A car is stopped at Henderson Road in King of Prussia as dozens of people participate in a demonstration on Jan. 11, 2026. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group)
People across Montgomery County came out in droves on Sunday to vocalize their anger and frustration with escalating immigration enforcement operations.
The series of nearly a dozen demonstrations in the Philadelphia suburbs came as the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis earlier this week, sparked nationwide outrage.
Montco Community Watch, a grassroots organization focused on documenting immigration enforcement activities, noted members have recorded instances localloy of nearly 100 detentions as of early December.
“The people have always had the power in this country. It’s not the elites. It’s not the politicians. People have the power, and … it’s time for all of us to stand up, and stand up for what we believe as Americans: Freedom,” said Community for Change Montgomery County Lead Organizer Stephanie Vincent in an interview Sunday morning.
While it’s unclear how many people participated locally, Vincent anticipated a significant turnout.
“The response that I’m seeing even on social [media] of people sharing and commenting, it’s the most interaction I’ve seen on anything,” Vincent said.
Several advocacy groups took to social media ahead of the events as part of the “ICE Out For Good” Montgomery County. Event organizers encouraged participants to “stand with us to demand accountability, honor the families that have been impacted and make visible the human cost of ICE’s action.”
Protests in numerous towns
Demonstrations were scheduled in several localities, including Lansdale, Abington, Ambler, Collegeville, Conshohocken, Jenkintown, King of Prussia and Souderton.
“Over this year … we realized that people … were enraged by what was happening in the administration; that we didn’t just need protests … with opportunities to go into the cities,” Vincent said. “We realized that this had to happen in neighborhoods all over.”
Dozens of people were positioned on Wednesday at the corner of U.S. Route 202 in King of Prussia as they held signs and candles to honor Good’s memory. Even more people returned to the same intersection this weekend, holding up their signs as a steady stream of cars could be heard honking in solidarity across the major thoroughfare.
Harleysville
In Harleysville, hundreds lined the busy thoroughfare of Main Street. Hoisting signs and cheering at honking motorists, rallygoers expressed outrage at both the shooting and the immigration policies of the President Donald Trump administration and promised an ongoing show of force against the government.
“It’s murder, and there needs to be accountability,” said volunteer and organizer Katelyn Bashline. “We are here to stay and let others know that there are people in this community who do feel strongly against the government.”
“I am horrified,” said Russ Carrick. “If it can happen to her, it could happen to me. This kind of careless gunplay with American citizens is not OK. It needs to stop.”
Vincent acknowledged the growing momentum protesting actions of ICE in Montgomery County. “I think there’s sadness. I think people are angry, obviously … people are fed up.”
Sunday’s protests happened in a weekend of demonstrations nationwide following the fatal shooting Wednesday of Good by an ICE officer. Some 2,000 agents were in Minneapolis as a result of the heightened immigration enforcement tactics issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Wednesday’s incident was caught on camera in a residential area and has been widely circulated on social media.
“It’s making more and more people see the realities of what’s happening, especially when you see it on video, like, you see it,” Vincent said. “That’s the thing that’s different about this is because everybody could see it with their own eyes, and I think that’s what’s making people really enraged…”
