Protest planned in Montreal opposing ICE, immigration enforcement in U.S.
Posted January 29, 2026 11:19 am.
Last Updated January 29, 2026 3:10 pm.
A protest is planned Sunday afternoon in downtown Montreal calling attention to U.S. immigration enforcement and expressing solidarity with demonstrators in Minneapolis following another deadly shooting.
The demonstration, called “ICE Out MTL,” is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. outside the U.S. Consulate on Sainte-Catherine Street.
Michael Lipset, a Montreal resident originally from Minnesota and one of the organizers of the protest, says the event is intended to draw attention to concerns surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, while amplifying calls for accountability and change.
Lipset joined CityNews to explain the motivation behind the demonstration, what organizers hope to achieve, and why the issue resonates in Montreal.
What prompted you to organize this protest now?
What prompted me to organize this demonstration right now was a feeling of overwhelm, and also a feeling of solidarity. Originally having been from the Twin Cities, having lived for many years just less than a kilometre from where Alex Pretti was murdered, knowing the neighbourhood where Renée Good was murdered, seeing the ways in which people are mobilizing in opposition to ICE in my hometown, and the inspiration it’s bringing to people not just across the U.S. but around the world and understanding that the louder the voice that there is in opposition to ICE, to authoritarianism in the U.S., to the Trump administration, to dictatorial regimes all over the world, the better off we will all be.
And in response to that overwhelm and the knowledge that the louder the voice the better we will be, the stronger we are together, I wanted to take action. I tried to live life in a way as often as possible that is in opposition to neoliberalism, to dictatorship, to authoritarianism. And even with that as my lifestyle was feeling as though there is more to be done.
And I know that people probably were feeling like me and I couldn’t find anything else that was happening. And so I took it upon myself, realizing that I am a Minnesotan in Montreal, and this speaks very closely to my identity and where I’m from, took it upon myself to be the person to at least get the ball rolling. And it was really hopeful for me to see the ways in which people have jumped on board and supported and shared the call for action. And knowing now also that it’s just the first of a handful of other actions that will be unfolding across the city in the coming weeks.
You mentioned getting the ball rolling with this demonstration. What message are you hoping it sends, whether it be to U.S. authorities or here in Canada?
The message that we hope to send is that the ICE organization needs to be abolished. It needs to be removed from all American cities. Their stated goal of immigration and customs enforcement has clearly gone by the wayside as they continue to erode the first, second, sixth amendment rights of Americans, the civil liberties of civilians and citizens, but also folks who are in the U.S. legally, according to U.S. law, that that can’t stand.
Not only can it not stand, but if they choose to continue down that path, they will face opposition from the people who have invested their entire livelihoods in this idea of the United States, as well as people who no longer live in the U.S. and people who never lived in the U.S., but understand the ways in which action taken in the U.S. can have an impact north of the border here in Canada, can have an impact around the world. And I think that that is true of anywhere there is injustice. So if you believe like I believe that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I hope you’ll join us on Sunday.
