeared In America campaign and partners, including Detention Watch Network, Indivisible, Public Citizen, The Workers Circle, MoveOn and many others.
As of March 2026, ICE had reported that 46 people died while in their custody or detention facilities since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025.
The number of deaths of people in detention during 2025 exceeded the highest seen in over two decades, and deaths in 2026 are on track to meet or exceed that number, according to a report by KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.
See photos from a silent vigil in Cedar Rapids and more from Saturday’s demonstration, below:
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