Hundreds of protesters block traffic Tuesday night to demand ICE leave Tacoma
Hundreds of people rallied outside the Tacoma Municipal Building on Tuesday to protest the Northwest ICE Processing Center and demand for ICE to leave Tacoma.
The Pierce County Immigration Alliance organized the rally to coincide with this week’s City Council meeting.
At a council meeting earlier this month, the PCIA presented a list of demands asking for council members to denounce ICE and take action against the federal agency intervening in Tacoma. That day, the protesters stayed along the sidewalk.
Since the council didn’t meet PCIA’s demands, Tuesday was a different story.
“We want our demands met,” Catelynn Henion, a volunteer with PCIA attending the event, told The News Tribune. “We promised we would be back, and we’re back.”
Protesters crowded across Market Street starting at around 4 p.m., blocking traffic and marching around the Tacoma Municipal Building, equipped with signs and shouting chants like, “No justice, no peace.”
Tacoma police officers were on the scene to redirect traffic.
At about 5:30, the protesters left the chilly streets and went into the Municipal Building, walking down the staircase toward the council chambers to disrupt the meeting. About a hundred people noisily crowded into the hallway outside the chambers, repeatedly chanting, “(expletive) ICE.”
The chants were quieted when Lauren Bisplinghoff, a choir director who was giving a presentation in support of immigrants rights at the meeting, spoke with the protesters and urged them to proceed quietly.
“I fight with you every day, but right now, we need to be able to be heard in there,” Bisplinghoff said to the crowd. “We need them to hear our voice because what we have to say is so important. They need to shut down that detention center.”
Bisplinghoff encouraged protesters to share their opinions by giving a public comment. The group then dispersed, and many of the protesters stayed to give a comment at the meeting.
Talison Crosby, a member of the Teamsters Union and a volunteer with the rally, said Tuesday’s protest was a “tremendous success.”
“Tacoma does not (expletive) with ICE, and it is clear by the turnout today,” Crosby said. “These numbers will just continue to grow because this is a demand that resonates with all Tacomans.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 7:55 PM.
