Asian Americans march and speak out against Trump regime

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was difiant against Donald Trump.

ANALYSIS

Among the 7 million No Kings demonstrators, Asian Americans made their presence known. They were not the largest group nor the loudest, but they were there, holding signs, reveling in the knowledge that they were not alone in their anger, disatisfaction and disdain for Donald Trump.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island individuals and groups joined the Oct. 18 "No Kings" marches to express their concerns over the Trump administration's policies, focusing on issues like immigration, civil rights, voting rights and rising anti-Asian racism.

Sometimes you see a photo or hear a line of poetry that just stays with you. It’s funny how memories are like that. I recently found a black-and-white picture of my father from when he was a young man, a dashing and handsome man with smoldering eyes, staring defiantly back at the camera. We always think of our parents as old, and we forget that once they were young and had that rebellious spirit. My dad is gone now, but I think of that picture when I see a new generation finding its own voice of defiance.

That's the kind of feeling that comes to mind when I see images from the recent "No Kings" protests that swept across the U.S. this past weekend. A lot of Asian Americans, particularly in places like Boston and Los Angeles, had that same defiant look in their eyes. This wasn't about a single policy. It was about sending a message.

And boy, did Boston get the message across, with an exclamation point, I might add.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the historic city's first Asian American mayor, was right there on the front lines in her city. Standing with thousands on Boston Common, America's first public park, she reminded everyone that resisting tyranny is about as American as it gets. For 250 years, the city has stood up against injustice, and it wasn't about to back down now.

"Boston has never been good at surrender or silence," as the crowd roared its approval. You have to love that line. It speaks to something deep in the American character—a willingness to speak up, to make a mess when things aren't right.

“In Boston, every day is No Kings Day,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said. Confronted by hecklers, she shrugged them off, saying, “This is Boston, where every voice is heard.”

Wu, who has frequently clashed with the Trump administration over its racist immigration policies, told the crowd that Trump and Republicans attacked Boston because they know it symbolizes freedom and revolution.

“We stand here today to tell the Trump administration, when it comes to our freedoms, when it comes to our families, Boston doesn’t back down,” Wu told the partisan crowd. “What terrifies them about our city isn’t just that we kicked out a king and we [can] do it again.”

“It’s not just that our city is not for sale or that we run a government that actually delivers as a home for everyone and the safest major city in the country,” she continued. “It’s not just that we empower our workers and stand with public employees instead of using them as political pawns. What scares them the most about Boston is that we are proof of the America they insist is impossible.

As one of the other Boston speakers said, "It's not nice and neat and squeaky. It's messy, it's disruptive, it's uncomfortable". And that's exactly what democracy looks like sometimes.

In Queens, N.Y., which has a large Asian American population, Rep. Grace Meng told the thousands of marchers, “One of the hardest stories that I keep hearing over and over again are from folks who immigrated to this country, whether they just came a few months ago or whether they came two generations ago, and they have a sad look on their face, exasperated, saying that this is not the country that they came to. This is not what democracy looks like.”

NYC COUNCIL

Asian Americans joined the No Kings rallies in New York City.

“They sacrificed so much, many of them fled hardships in their home countries and then they came here to build a better life for their kids and their neighbors and their families. But this is not what they came for.”

Meng continued: “In just a few months, this President has shown us who he fights for.

"It’s not America, it’s not for the people, it’s for the wealthiest and the well connected, and we’re not going to stand for it.

For many in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, the issues were personal. In Los Angeles, some of the participants were protesting immigration raids, worried about students being separated from their families. But it goes beyond just immigration. AAPI communities have a history of fighting for their place at the table, a history of facing discrimination and overcoming it.

Beyond Boston, other U.S. cities with strong AAPI participation in the October 2025 "No Kings" protests included Chicago, and Honolulu and, of course, in California home to 7 million Asian Americans, the most of any state.

The San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles is home to several enclaves of Asian communities: Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese and Korean. It is represented by Congressmember Judy Chu.

“This is a continuation of what we as a country are doing to resist this authoritarian, fascist regime,” Chu told the crowd, urging participants to see the event as “practice—building our muscles of protest and resistance.”

She called for peaceful but determined civic action, saying, “Power does not give up without a fight. Our anger will motivate us, but it’s community that will keep us together.”

In San Bruno, Calif. hundreds of people gathered at the Tanforan Assembly Memorial, a former horse-racing track, where Japanese American were incarcerated. Speakers included survivors of WWII internment, drawing parallels between the historical inccarceration of Japanese Americans and current immigration policies. Grace Morizawa, a 79-year-old Berkeley resident whose parents met in an internment camp, expressed solidarity with today's immigrants, stating, "you could just hear the passion in their voice when they said they don't want to see that happen again."

SCREEN CAPTURE

Seven thousand people joined the Sacramento march and. rally highlighted by a speech by Rep. Doris Matsui, who was born in one of the camps that incarcerated about 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. 

"Today we reminded Donald Trump, loud and clear, that in this country WE HAVE NO KINGS," Matsui told the participants. "We don’t worship power — we build it together: In our neighborhoods. On our streets. In our unions. "That’s who we are, that’s Sacramento, and I’ll always have your back," she said to a volley of applause and cheers.

Protesters in Oakland were marching in the city's streets, chanting, "whose streets? Our Streets." Part of the route led marchers through Chinatown down 13th Street, winding up in a rally in front of City Hall.

Asian Americans also  took part in several large-scale protests in Los Angeles. One of the protests occurred in Historic Filipinotown near downtown L.A. “When I enlisted, I swore a solemn oath to uphold the US constitution, to help protect the nation from enemies without and within. Today, I would never swear allegiance or bend the knee to a wannabe king because there are NO KINGS in America,”  US Army veteran Joe Arciaga said in a press statement.

When an administration starts to sound like it thinks it's above the law, a lot of different people, from different backgrounds, hear the same alarm bells ringing. The "No Kings" protests are a modern-day call to arms, not with weapons but with signs and voices. It's a reminder that we are a nation of laws, not of rulers.

This is a story that will continue to unfold. The protesters, with an estimated 7 million turning out nationwide, weren't just angry; they were energized and organized. They weren't just there for a single day. They were carrying a message that they intend to take back to their communities. And it is a message we all need to remember: Freedom over fascism. 

No Kings. No dictators. No fascists. No way!

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.