‘We are human': Los Angeles residents explain the drive behind days of mass protests

San Francisco Chronicle​

a day ago

LOS ANGELES — As protesters hit the streets here Tuesday for a fifth consecutive day to denounce arrests of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, President Trump intensified his rhetoric, calling Angelenos 'animals' and 'a foreign enemy' and vowing to 'liberate' the city.
The Chronicle spoke to protesters in Los Angeles to hear about what drove them to take action. One wore a flag bearing the statement: 'We are human.' Others spoke of their concern over racial profiling, treatment of immigrants and family members. Excerpts from those interviews are below.
Trump has ordered 2,000 California National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines into Los Angeles — moves Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday criticized as illegal and dangerous.
'This brazen abuse of power by a sitting President inflamed a combustible situation… putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk,' Newsom said in a speech Tuesday night.
The demonstrations in Los Angeles have spurred a dramatic protest movement across the U.S., with large crowds gathering in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Seattle and St. Louis. Newsom said more than 370 people have been arrested in Los Angeles on vandalism and violence since the protests began Friday, following ICE's arrests at a clothing factory.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew in a square-mile area of downtown Los Angeles after 23 businesses were looted. Meanwhile, ICE arrests continued in Los Angeles and other parts of the U.S.
Steven
Steven, 24, who declined to provide his surname, said he is upset that people are being detained by ICE when they attend immigration court appointments. The Los Angeles resident stood with hundreds of others at Gloria Molina Grand Park for a vigil against deportations, wrapped in a flag reading 'We are human.'
'I don't think it's right,' Steven said. 'They are taking away people who are just trying to have a better life. I'm not even talking about deporting criminals.'
Steven said he was also concerned that many people without criminal records are being targeted — pointing to cases of a high school girl and her mother who were arrested at immigration court.
Frida Aguilar
Frida Aguilar, 22, of Los Angeles, came out to protest downtown 'for my family,' she said, including many who are 'Dreamers' under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Aguilar stood wrapped in a Mexican flag at the corner of Los Angeles and Temple Streets, accompanied by her friend Yaire Linares, who was wrapped in a Guatemalan flag.
'It's getting insane out here,' Aguilar said. Aguilar said she was upset with how immigration officials seem to ignore due process in detaining and deporting people and with how they use racial profiling to stop people. She cited a case, reported by NBC News, in which ICE detained a U.S. marshal in Arizona because he 'fit the general description of a subject being sought by ICE.'
Aguilar criticized Trump's characterization of the violence in Los Angeles, saying that 'the violence is occurring because they are provoking… us.'
'We are trying to speak for people who don't have a voice,' Aguilar said.
Nico Chavez
Nico Chavez said he attended the demonstration in support of 'my people.'
'It's why my parents came here!' Chavez said.
Chavez was protesting with hundreds of others outside a federal building in Los Angeles when police started firing rubber bullets. Chavez was near a pedestrian bridge when he heard the bullets.
'That was scary!' Chavez said. 'I was just throwing up a peace sign; I wasn't doing anything.'
Bianca Stopani
Bianca Stopani, 36, of Los Angeles, said she decided to protest because she doesn't think ICE 'telling us we can't be here' is fair.
Stopani said she is the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants.
'My parents fought for a better life,' Stopani said. 'It's my turn to fight for them.'
Stopani said she has protested before, including against the Iraq War when she was 14. She said Trump is 'such a hypocrite.'
'He wants to talk about Latino people being criminals, but he's the one who has all these RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] charges,' Stopani said.
Aleah and Kimberly
Aleah, 19, of Pomona, was protesting — for a third day — for her parents, who came into the United States without authorization when they were children.
'I am protesting for my parents and for the right to not to be taken away,' Aleah said.
Aleah, a U.S. citizen, was protesting in Los Angeles, alongside her friends, including Kimberly, a 19-year-old from East Los Angeles.
Aleah said Trump's criticism of immigrants and protesters appalled her.
'I don't think a criminal should be talking against hard-working people who take all of the dirty labor jobs no one else wants,' Aleah said. 'He [Trump] should be looking for real criminals.'
Kimberly said she thinks Trump is targeting 'Hispanics and Latino people and a lot of people are letting him get away with it and it needs to stop.'
'Trump is getting away with a lot, and I think people are finally realizing it,' Kimberly said.
Chronicle Staff Writer Molly Burke contributing to this report.