Salem protesters decry deportations, federal cuts at Saturday rally

Over 1,000 people gathered Saturday on Northeast Center Street near the Oregon State Capitol to protest President Donald Trump’s administration.

The protest was among hundreds organized nationwide against what organizers described as attacks on civil liberties and immigration. Protesters also opposed the Department of Government Efficiency and the administration’s recent mistaken deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia. 

It was one of many in Salem since Trump took office, and was organized by the 50501 movement and the Salem chapter of Indivisible Oregon, two progressive grassroots groups that have been vocal against Trump.

Protesters gathered on both sides of Northeast Center Street from Northeast Capitol Street to Northeast Cottage Street, although some were scattered in other nearby areas. There were no counter protesters, although a person rode by on a motorcycle flipping protesters off. 

Two ice cream trucks and a person selling flags were present at the protest. One vehicle driving by displayed a Palestinian flag and a person on a motorcycle a sign that read, “No war on Iran.”

Protesters chanted energetically, “Donald Trump has got to go,” “health care is a human right” and “women’s rights are not for sale,” among other chants.

A group of musicians set up a tent with signs against Trump and played live music in support of the movement. Some protesters brought their pets and children, and many displayed signs and a variety of flags. 

Kathryn McCarty attended the protest with her disabled five-year-old son Trystan, who was born with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic condition. She depends on her son’s disability benefits to get by and is concerned the administration will threaten Trystan’s disability benefits and the individualized education he requires.  

“For him I would walk through fire,” she said. 

McCarty said she also attended the protest to show opposition to the deportation of Abrego Garcia, the administration’s threats to Medicaid and other social programs and Trump’s ties with Israel during its war in Gaza. “We need to be vocal, silence is complicity.”

Pam McCollum, another Salem resident, said the president’s blame of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after an American Airlines flight crashed mid-air with a helicopter in Washington, D.C. in late January pushed her to join the protest.

McCollum also said the movement is learning from other protests in the past. “If we (got) rid of the Vietnam War, we can do it again,” she said. 

Laura Kesler, a retired Salem resident, showed up at the protest in her wheelchair, holding a sign that read, “If you’re not resisting you’re assisting.”

“I see our democracy being turned into a fascist dictatorship. I love my country enough that I can’t sit at home and let that happen,” Kesler said.

She is most upset about the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative run by billionaire Elon Musk to shrink the size of the federal government and significantly reduce funding for programs like foreign aid and scientific research. 

She also spoke against recent deportations and Trump’s attacks on birthright citizenship. “That is not how our legal system is supposed to be.”

The country looks radically different from before Trump got elected, she said. “People need to take it seriously. Our rights are being taken away.”

Ron Bedell lives in West Salem and the Saturday demonstration was the second time he protested against Trump. He sees the Trump administration as unqualified to lead the country and is especially concerned about the president’s denial of climate change, attacks on social security and “school children not having enough to eat.”

“The list goes on and on. They’re a bunch of clowns and don’t have the experience” to run the federal government, he said.  

Carl Henricksen, from Mill City, attended the protest dressed as Uncle Sam. What made him most upset about the Trump administration were its attempts to privatize government agencies and its threats to social security and other benefits which he relies on, he said.

Henricksen also spoke against the administration “disappearing people off the streets” in a reference to recent deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“They want people to not care, but we care. We need to get in good trouble and make noise,” he said. 

Henricksen is also concerned about free speech and said the federal government may be persecuting people for their political beliefs. “We’re built on disagreement, and if we don’t have disagreement, we don’t have a country,” he said. 

“My wife won’t come because she said somebody needs to be able to bail me out,” Henricksen joked.

CORRECTION: Quotes published in an earlier version of this story were erroneously credited to the wrong person. Bill Dixon did not make the remarks. The state Kilmar Abrego Garcia resides in was also listed incorrectly. Salem Reporter apologizes for the errors.

Contact reporter Alan Cohen: [email protected].

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