Queers Across US Speak Out To Condemn ICE Immigrations Raids In Solidarity With LA

Queer artists, performers, and content creators across the US have been speaking out against immigration raids carried out by US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents in Los Angeles, refusing to let Pride celebrations distract them from real and urgent action.

Trans actor Jen Richards says she was injured amid protests, posting about her experience on Instagram, and sharing a picture of her badly bruised foot after being hit with a rubber bullet, which she says tore through her Doc Marten boots.

“Thousands of peaceful protestors showed up to demonstrate that we won’t stand by as our neighbors get rounded up to appease the racist fever dreams of a President and his fragile ego. I was hit by flashbangs and rubber bullets, all while walking backwards with my hands up,” she wrote.

 

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A post shared by Jen Richards (@smartassjen)

Richards said her partner, Rebekah Cheyne, was also shoved in the chest with a police baton.

“I’m a rather fragile, sensitive, fight-with-my-words type, but sometimes shit goes too far and you gotta stand up for truth, liberty, and empathy.”

Tensions have escalated over the weekend, with President Donald Trump deploying four thousand National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city to counter protests from community organisers.

The protests have been drawing international attention, not only for their sheer scale, but for the behaviour of the police towards the media, with multiple Australian reporters having been injured while covering the issue on the ground.

Nine correspondent Lauren Tomasi was shot by a rubber bullet while she was live on air, with footage showing an officer turning and firing directly at her.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned the footage as “horrific”

“We don’t find it acceptable that it occurred. And we think that the role of the media is particularly important.”

The first pride was a riot

Even those who can’t be at the protests are continuing to draw attention to the intensified raids and state response.

Grammy award winner and bisexual icon Doechii spoke out against the violence while accepting her award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards.

“There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order,” she said.

“Trump is using military forces to stop a protest. And I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that?”

“I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people: for Black people, for Latino people, for Trans people, for the people in Gaza.”

Another speech, this one from drag performer Alaska, has also gone viral across social media, with the Drag Race alum using her platform at LA’s annual Pride parade to draw attention to the unrest.

“ICE is a terrorist organisation. Human beings are not illegal,” she said to cheers from the audience. “Due process is part of the fucking fabric of this country, it is necessary. Treating people like fucking human beings is not fucking negotiable.

“Pride is a fucking party but Pride is also a fucking riot, OK? Our ability to get together like this as a community, to stand in one place all together is very powerful, especially in 2025.”

@alaskaalaskaalaskaPride will always be a riot.♬ original sound – alaskaalaskaalaska

Queer organisations and charities across California are speaking out against the government’s intensified action.

Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang said in a statement that the continued raids were a “dangerous and deliberate escalation”

“LGBTQ+ immigrants are especially vulnerable at this moment. Many have fled violence and persecution only to be met with federally-sanctioned cruelty here in the United States.

“These raids risk separating loving families, re-traumatising asylum seekers, and driving LGBTQ+ people further into the shadows — where access to safety, health care, and legal protection is even more limited.”