Groups of Americans living in France are gathering to protest against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
Action follows news of violence stemming from ICE and Border Patrol Officers in the US city of Minneapolis (Minnesota), after the Trump administration launched ‘Operation Metro Surge’ in December 2025 aimed at deporting undocumented immigrants.
“Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, said during a press briefing on January 26.
ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti on Saturday (January 24) and Renée Good on January 7, sparking huge protests across the state and in cities around the US.
The Trump administration had claimed that the two individuals posed a threat to officers. However, many local officials and protestors claim that video footage shows this not to be correct.
Protest in Paris
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People in the Paris area are invited to gather today (January 28) at a rally organised by the groups La Digue and Indivisible Paris.
The protest will take place at 18:30 at 37 Quai d'Orsay in Paris - the address of the French foreign ministry.
Democrats Abroad Paris are also inviting protestors to meet at Frog Hop House (10 Rue des Capucines) from 19:00.
“First we protest, then we come together and talk about all the ways we can take action as Americans overseas,” reads a Facebook post.
Members from the Invisible Paris group also met in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral last week, holding letters spelling “De-ICE USA” and “Non à ICE”.
Gathering in the Tarn
A total of 16 Americans living in the Tarn department gathered at 11:30 on January 26 in the town of Gaillac.
The rally took place in La Place de la Liberation and was organised by Meredith Wheeler, a longtime resident of Lautrec who was born and raised in the US state of Illinois. She wrote to The Connexion following the protest.
Two of the protestors in Gaillac were originally born in MinnesotaMeredith Wheeler
“The Americans here want to express our outrage at the excesses of Trump’s out-of-control ICE and Border Patrol goons,” said Ms Wheeler.
“We also want our French friends and neighbors to know we utterly reject this behavior. It’s deeply unAmerican and entirely unacceptable. It makes us ashamed of our home country under Donald Trump,” she added.
Two of the Americans present at the protest were Minnesotans.
Jon Hedblom, a resident of Payrin Augmontel, is a US Air Force veteran and graduate of the US Air Force Academy. His father, brother and many friends live in Minneapolis and send him daily updates on what he describes as “the unnecessary and brutal occupation of Minnesota.”
Diane Welstead, resident of Le Vintrou, also born and raised in Minnesota, said, “I support my friends in Minnesota with all my heart. It is sickening to see what is happening in my home state. The people of Minnesota are for freedom, kindness and good manners and have a natural joie de vivre. The actions of this current federal government is the antithesis of our way of life. ICE sows only hate, mistrust and division.”
French company linked to ICE
Capgemini, a French digital services company, has also been criticised in recent days after they were found to have secured contracts with ICE to help identify and locate foreigners in the US, reported FranceInfo’s investigation platform, L'Oeil du 20 heures.
The contract is worth millions of dollars, with financial bonuses based on the success rate in verifying the addresses of foreigners.
The company also manages a telephone hotline reserved for victims of crimes committed by foreigners - an initiative created by Donald Trump.
French MP Pouria Amirshahi addressed this issue at the Assemblée Nationale on January 27, encouraging the French government to take action “so that our companies can neither finance, support, nor profit from policies of persecution that go against our core principles.”
Mr Amirshahi will be at this evening’s rally in Paris (see above), states Invisible Paris.
