Jan. 28 2026 | Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief
Monday, Jan. 19 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — saw a turnout of hundreds at the Oregon State Capitol, where a collection of Western students joined protesting efforts.
The rally was held to show solidarity with the immigrant community as well as protest the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration. Calling for immigration reform, protesters also heavily drew from Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission to establish equality and peaceful resistance.
Event participants and organizers discussed the current political state of the US, saying that students and families are experiencing a lot of fear due to immigration crackdown efforts.
Salem police reported around 400 rally attendees. One incident involving the unlawful use of pepper spray had one man arrested, but names and further details have yet to be released.
One of about 20 counterprotesters, Thomas Allen, 36, was present at the rally in a similar fashion to his controversial appearance at Western Dec. 3, 2025, brandishing a microphone, camera and pro-Trump merchandise. At the end of Fall term, Allen appeared on campus while livestreaming on multiple platforms and was recorded using racial slurs and threatening students that they would be deported by ICE.
Western student Jacob Prater said, “I wanted to attend to help show that we have power in numbers and help spark more resistance statewide against ICE in Oregon. We vastly outnumber counterprotesters and are the majority.”
One intention of the rally is to build momentum behind an immigrants’ rights package. Families impacted by immigration enforcement would receive increased protections and financial support.
The rally followed increased ICE presence, as well as increased tension, across the country after the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Locally, Albany mother Maria Trinidad Loya Medina was kidnapped Jan. 10 by ICE in the Big 5 parking lot after heading in to shop, leaving behind her young son in the car. Her GoFundMe stated that federal agents shattered her driver’s side window to “get ahold of her.” She had no criminal record and was taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. According to sources closer to the family, she may be released next month.
Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu
