Mexican flag becomes L.A. protest symbol: What to know

The Hill

4 hours ago

The green, white and red-striped flag of Mexico has become an emerging symbol of resistance in ongoing protests that erupted in Los Angeles over the weekend against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Photos and videos of Mexican flag-carrying protesters demonstrating amid fires and law enforcement in tactical gear have circulated online and in traditional media, drawing the ire of key members of President Trump's administration.
One prominent image shows a masked Mexican flag bearer on a dirt bike riding circles around a burning car.
'Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America's political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,' Vice President Vance wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday.
Stephen Miller, a top Trump aide and immigration hardliner, posted multiple images on social media Sunday of protesters waving Mexican flags and also described the L.A. disruption as an 'insurrection.'
'What is the correct term to describe foreign nationals, waving foreign flags, rioting and obstructing federal law enforcement attempting to expel illegal foreign invaders?' Miller wrote in one X post.
'Look at all the foreign flags. Los Angeles is occupied territory,' he added in another.
Thousands of people took to the streets of L.A., a Democratic stronghold with a large immigrant population, to protest federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace raids that started with about 40 arrests in the city Friday as part of Trump administration's mass deportation efforts.
Trump deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen over the weekend to quell California's growing protests. The troops are scheduled to remain in L.A. for 60 days or until Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls them off, the White House said, and hundreds of Marines could be deployed as backup in the coming days.
The president wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he had directed officials in his administration to 'take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.'
'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' he added.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) blamed Trump's troop deployment for the 'chaotic escalation' of tensions between law enforcement officers and protesters that erupted Sunday, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said his state will sue the federal government for deploying soldiers over his objections.
Past immigration protests have urged demonstrators to carry American flags to symbolize their support for American values.
But the images of Mexican flags, flags from other Latin American countries and modified Mexican flags that also feature the American flag have taken center stage in the L.A. protests and have become a frequent point of rebuke among Trump's allies.
Arizona Republic columnist Phil Boas warned in an article earlier this year that Mexican flag-waving protesters could be doing a disservice to their cause.
'I understand the energy and enthusiasm of youth, but cooler heads in the Latino community in Phoenix and Los Angeles might want to stage an intervention with their young protesters,' Boas wrote when anti-ICE protests erupted shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January. 'It may feel good to wave a Mexican flag in MAGA's face, but you are not appreciating what a turn-off that is to many Americans who are not MAGA.'
Others have countered that the sight of other countries flags at immigration protests is a common unifying act, though.
'Waving a foreign flag at protests is good trouble — a sign for the brave to rally together and stand tall against a commander in chief who understands nothing but chaos,' Gustavo Arellano, a columnist for The Los Angeles Times, wrote in February.
Mexican leaders acknowledged in a news conference on Monday that 42 Mexicans — 37 men and five women — had been detained in the L.A. ICE raids on Friday. Four were deported, they said.
'We will continue our visits to monitor the Mexicans in detention centers in Los Angeles,' Mexico Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned violence at the protests but didn't call on demonstrators to stand down.
'We call on the Mexican community to act peacefully and not fall for provocations,' she said.