Nonprofits, grassroots groups, unions denounce Trump admin on ‘No Kings Day’

As nearly 50,000 protesters took to the streets across New York City for “No Kings Day” on Saturday, grassroot organizations, unions and nonprofits were among those leading the outcry against the Trump administration.

Coinciding with a Flag Day military parade and the president’s birthday in Washington D.C., more than 2,100 “No Kings Day” protests took place across the country, organized by Indivisible and its nationwide partners. 

In New York City, thousands gathered at the steps of the New York Public Library in Midtown Manhattan, surrounding Bryant Park. Marching south towards Madison Square Park, protesters denounced the recent slew of immigrant arrests, President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill and the administration's exertion of power across universities. 

“What we are seeing happen across this country, across our state, across our city, here in New York has been nothing less than horrendous,” said New York Immigration Coalition president and CEO Murad Awawdeh, who spoke at a press conference before the afternoon march. “We are seeing individuals black-bagged, snatched and disappearing off of our street.” 

As one of the largest immigrant advocacy groups in the city, the coalition continued to decry policies targeting undocumented individuals, from ICE centers at Rikers Island to the Trump administration’s newest travel ban, which now bars people from 36 countries. 

“The federal government is literally, every day, coming up with a new way of attacking people regardless of status,” said Awawdeh. “I think that we're in a constitutional crisis, and we have to right the ship.” 

Winsome Pendergrass, a member of the New York Communities for Change, a prominent housing advocacy organization, also decried the administration's attacks on immigrants. 

“What we are against is the idea of Trump wanting to be king in the United States of America,” said Pendergrass at the protest. “We are repeating 1773 when a group of people said they escaped a mad King to the soil of the United States of America, and they will not put up with another king.” 

Pendergrass, who became a citizen in 2011 after moving from Jamaica, is now concerned by potential cuts to education and Medicaid, which are bound to impact members of her organization. 

One of Indivisible’s New York-based partners, the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York (the union representing 30,000 of CUNY’s faculty and staff), reported that at least 30 of their students have had visas revoked, many of them being F-1 visas. 

“We have the right and responsibility to teach and learn in safe, encouraging environments,” said Andrea Vásquez, secretary of the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York. “Not environments where our students or our international faculty members are fearful of leaving the country to do research, for fear that they wouldn't be able to return.”

With nearly 40% of the university’s freshman being born outside the U.S., CUNY’s faculty members have been shaken by immigration policies targeting foreign students and cuts to research programs. As uncertainty increases, the union has distributed a summer travel guide advising students and faculty on potential interactions with immigration officials. 

“It's instilled a lot of fear, and it really undermines our ability to do our job, which is what CUNY has done for more than 160 years, which is to educate immigrants,” said Vásquez. 

As the House recently passed the reconciliation bill, commonly known as President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” advocacy groups and nonprofits warn of the bill’s anticipated impact on working class Americans. 

“The big Medicaid cuts that I honestly can't really wrap my head around, whether that's actually going to happen or not, is a huge factor that would directly impact a lot of our members who work in health care,” said Hae-Lin Choi, the area director of the Legislative and Political Department of the Communications Workers of America, District 1, one of the key organizers of the No Kings Day protest in New York. 

“We think [cuts to Medicaid] are already bargaining right now. Our employers are saying, there's not going to be any wiggle room for us to negotiate because they're anticipating huge cuts.” 

As organizations gear up for potential redistributions of wealth and its impact on safety net providers, many are concerned by these sweeping changes — compounded with burnt out after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In highlighting threats to democratic institutions, members of the Workers Circle, a nationwide Jewish social justice organization, also brought attention to increasing voter suppression efforts by the federal administration. 

“We want to make sure that we (don’t) see the devolution of people's right to vote,” said Ann Toback, CEO of the Workers Circle. “The bottom line is, this is eradicating our democracy, and that seems very, very clear to us. We need to reclaim our democracy for the people, and we can do that.” 

Compared with last week’s Los Angeles demonstrations which saw President Trump call in the National Guard and Marines, a move critics said exacerbated violence at the protests, New York’s and No Kings protests around the nation were largely peaceful.

“I'm not standing here for myself, Pendergrass said. “I'm standing for every immigrant that has ever crossed these shores and come into this country,”