Over a thousand protestors took to the streets of Boyle Heights and East LA on Feb. 8 against the recent Trump Administration attacks on immigrants.
The protest followed a week of walkouts after what was dubbed “A Day Without Immigrants,” on Feb. 3.
“He’s attacking the whole immigrants whether they are Guatemalteca, Mexican, from Haiti, he has in his mind that everybody who’s an immigrant is a criminal,” said protestor and Centro CSO organizer Julie Regalado.
Centro CSO was originally founded as a civil rights activist group and has continued to organize protests in support of immigrants.
The march, organized by Centro CSO, started in the historic Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights and was led down the road to LA City Hall and the LA Detention Center.
Selena Carrera holds a half-Mexican, half-American flag as she stands with her mother waiting for the march in Mariachi Plaza, Boyle Heights. (Sam Villa)
Regalado was one of the many who have been protesting Trump’s policies with CSO since his first presidency.
“We started (protesting) with the privatization of public schools around the time Trump first came to office. He wanted to dismantle public education and deploy everybody who was here from another country,” said Regalado.
Many protestors, while coming from Mexican backgrounds, also emphasized the support for Cuba, Sudan, and Palestine, as well as other immigrants in the city.
“LA has a very big pro-immigrant rights community because a lot of folks here come from immigrant backgrounds,” said protester Karina Lopez.
Los Angeles is estimated to have a population of 3.5 to 4.4 million immigrants, or approximately 33% of the population.
“We want to draw ties with immigrants from other countries as well, because they are also under attack, they are a part of the working people too,” said Lopez.
“We are calling for an end to deportations, calling out the Trump Administration for ending TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Venezuelans and not renewing it for anyone, these all acts to put these communities in fear,” said protestor Chris Bernadel.