Inside the Rising Grassroots Resistance to Trump's Anti-Migrant Regime

Across red states and blue cities, extraordinary people are throwing themselves before the gears of Trump's deportation agenda.

JIRA organizers and community members protest outside an ICE field office in Jacksonville, Florida demanding the agency unmask its officers. The demonstration was part of a state-wide weekend of action in support of the VISIBLE act, which would require the agency to unmask its officers and display clear insignia, ending plainclothes operations. Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Logan Johnson.

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Not unlike his first presidency, the second Trump administration has ignited local communities into widespread, grassroots political organizing. Some have founded entirely new community advocacy organizations, while others have created vetted, neighborhood-wide signal chats. No matter the state, city or county, countless ordinary folks have wasted little time putting themselves before the gears of Trump’s anti-immigrant machine.

In direct response to Trump’s reelection and inauguration, local organizers in northeast Florida founded the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) in Jan…