Yesterday, thousands of Latino Americans and other protesters gathered at downtown Los Angeles to express their outrage with President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies and the recent spike in deportations by the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The protest was organized by people associated with the Instagram account @brownissues, a group cultivating the next generation of brown leaders, and was planned from 9 a.m. to 1p.m., but continued into the night.
The policy’s implementation began when Trump signed the Executive Order “Protecting the American people against invasion,” on Jan. 20 that revokes multiple protective orders for immigrants and gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and their law enforcement agency ICE further powers to confront and deport illegal immigrants in an effort to limit the “…aliens unlawfully within the United States (who) present significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans.”
A week into Trump’s presidency, 7300 immigrants were deported according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a non-governmental organization which promotes human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean in their border update “Weekly U.S-Mexico Border Update: a quiet border, mass deportation, military flights” instilling fear in immigrants nationwide, especially among Hispanic communities in Southern Calif.
Protest organizer Emily Tovar shared that as the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, she was moved to speak out for her community.
“I was motivated by anger… I didn’t see anyone with a platform doing anything about the situation. I worry for my father that is a gardener and works in different cities so I thought if they can’t use their voices due to fear then it’s up to us that were born here and are privileged to stand up and speak for them,” said Tovar.
For many Latinos, frustration with Trump’s immigration policies comes from the derogatory comments he has made towards hispanics previously; some being his referring to them as “drug-lords,” “rapist,” and others according to the article “From ‘rapists’ to ‘eating the pets’: Trump has long used degrading language toward immigrants” by NBC news, an American broadcasting network.
Along with this his administration’s legislation has used harmful descriptions of hispanic immigrants such as the previously mentioned generalization of all Hispanics “…committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans,” and the threat of deportation to themselves or others in their community.
Trump’s immigration policies are concerning to Latinos because they threaten to uproot the livelihood of hispanic communities. Junior Mexican student Aiden Estrada Garcia expressed that he shares this fear while living in the West Covina area.
“As a Mexican this really hits home because all these people are getting taken away in my community and it’s like ‘oh, what if they stop me next?’ or ‘oh, what if they stop my mom next?’ or ‘what if they stop my grandma next?’ and they try and find a way to work around, even though they have citizenship, they try and work around it and still take them away. So it’s just a really like confusing and worrisome situation of like ‘what’s going to happen next,” said Estrada.
Tovar expressed that this sentiment aligned with Brown Issues motivations for the protest.
“We don’t want our communities to fear going outside. We want to bring awareness that not every immigrant is a criminal and we shouldn’t be generalized. The mass majority of immigrants are here to progress and have a better life. They’re here to create a better future for themselves and their loved ones. We will continue to make noise until our (voices are) heard,” said Tovar.
At the protests, Latino communities filled the streets with signs, chants, and even performances from Mariachi bands and dancers and food vendors. All to help support, display their national pride, and voice their fear and anger towards ICE and Trump.
Phrases chanted at the protest ranged from ones that highlight the honor of attending communities such as “viva Mexico!”- “long live Mexico” to others that call to attention and make clear the intent to incite change like “Trump, escucha”- “Trump, listen,” and “¡Estamos aquí para luchar!”- “we’re here to fight!”
Protestors covered various areas of downtown LA from City Hall to sections of the 101 freeway, ultimately causing its temporary closure, to garner attention for their cause.
“During the protest I was actually one of the people leading it and some comrades with megaphones… people also danced and we talked about everyone’s rights,” said Tovar.
Although a vast majority of the protesting was peaceful, reports of alleged tagging called for a city-wide tactical alert to be issued and police officers were dispatched to the area according to the news article “Police in riot gear face-off with protestors in downtown Los Angeles” by KTLA 5, a local television station. One arrest was reported to have taken place during the protest according to the news article “Protests in downtown Los Angeles over ICE raids block the 101 Freeway” by CBS news, an American television and radio broadcaster.
Tovar described the protes’s overall goal being to attain immigration reform to Trump’s policy’s so immigrants can remain in the nation without the fear of deportation.
“The main goal is for an immigration reform. This is for our people and I believe it’s important because we are indigenous to the land of California. Hard working and innocent people deserve to have citizenship not only for being indigenous to the land but for contributing to the country every single day,” said Tovar.
Tovar hopes that the large number of protestors present at yesterday’s event will demand national attention and incite reform.
“They can’t control a large crowd and most of us protesting are American citizens speaking for the community so they will have to do something about this and make a change,” said Tovar.
The Trump administration hasn’t released a formal statement regarding the protest nor has Trump himself.
