In 2021, an influx of migrant children arrived at the U.S. border, and thousands were held in temporary shelters. The city of Long Beach reported 1,583 migrant children temporarily housed at the city's convention center, pictured here, were ultimately reunited with family members or sponsors.
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Immigrant children’s defense groups say the Trump administration’s school-based “wellness checks” are a guise to potentially separate unaccompanied minors from their sponsors and ignite deportation proceedings.
The backstory: Last week, Department of Homeland Security agents tried to enter two elementary schools in South L.A., claiming they were there to do wellness checks on children who were unaccompanied when they crossed the border. School staff turned the agents away, but the encounters sowed fear among students and the surrounding community.
Who is responsible for the welfare of unaccompanied children? When children cross the border without a parent or guardian, they are often initially taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, then transferred to the care of another federal agency called the Office of Refugee Resettlement, under the Department of Health and Human Services. Refugee Resettlement confirmed in an email to LAist that it places children in shelters until they can be connected to a “sponsor,” who is often a family member in the U.S. who can care for them while their immigration case is adjudicated.
Why it matters: In January, the Trump administration ended a longstanding policy that limited immigration enforcement actions at “sensitive locations,” including schools. “It's not about the well-being of the kids,” said Gladis Molina Alt, executive director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. The “wellness checks,” she added, “are a cloak for immigration enforcement, [for] hunting down undocumented people in our communities and undoing reunifications that the government had previously approved.”
What's next: Advocates also point out that the administration cut back funds for legal services for unaccompanied children. A federal court issued a temporary restraining order, but the funding and services have not been fully restored. Members of Congress have also demanded answers from Homeland Security about its operations at LAUSD.
Read on ... to learn what advocates for children are seeing in their work.
The Department of Homeland Security said agents who attempted to speak with students at two South L.A. elementary schools last week were there to conduct “wellness checks” on unaccompanied immigrant children to ensure their safety.
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What is a ‘wellness check’ and why is Homeland Security doing them at LAUSD schools?
Representatives from multiple immigrant children’s defense groups told LAist these efforts could be a tool for removing unaccompanied minors from the country.
“They can call them ‘wellness checks’ [or] whatever they want. ... But we see [them] for what they are,” said Lilit Melkonyan, a managing attorney at the Central American Resource Center's deportation defense unit.
In January, the Trump administration ended a longstanding policy that limited immigration enforcement actions at “sensitive locations,” including schools.
“It's not about the well-being of the kids,” said Gladis Molina Alt, executive director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. The “wellness checks,” she added, “are a cloak for immigration enforcement, [for] hunting down undocumented people in our communities and undoing reunifications that the government had previously approved.”
What happened at the schools
According to Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, casually dressed individuals who identified themselves as Homeland Security agents entered Russell Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary — both in South L.A.'s Florence-Firestone area — on April 7 and asked to speak with a total of five students between the two schools.
When school staff tried to take down the agents' names and badge numbers, they “pocketed their IDs,” Carvalho said.
The principals denied those agents entry when they could not provide a warrant.
A Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed the visit, but said the purpose was to check on the health and welfare of students “who arrived unaccompanied at the border.”
Wellness checks are a cloak for immigration enforcement, [for] hunting down undocumented people in our communities and undoing reunifications that the government had previously approved.
— Gladis Molina Alt, executive director, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
Who's responsible for the welfare of unaccompanied children? And what’s a ‘wellness check’?
When children cross the border without a parent or guardian, they are often initially taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, then transferred to the care of another federal agency called the Office of Refugee Resettlement, under the Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Refugee Resettlement confirmed in an email to LAist that it places children in shelters until they can be connected to a “sponsor,” often a family member in the U.S. who can care for them while their immigration case is adjudicated.
Jason Boyd, vice president of U.S. federal policy at Kids In Need of Defense, said Refugee Resettlement is also responsible for administering legal and social services for children who have been released from custody and placed with sponsors.
Those legal services can include representation of unaccompanied children, he added, “so that they have an attorney to help ensure due process and fairness in their immigration cases” and protect them from trafficking and exploitation.
Federal law requires that "to the greatest extent practicable” these children have access to free legal counsel. (In March, the Trump administration ended a contract for an organization that provides these services for 26,000 unaccompanied migrant children.)
Other services are typically administered by social workers, who can help enroll children in local schools and connect them with medical providers, Boyd added.
Ongoing monitoring “consisted largely of follow-up phone calls to children and their sponsors,” he said. Children in especially vulnerable situations may get more intensive services, “including in-home engagement with children and their sponsors that serve as a useful check against potential abuse or other harm.” Central American Resource Center's Melkonyan and the Young Center’s Molina Alt echoed Boyd’s description.
In fiscal year 2024, DHS transferred 98,356 unaccompanied migrant children to the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to the agency. This child is a Honduran immigrant who was staying with her extended family when pictured here on on April 25, 2021 in Sellersburg, Indiana. She spent nearly eight weeks in shelters in U.S. Health and Human Services custody.
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The Office of Refugee Resettlement confirmed that the agency’s care providers “must conduct a Safety and Well-Being Follow Up Call with an unaccompanied alien child and their sponsor 30 days after their release. The purpose of the follow up call is to determine whether the child is still residing with the sponsor, is enrolled in or attending school, is aware of upcoming court dates, and is safe,” the email added.
Melkonyan and the other immigrant children’s advocates noted that the officials who went to the two LAUSD schools are part of Homeland Security Investigations, which typically conducts criminal probes.
“Nothing that [the Trump] administration is doing under the guise of ‘wellness checks’ of unaccompanied minors is normal,” Melkonyan stressed.
The visits carried out by the Department of Homeland Security “are operationally distinct from ORR [Refugee Resettlement] services,” Boyd said.
He said his clients and partners have shared that, in many cases, Homeland Security “wellness checks” consist of four to six plainclothes officers arriving unannounced at unaccompanied children’s homes, asking to speak with the children and their sponsors.
Nothing that [the Trump] administration is doing under the guise of ‘wellness checks’ of unaccompanied minors is normal.
— Lilit Melkonyan, managing attorney, CARECEN’s deportation defense unit
The Chicago-based Young Center recently received a referral about one such case, Molina Alt said. Following a “wellness check,” a child was placed in federal custody after his eldest brother was detained, and his other family members — including his aunt, a lawful permanent resident — were not allowed to take over caring for him.
LAist reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for details about the “wellness checks” its officers attempted to carry out in Los Angeles, including what triggers them and what they involve.
In an email response, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin did not answer these questions. She said her department’s officers “made it clear” that they were not at LAUSD schools to take enforcement actions.
Who can access students at school?
Access to students by people other than their family, guardians, school staff, contractors or authorized visitors is limited by federal law and state education code. For example, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act limits access to students’ public school education records.
"Any visitor seeking to enter a school must have lawful business to be on campus. If a visitor seeks access to a student or pupil record information, they must provide legal authorization for their request,” wrote an LAUSD spokesperson in a statement. “Typically, this is in the form of a judicial warrant, subpoena, or other court orders."
Carvalho said in an interview with NPR that there is no record of federal agents attempting to conduct a “wellness check” in LAUSD schools “going back a number of years.”
The California attorney general's office, which instructs schools to contact one of its departments in the event that law enforcement agents attempt to enter a school or talk to students related to immigration, declined to comment on whether it is aware of any attempted enforcement actions at schools since the start of Donald Trump’s second term as president.
Two of the region's other largest school districts, Long Beach Unified and Santa Ana Unified, said through spokespeople that there have been no immigration enforcement incidents on their campuses. LAist also requested information from San Bernardino City Unified which has yet to respond.
"Any visitor seeking to enter a school must have lawful business to be on campus."
— LAUSD spokesperson
LAUSD guidance acknowledges that law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, may visit campuses as part of their investigations, to subpoena student records, and serve a search warrant.
Notify district administrators and the Los Angeles School Police Department.
Ask the agent about the purpose of their visit, their name and badge number, and the phone number of their supervisor.
Obtain and copy any documentation such as a subpoena, search warrant or court orders and share a copy with district administrators.
Tell the officer that they cannot respond to their request without direction from the district, including legal counsel. The exception would be an “exigent circumstance,” for example those related to national security, terrorism, imminent risk of death, violence or physical harm, or pursuit of a “dangerous” felon.
The only scenario where an administrator may grant agents access to a student without consultation with district higher-ups is when the agent presents a signed federal judicial warrant (i.e., a search-and-seizure warrant or arrest warrant).
In an email statement, a Long Beach Unified spokesperson said: “We want to emphasize that our district remains committed to protecting the rights and privacy of all students and families, regardless of immigration status.”
The spokesperson also said that training on how to respond to inquiries or visits from immigration or enforcement officials “will be extended to include teachers and school support personnel, ensuring that every school is informed, prepared, and equipped to support our students and families.”
They added that the district has previously shared immigration-related protocols and resources with staff since January, and has done trainings and provided resources for students and families around their rights.
LAUSD, Long Beach Unified and Santa Ana Unified also noted that they do not collect information about a student’s immigration status.
‘Look at the whole picture’
With regard to Homeland Security visits at schools, the Young Center’s Molina Alt said it’s crucial to look at the wider landscape.
“Just because the [Trump] administration says ‘we're doing that for the well-being of [children],’ we cannot take that at face value. We have to look at the whole picture. And what we see are increased obstacles for undocumented sponsors, and even family members with documents, to reunify with unaccompanied minors,” she said.
“The second thing we see is the taking away of legal services for unaccompanied kids to fight their cases and be able to get permanent status,” Molina Alt added, in reference to the Trump administration’s efforts to strip legal aid for these children — a move that’s been criticized by members of both parties.
“If the administration's ultimate aim is to safeguard unaccompanied children from trafficking and exploitation, the most important measure that it can and should take is to ensure legal and social services for as many unaccompanied children as possible,” Boyd said.
“In many cases, attorneys are an unaccompanied child's most critical line of defense against trafficking and exploitation and can actually help guide a child's cooperation with law enforcement officers in the detection and prosecution of human traffickers and other bad actors,” he added.
Boyd noted that a federal court issued a temporary restraining order against the termination of core legal services for unaccompanied children. Since then, the Trump administration has “made representations to the court that it is actively taking steps to achieve compliance with that order.” But, to date, funding and services have not been fully restored.
“Every day that goes by in which that funding is not restored, in which those services do not resume, is another day in which these children are at grave risk,” Boyd said.
The 2026 Golden Globes were live Sunday night, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser for the second year in a row.
The context: From One Battle After Another to The Pitt, this list will be updated with the winners. Spoilers ahead!
Read on... for who won, and who lost, this year.
Updated January 11, 2026 at 21:36 PM ET
The 2026 Golden Globes are live Sunday night, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser for the second year in a row.
The event begins at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS and streaming for subscribers of Paramount+ with Showtime. (Paramount+ Essential subscribers in the U.S. can stream the event on Monday.)
Below are the nominees. This page will be updated with winners as the night goes on.
Best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture Winner:Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine)
Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value)
Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value)
Amy Madigan (Weapons)
Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role in any motion picture Winner:Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another)
Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)
Paul Mescal (Hamnet)
Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly)
Best performance by a male actor in a television series – drama Winner:Noah Wyle (The Pitt) Sterling K. Brown (Paradise)
Diego Luna (Andor)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)
Mark Ruffalo (Task)
Adam Scott (Severance)
Best performance by a female actor in a television series – musical or comedy Winner: Jean Smart (Hacks) Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This)
Ayo Edebiri (The Bear)
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building)
Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)
Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role on television Winner: Owen Cooper (Adolescence) Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Walton Goggins (The White Lotus)
Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus)
Tramell Tillman (Severance)
Ashley Walters (Adolescence)
Best performance by a male actor in a television series – musical or comedy Winner: Seth Rogen (The Studio) Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This)
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building)
Glen Powell (Chad Powers)
Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)
Best podcast Winner:Good Hang with Amy Poehler (Spotify) Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard (Wondery)
Call Her Daddy (SiriusXM)
The Mel Robbins Podcast (SiriusXM)
Smartless (SiriusXM)
Up First (NPR)
Best original song – motion picture Winner:"Golden" – KPop Demon Hunters "Dream as One" – Avatar: Fire and Ash "I Lied to You" – Sinners "No Place Like Home" – Wicked: For Good "The Girl in the Bubble" – Wicked: For Good "Train Dreams" – Train Dreams
Best screenplay – motion picture Winner:Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme)
Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident)
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O'Farrell (Hamnet)
Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture – musical or comedy Winner: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You) Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good)
Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue)
Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another)
Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee)
Emma Stone (Bugonia)
Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture – musical or comedy Winner: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) George Clooney (Jay Kelly)
Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)
Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)
Lee Byung-hun (No Other Choice)
Jesse Plemons (Bugonia)
Best performance by a male actor in a limited series, anthology series, or a motion picture made for television Winner: Stephen Graham (Adolescence) Jacob Elordi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North)
Paul Giamatti (Black Mirror)
Charlie Hunnam (Monster: The Ed Gein Story)
Jude Law (Black Rabbit)
Matthew Rhys (The Beast in Me)
Best original score – motion picture Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein)
Ludwig Göransson (Sinners)
Jonny Greenwood (One Battle After Another)
Kangding Ray (Sirāt)
Max Richter (Hamnet)
Hans Zimmer (F1)
Best performance by a female actor in a television series – drama Kathy Bates (Matlock)
Britt Lower (Severance)
Helen Mirren (Mobland)
Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us)
Keri Russell (The Diplomat)
Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus)
Best motion picture – drama Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
The Secret Agent (Neon)
Sentimental Value (Neon)
Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best motion picture – musical or comedy Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)
Bugonia (Focus Features)
Marty Supreme (A24)
No Other Choice (Neon)
Nouvelle Vague (Netflix)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best motion picture – animated Arco (Neon)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle (Aniplex, Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Elio (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Cinematic and box office achievement Avatar: Fire and Ash (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
F1 (Apple Original Films)
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Weapons (Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Best motion picture – non-English language It Was Just an Accident (Neon) - France
No Other Choice (Neon) - South Korea
The Secret Agent (Neon) - Brazil
Sentimental Value (Neon) - Norway
Sirāt (Neon) - Spain
The Voice of Hind Rajab (Willa) - Tunisia
Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture – drama Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love)
Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)
Julia Roberts (After the Hunt)
Tessa Thompson (Hedda)
Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby)
Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture – drama Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams)
Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein)
Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine)
Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)
Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere)
Best director – motion picture Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein)
Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident)
Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
Chloé Zhao (Hamnet)
Best television series – drama The Diplomat (Netflix)
The Pitt (HBO Max)
Pluribus (Apple TV)
Severance (Apple TV)
Slow Horses (Apple TV)
The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Best television series – musical or comedy Abbott Elementary (ABC)
The Bear (FX on Hulu)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
The Studio (Apple TV)
Best television limited series, anthology series or motion picture made for television Adolescence (Netflix)
All Her Fault (Peacock)
The Beast in Me (Netflix)
Black Mirror (Netflix)
Dying for Sex (FX on Hulu)
The Girlfriend (Prime Video)
Best performance by a female actor in a limited series, anthology series, or a motion picture made for television Claire Danes (The Beast in Me)
Rashida Jones (Black Mirror)
Amanda Seyfried (Long Bright River)
Sarah Snook (All Her Fault)
Michelle Williams (Dying for Sex)
Robin Wright (The Girlfriend)
Best performance by a female actor in a supporting role on television Carrie Coon (The White Lotus)
Erin Doherty (Adolescence)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Catherine O'Hara (The Studio)
Parker Posey (The White Lotus)
Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus)
Best performance in stand-up comedy on television Bill Maher (Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?) Brett Goldstein (Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life)
Kevin Hart (Kevin Hart: Acting My Age)
Kumail Nanjiani (Kumail Nanjiani: Night Thoughts)
Ricky Gervais (Ricky Gervais: Mortality)
Sarah Silverman (Sarah Silverman: Postmortem)
Veteran actor T.K. Carter, who appeared in the horror film "The Thing" and "Punky Brewster" on television, has died at the age of 69.
Details: Carter was declared dead Friday evening after deputies responded to a call regarding an unresponsive male in Duarte, California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Police did not disclose a cause of death or other details, but said no foul play was suspected.
DUARTE, Calif. — Veteran actor T.K. Carter, who appeared in the horror film "The Thing" and "Punky Brewster" on television, has died at the age of 69.
Carter was declared dead Friday evening after deputies responded to a call regarding an unresponsive male in Duarte, California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Police did not disclose a cause of death or other details, but said no foul play was suspected.
Thomas Kent "T.K." Carter was born Dec. 18, 1956, in New York City and was raised in Southern California.
He began his career in stand-up comedy and with acting roles. Carter had been acting for years before a breakthrough role as Nauls the cook in John Carpenter's 1982 horror classic, "The Thing." He also had a recurring role in the 1980s sitcom "Punky Brewster."
Other big-screen roles include "Runaway Train" in 1985, "Ski Patrol" in 1990 and "Space Jam" in 1996.
"T.K. Carter was a consummate professional and a genuine soul whose talent transcended genres," his publicist, Tony Freeman, said in a statement. "He brought laughter, truth, and humanity to every role he touched. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of artists and fans alike."
Copyright 2026 NPR
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Published January 11, 2026 7:29 AM
People hold signs as they protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
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Topline:
Demonstrations against the deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis are taking place all weekend across Los Angeles.
Check out ... these photos from some of the protests.
Downtown Los Angeles
A person in an inflatable frog suit holds a sign during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
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A woman holds incense during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
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A person holds up a sign during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP via Getty Images)
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Etienne Laurent
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AFP via Getty Images
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A person holds up a sign during a protest in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
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Etienne Laurent
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AFP via Getty Images
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A tourist bus drives past as people protest in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026 against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
By Chandelis Duster and Sergio Martínez-Beltrán | NPR
Published January 11, 2026 6:34 AM
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Topline:
People have been taking to the streets nationwide this weekend to protest the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, a 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer this week.
Where things stand: At least 1,000 events across the U.S. were planned for Saturday and Sunday, according to Indivisible, a progressive grassroots coalition of activists helping coordinate the movement it calls "ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action."
People have been taking to the streets nationwide this weekend to protest the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, a 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer this week.
At least 1,000 events across the U.S. were planned for Saturday and Sunday, according to Indivisible, a progressive grassroots coalition of activists helping coordinate the movement it calls "ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action."
Leah Greenberg, a co-executive director of Indivisible, said people are coming together to "grieve, honor those we've lost, and demand accountability from a system that has operated with impunity for far too long."
"Renee Nicole Good was a wife, a mother of three, and a member of her community. She, and the dozens of other sons, daughters, friends, siblings, parents, and community members who have been killed by ICE, should be alive today," Greenberg said in a statement on Friday. "ICE's violence is not a statistic, it has names, families, and futures attached to it, and we refuse to look away or stay silent."
Large crowds of demonstrators carried signs and shouted "ICE out now!" as protests continued across Minneapolis on Saturday. One of those protestors, Cameron Kritikos, told NPR that he is worried that the presence of more ICE agents in the city could lead to more violence or another death.
"If more ICE officers are deployed to the streets, especially a place here where there's very clear public opposition to the terrorizing of our neighborhoods, I'm nervous that there's going to be more violence," the 31-year grocery store worker said. "I'm nervous that there are going to be more clashes with law enforcement officials, and at the end of the day I think that's not what anyone wants."
Demonstrators in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
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The night before, hundreds of city and state police officers responded to a "noise protest" in downtown Minneapolis. An estimated 1,000 people gathered Friday night, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, and 29 people were arrested.
People demonstrated outside of hotels where ICE agents were believed to be staying. They chanted, played drums and banged pots. O'Hara said that a group of people split from the main protest and began damaging hotel windows. One police officer was injured from a chunk of ice that was hurled at officers, he added.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the acts of violence but praised what he said was the "vast majority" of protesters who remained peaceful, during a morning news conference.
"To anyone who causes property damage or puts others in danger: you will be arrested. We are standing up to Donald Trump's chaos not with our own brand of chaos, but with care and unity," Frey wrote on social media.
Commenting on the protests, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NPR in a statement, "the First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting, assault and destruction," adding, "DHS is taking measures to uphold the rule of law and protect public safety and our officers."
In Philadelphia, police estimated about 500 demonstrators "were cooperative and peaceful" at a march that began Saturday morning at City Hall, Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Tanya Little told NPR in a statement. And no arrests were made.
In Portland, Ore., demonstrators rallied and lined the streets outside of a hospital on Saturday afternoon, where immigration enforcement agents bring detainees who are injured during an arrest, reported Oregon Public Broadcasting.
A man and woman were shot and injured by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Thursday in the city. DHS said the shooting happened during a targeted vehicle stop and identified the driver as Luis David Nino-Moncada, and the passenger as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, both from Venezuela. As was the case in their assertion about Good's fatal shooting, Homeland Security officials claimed the federal agent acted in self-defense after Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras "weaponized their vehicle."
Copyright 2026 NPR
