Oswego activists call for change as ‘No Kings’ protests grow nationwide

Protesters rallied against the Trump administration on March 28, as more than 3,000 “No Kings” events took place across the U.S.

Nationwide protests have intensified, targeting President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, which includes mass deportations and stricter immigration policies.

Despite the cold and snowy weather, the “No Kings” rally in Oswego, N.Y. had 852 people in attendance in support of immigration rights.

The local rally was organized by Indivisible Oswego County, Organize Oswego and Oswego County Pride.

Some signs held by protestors read “We the people dissent” “Impeach Trump now,” and “Support communities! Abolish ICE.”

Paul McKinney, one of the original founders of Indivisible Oswego County says that the rally was an uplifting process. “It’s very peaceful, although we had a couple of incidents of folks driving by and flipping the bird,” McKinney said.

“We’ve had a rally consecutively for 14 months, one every single Saturday,” McKinney said. “It ranges anywhere from 19 to upwards of a thousand people.”

McKinney says that the next event will be a nationwide day of protest on May 1. “We’re asking folks to stay home from work, stay home from college, stay home from school and don’t shop,” McKinney said. “This is to really see if we can make an impact on the economy.”

“For some folks that’s just not financially possible, but you just never know,” McKinney said.

McKinney says that the Oswego County Sheriff Department has been cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border control on many occasions.

“We’ve had a number of egregious acts happening locally with ICE and Border Control,” McKinney said. “There are 13 students in the Fulton School District who either had one or both parents taken during the raid in Cato (N.Y.).”

McKinney says there is a large group of people who have been going to the Oswego county legislature meetings and advocating for a no-collusion resolution.

“It’s very simple, it simply says that unless there’s a lawful judicial action that says that the action would be to investigate criminals, that no local enforcement agency should be assisting ice or border control,” McKinney said. “But our legislature has been very reluctant to do so.”

“We, the undersigned, strongly urge the Oswego County Legislature to adopt a no-collusion resolution, prohibiting the Oswego County Sheriff and Probation Department’s from assisting officials from Border Patrol and ICE with immigration enforcement,” A statement made by Indivisible Oswego County.

According to Indivisible Oswego County, the Legislative body can pass and enforce a local rule to protect families, workers, the economy and the community from federal overreach.

To find out more about the next town meeting and future immigration rights rallies, go to indivisibleoc.com.