Billings, MT – On August 23 and 24, the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) held protests in downtown Billings outside of the ICE field office. These protests came after the revelation that federal immigration agents had, the week before, used the local United Way’s backpack drive as a staging ground to kidnap members of two immigrant families.
On August 11, father Adrián Espinoza De La Cruz and his nine-year-old daughter were detained by ICE agents immediately after leaving the United Way parking lot and taken to a detention facility in Havre, Montana. The United Way learned of a second detention the next day, involving another family that attended the event. The families were released after being held for a little over a week.
On Monday, July 20, the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) rallied outside of Billings City Hall to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastián Guerrero, two fathers from Texas and Maine who were murdered by ICE agents within the last two weeks. To prevent similar ICE violence in Billings, BAIR demanded city council pass an ordinance declaring Billings a sanctuary city.
Billings, MT – On July 10, the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) gathered in protest of an ICE agent’s murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas. The protesters rallied on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn, chanting “Justice for Lorenzo! ICE terror’s got to go!”
Billings. MT – On Friday, June 26, around 30 community members rallied outside of Billings’ Emmanuel Baptist Church to protest the far-right organization Turning Point USA's “Make Heaven Crowded” event. Protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside of the church parking lot, holding signs and chanting against TPUSA's reactionary rhetoric being spread to their community.
Billings, MT – On June 19, more than a dozen United States Postal Service (USPS) workers and community members rallied outside the post office in downtown Billings to protest changes to mail-in voting.
Billings, MT – On Friday, May 1, the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) held a protest at the Yellowstone County Courthouse to celebrate International Workers’ Day. 40 people rallied to demand ICE get out of Billings, stop the deportations, and to fight for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.
Billings, MT – On March 7, about 20 people rallied to celebrate International Women’s Day and to stand with immigrant women. The action was organized by the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) and took place on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn.
Billings, MT – Billings activists gathered on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn on the evening of February 28 to demand an immediate end to the war on Iran. Organized by members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the protest was in response to the late-night bombing of multiple schools in Iran, killing over at least 200 people, including 100 schoolgirls.
Billings, MT – The Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights held a protest at the Yellowstone County Courthouse on Thursday, January 29 in honor of Alex Pretti, who was murdered by Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis. Over 100 people turned out to support BAIR's demands that the Billings police department not sign a 287(g) agreement, justice for all victims of ICE terror, and legalization for all.
The Trump administration has praised the federal agents for their crimes and labeled civilians who fight back as “terrorists.” While the rally was called to protest the injustice of Alex Pretti’s murder, BAIR shared other stories of victims of state-sanctioned violence.
