Missoula rally urges protections for immigrants, trains volunteers to watch for ICE

A crowd gathered in Missoula for a "No Kings" rally where singers, community organizers and three featured speakers urged attendees to defend democracy and protect immigrant neighbors.

Amber Shayfer, who introduced herself as an enrolled member of the Sisseton‑Wahpeton Oyate, opened with a land acknowledgement and a personal appeal to ground political action in the experiences of people most threatened. "Pidamaya," she told the crowd — a Dakota expression she used to say that attendees' actions "have made my heart happy." She asked the audience to "dwell in the uncomfortableness" of U.S. history and to keep marginalized communities at the center of future work.

Dr. Shawn Patrick U. Daily, who teaches political philosophy and constitutional studies at the University of Montana Western, linked the rally to a broader civic argument about institutions and public participation. Drawing on Aristotle and James Madison, he said U.S. constitutional arrangements are designed to check concentrated power and urged attendees to convert energy into civic participation ahead of the 2026 election. "We have no crowns. That's because in the United States of America, we will suffer no kings," he said, framing the gathering as a defense of democratic norms.

Kari Hong, an immigration attorney of 25 years, anchored the rally's policy focus. She described immigrants as "our neighbors, co‑workers, classmates," said ICE has engaged in "racial profiling" and accused the agency of misconduct and lethal outcomes in detention. Hong urged attendees to prepare locally to protect neighbors from enforcement, suggesting visible signs that welcome immigrants and teaching a three‑blast whistle protocol to indicate the presence of immigration agents. "No more kings. No more deportations. And no more ICE," she told the crowd. The specific counts Hong cited (deaths in detention and budget figures) were presented as claims by the speaker and were not independently verified in the rally remarks.

Organizers — including Missoula Resists, Indivisible Missoula and Stand Up Fight Back — used the platform to offer concrete next steps: sign up as poll workers, register to vote, volunteer as legal observers, train as raid verifiers and use the group website nokings.org to plug into future actions. They described a whistle protocol for community alerts (three short blasts to indicate an agent's presence; three long blasts for an active detention) and asked attendees to use whistle alerts only to avoid needless panic.

The event mixed music and speeches; performers led repeated singalongs of "Give Peace a Chance" and "We Shall Overcome." Organizers closed the rally by repeating chants of "No more kings. No more ICE," encouraging volunteers to continue organizing and promoting an action scheduled for March 28.

The rally did not record any formal votes or government actions. Speakers and organizers framed the event as a volunteer‑led effort to build local capacity for immigration solidarity and civic participation.