Everyone in Los Angeles wants to speak out against what is happening.
The federal detention center has been guarded since early Sunday morning by 2,000 National Guard troops who were mobilized the day before by Trump. This, despite the fact that California authorities did not request their presence in one of the country’s main sanctuary cities. Local politicians considered the military deployment a provocation from Washington. On Sunday afternoon, Governor Gavin Newsom asked Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, to withdraw the troops.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people arrived at City Hall on Sunday afternoon to reject the presence of the military. “ICE (immigration police) out of our communities” and “If they come for one, they’ll come for all” were some of the signs seen among the flags of the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
“When we were the working class, they loved us in this country, but now that there are so many of us, it’s a problem.”
Sunday’s demonstration was the largest in the three days of social unrest in Los Angeles. “We took to the streets because our parents have lived their entire lives in the shadows,” says Diego, a 30-year-old American who was born in Montebello, a city east of Los Angeles that is 78% Latino. The kitchen worker’s parents are originally from El Salvador and Guatemala. He was born here and wants to exercise his rights. He couldn’t do so on Friday or Saturday because he had to work a 10-hour shift at the restaurant where he works. “We have to say it loud and clear: Not all of us who live here are illegal immigrants or criminals,” he adds.
A young woman wearing a Mexican national soccer team jersey charged at officers on her motorcycle. They opened fire on her with non-lethal weapons. She was one of several people arrested during the third day of protests. “When we were the working class, they loved us in this country, but now that there are so many of us, it’s a problem, and that’s why they persecute us. They simply don’t want us here anymore,” said the woman, whose parents are Mexican and Puerto Rican, and who was in handcuffs when she spoke to reporters.
