On 26 January, Stand Up to Racism Scotland organised a demonstration outside Edinburgh’s US consulate, in response to the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minneapolis. A post from the organisation urged demonstrators to stand in solidarity with those rising in protest in the US, calling to “fight Farage’s Trumpism in Britain.”
With Reform UK taking second place in Scottish voting intention for the upcoming Holyrood election, this protest raises the question as to whether we can expect ICE-style raids with a Reform-led government or whether, or as Farage suggests, these concerns are the product of mere fear-mongering.
Farage has offhandedly condemned the ICE attack as “way over the top” in response to Sadiq Khan’s suggestion that Reform would bring ICE-style raids to the UK. And yet, in response to the shooting of Alex Pretti and Renne Nicole Good, Farage mitigated the tragedy of the shooting by claiming, “you don’t carry a gun to a protest, that’s the point.”
Released footage shows that Pretti’s handgun, for which he had a permit, remained concealed and untouched at all times. Given Farage’s claims back in 2014 that Tony Blair’s ban on handguns was “ludicrous”, his objection to the exercising of the Second Amendment in the case of Alex Pretti seems a radical change in tone that looks to defend ICE.
Councillors from Reform UK have stood in support of ICE following the shooting of Pretti, with Councillor Joseph Boam tweeting, “For the people that don’t support ICE – are you suggesting that the UK should not enforce its immigration law?” Councillor Michael Squires congratulated ICE for their “heroic work saving the United States of America.”
Unfortunately, these disturbing expressions of support cannot be boiled down to the isolated views of two councillors on the right of the party. Outside the US consulate in Edinburgh, organiser of Stand Up to Racism, James Granleese said, “We know that Farage for a long time has been emulating the Trumpism that we’re seeing on the news time and time again. Reform UK wants to bring it to the UK, and we will not let them.”
It may be true that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also been cautious in condemning the shooting of Pretti, expressing only his “concern” following the attack. However, Reform UK’s proposed deportation policy, “Operation Restoring Justice”, borrows its policies directly from Trump’s mass deportation playbook. Their plans involve leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, repealing the Human Rights Act and pledging to exit anti-torture and anti-trafficking treaties.
Like the Trump administration, Farage shows no reservations towards deporting both legal and illegal migrants, speaking openly about his plans to remove indefinite leave to remain. Side by side with the scene of a 5-year-old preschooler being detained by ICE officials in Minneapolis, Farage’s boast that he would deport “absolutely anyone” cuts a clear comparison between the two leaders, a comparison that Farage has thus far encouraged.
These proposed policies give weight to Granleese’s claim that Farage has positioned himself as a Trump 2.0, painting a haunting picture of what Reform’s ideal Britain would look like. In light of the 2026 Holyrood elections, where Reform is likely to become the second biggest party in the Scottish Parliament, the concerns expressed in Edinburgh extend beyond hyperbole or conflation, pointing to the real possibility of ICE-style immigration enforcement coming to the UK under Farage.
Photo by Mark Chan for The Student.
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Edinburgh’s anti-ICE protests: will Reform UK take a page from Trump’s playbook?
On 26 January, Stand Up to Racism Scotland organised a demonstration outside Edinburgh’s US consulate, in response to the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minneapolis. A post from the organisation urged demonstrators to stand in solidarity with those rising in protest in the US, calling to “fight Farage’s Trumpism in Britain.”
With Reform UK taking second place in Scottish voting intention for the upcoming Holyrood election, this protest raises the question as to whether we can expect ICE-style raids with a Reform-led government or whether, or as Farage suggests, these concerns are the product of mere fear-mongering.
Farage has offhandedly condemned the ICE attack as “way over the top” in response to Sadiq Khan’s suggestion that Reform would bring ICE-style raids to the UK. And yet, in response to the shooting of Alex Pretti and Renne Nicole Good, Farage mitigated the tragedy of the shooting by claiming, “you don’t carry a gun to a protest, that’s the point.”
Released footage shows that Pretti’s handgun, for which he had a permit, remained concealed and untouched at all times. Given Farage’s claims back in 2014 that Tony Blair’s ban on handguns was “ludicrous”, his objection to the exercising of the Second Amendment in the case of Alex Pretti seems a radical change in tone that looks to defend ICE.
Councillors from Reform UK have stood in support of ICE following the shooting of Pretti, with Councillor Joseph Boam tweeting, “For the people that don’t support ICE – are you suggesting that the UK should not enforce its immigration law?” Councillor Michael Squires congratulated ICE for their “heroic work saving the United States of America.”
Unfortunately, these disturbing expressions of support cannot be boiled down to the isolated views of two councillors on the right of the party. Outside the US consulate in Edinburgh, organiser of Stand Up to Racism, James Granleese said, “We know that Farage for a long time has been emulating the Trumpism that we’re seeing on the news time and time again. Reform UK wants to bring it to the UK, and we will not let them.”
It may be true that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also been cautious in condemning the shooting of Pretti, expressing only his “concern” following the attack. However, Reform UK’s proposed deportation policy, “Operation Restoring Justice”, borrows its policies directly from Trump’s mass deportation playbook. Their plans involve leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, repealing the Human Rights Act and pledging to exit anti-torture and anti-trafficking treaties.
Like the Trump administration, Farage shows no reservations towards deporting both legal and illegal migrants, speaking openly about his plans to remove indefinite leave to remain. Side by side with the scene of a 5-year-old preschooler being detained by ICE officials in Minneapolis, Farage’s boast that he would deport “absolutely anyone” cuts a clear comparison between the two leaders, a comparison that Farage has thus far encouraged.
These proposed policies give weight to Granleese’s claim that Farage has positioned himself as a Trump 2.0, painting a haunting picture of what Reform’s ideal Britain would look like. In light of the 2026 Holyrood elections, where Reform is likely to become the second biggest party in the Scottish Parliament, the concerns expressed in Edinburgh extend beyond hyperbole or conflation, pointing to the real possibility of ICE-style immigration enforcement coming to the UK under Farage.
Photo by Mark Chan for The Student.
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