Police officer injured, several anti-ICE protesters arrested during scuffle in Center City
Published in News & Features
A Philadelphia police officer was injured and several protesters were arrested after a scuffle broke out during a march denouncing deportations Tuesday evening in Center City, police said.
Video showed a confrontation at the intersection of 11th and Market Streets with police arresting at least one masked man, who was held down on the ground, while other officers used bicycles to push protesters away.
Police said one officer needed to be taken to a hospital to be treated for an unspecified injury.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the altercation, but it appeared on the video that several dozen officers were at the scene, possibly outnumbering the marchers.
One immigration advocate, who declined to give his name, said those arrested were unclear on what they did wrong.
“Police pushed them for six or seven blocks,” he said. “They declared it an illegal assembly.”
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown led to violent clashes in the Los Angeles area after large numbers of heavily geared officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on several locations to detain people.
In response to the protests around Los Angeles, Trump sent the National Guard and Marines despite the objections of Democratic leaders in California.
The protest in Philadelphia started late Tuesday afternoon at the Federal Detention Center at Seventh and Arch Streets after rumors about multiple ICE arrests in the city spread online. ICE did not immediately return requests for comment.
The start of the demonstration was fairly small, drawing some 50 people with signs that read “immigrants signed the declaration” and denounced ICE with expletives.
The crowd chanted for the first couple of hours, drawing honks and cheers from evening commuters, and then turned into a small march.
Shortly after 7 p.m., police following the march requested assistance from other officers.
“It was a peaceful protest and then they started throwing people to the ground,” said Dresden Diaz, of Center City. “The attacks were vicious.”
One woman, who declined to give her name citing fear of police reprisal, said she joined the protesters after work because she thinks the immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and the Trump administration’s subsequent use of the National Guard to quell peaceful protests is “disgusting.”
“Immigrants make up this country, our families are immigrants,” said another woman.
Around 8:30 p.m., a small group of protesters returned to the Federal Detention Center. No other incidents were reported.
Around Pennsylvania, immigration advocates and ICE reported increased enforcement sweeps.
More than 20 people in Norristown have been taken into custody by ICE since the start of the month.
©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Comments