Two American citizens have been shot and killed by federal officers. Thousands of innocent people are being ripped away from their families and homes by an agency that seems to face no legal repercussions for whatever harm they inflict. The Department of Homeland Security and the White House are still defending the actions of ICE and other federal forces and blatantly lying to the American people. Unfortunately, this is not the synopsis of a new YA dystopian novel. This is what’s been happening in Minnesota.
When I read about these events, this dark cloud of devastation takes hold of me, infecting all my other emotions. It’s a familiar feeling, a feeling that will fade for a few weeks before returning with a vengeance, each time I read a news headline or see an Instagram reel about current events. It’s exhausting, to just be trying to survive junior year and having to worry about what horrific action the government is going to take next.
The more I see about Minnesota, the more violence and the terror and the anguish are evident. But beyond that are crowds of people with their handmade signs, boldly declaring their message in large block letters. Their whistles and shouts and rallying cries echo. I see hundreds of Minnesotans standing up for the residents of their state. A flicker of hope lights in the midst of my devastation. I’m not alone. This is just one example of the millions of people across the country that feel my same devastation about what’s happening in our country. And they’re doing something about it.
The First Amendment outlines “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This means that the people of the United States have the right to gather as groups to either protest or demand government actions. The right to assemble is necessary in order to fight for change. Without this right, women wouldn’t be able to vote. Without this right, our country would still be segregated. Furthermore, the right to petition is what ensures that we remain a representative democracy. Our country was founded on the idea that the power to govern resides in the governed, who then elect representatives to exert their will in the government. The people need to petition the government in order to let elected officials know what changes we need, so they can then be initiated through laws and other government action. These rights of assembly and petition are incredibly important to exercise when our government is seemingly ignoring the will of the people.
The shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good are only the latest and most publicized of the atrocities committed by ICE, who continues to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan in an inhumane fashion. Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to send the military into Minneapolis to suppress protestors, even though federal officers are the ones who have incited and committed violence. Congress won’t do anything to put the executive branch in check. The only thing Americans can do to stop our government from committing these crimes against us is to use our First Amendment right to protest. And we are.
According to The Guardian, there were 4,588 protests in 2017, the first year of Trump’s first term. That number increased by 133% in 2025, with 10,700 protests occurring. The second and fourth largest single day protests in the U.S were the No Kings protests on October 18th and June 14th 2025, both protesting the actions of the second Trump administration. Over a thousand anti ICE protests have been organized all across the country in January 2026 alone. And in Minneapolis, instead of slowing down amid the violence and the threats of federal action, protests continue to grow in size and strength.
And these protests are succeeding. The DOJ has recently opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Prett, well after footage of the shooting was released and analyzed. This switch is most likely due to the nonstop protests and pressure from the public against ICE and their tactics. Although this concession isn’t anywhere near enough, it’s something. It means that these protests are forcing our government to take responsibility for their actions. But we can’t stop now. If we truly want to make change, then our protests have to continue.
There’s one final emotion that grows inside me when I read this news. Pride. I’m proud of my country’s resilience. I’m proud of the fact that we don’t back down. That we continue to fight. That when our government fails us, we don’t stay silent. Instead, we let our elected officials know that we will not stand for tyranny. We don’t condone this blatant abuse of power. We will not permit innocent lives to be taken. We will not live in fear.
The fact of the matter is, the will of the many is stronger than the will of the few. History has shown that when enough people fight for a cause, they will prevail. That’s the entire strategy behind protesting. And so even now, when it feels as though we’ve lost all our power, we have to remember that this country is ours and collectively, we have the power to create change. This persistent chain of protests is a reminder to our government that we, the people, will continue to resist.