Southern California protests this week drew thousands to the streets to lobby for immigrant rights, leading to fights, arrests, and injuries to police officers.
Now immigration rights activists and police are hoping for the best as they prepare for more rallies.
Representatives of immigration organizations and activists said they hope to see more peaceful protests and more people taking part. Meanwhile, police officials said that violence at one demonstration doesn’t affect how they’ll handle the next one.
The police presence and officers’ response is determined on a case-by-case basis, law enforcement officials said. Those interviewed said they support protesters’ First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly, but that demonstrations shouldn’t evolve into breaking the law or putting themselves or others in danger.
Some of the protests came Monday, Feb. 3, and were part of “A Day Without Immigrants.” The effort aimed to show the impact of President Donald Trump’s promised “mass deportations” and other policies that will limit citizenship opportunities and are expected to bring an increase in immigration enforcement.
Protests have been popping up across the region seemingly every day to push for immigrants’ rights. Many have been peaceful, but after six straight days of rallies in Los Angeles, one person — likely a student — was stabbed and one person was arrested during a high school protest Friday, Feb. 7.
In Orange County, members of the Alianza Translatinx, a transgender and immigrant-led group, marched in a Santa Ana protest the week before. The Santa Ana-based group wanted to voice concerns and, as founder Khloe Rios-Wyatt said, “stand against the harmful policies of the Trump administration.”
But there is concern.
“We are cautious about future protests, especially in light of the violence that has occurred at similar protests in L.A. and the Inland Empire,” Rios-Wyatt said. “As an organization led by immigrants, we understand the risks more personally and don’t want to put anyone in a position where they could be arrested or detained.”
Still, they plan to continue joining peaceful protests when it is safe to do so and won’t stop providing the community with “know your rights” information in case they encounter immigration officers.
“Our community, particularly trans immigrant individuals, has been deeply impacted by these policies, and we are seeing heightened fear and uncertainty among those we serve,” Rios-Wyatt said.
The group has been mindful of the risks involved for undocumented members or those on temporary visas when attending protests in light of the violence seen in neighboring counties, Rios-Wyatt said.
No arrests were made at a Monday protest that drew about 150 people, Santa Ana Police Department spokesperson Natalie Garcia said.
“The only protocols that we’re taking is making sure that public safety is No. 1, that our officers are safe,” Garcia said. “We encourage anyone to protest if they want but that they do so peacefully and without damaging any property or hurting individuals or police officers.”
Monday’s event in downtown Los Angeles was one that included violence.
Around 3,000 protesters gathered there, Assistant Police Chief Daniel Randolph told the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Many protesters entered the 101 Freeway, the California Highway Patrol responded and eventually, Randolph said, protesters started throwing items at officers. That led to officers declaring an “unlawful assembly” and a warning for them to leave within 15 minutes.
Five officers suffered minor injuries and there was one arrest on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after someone threw objects at officers. Three rounds of 37-mm and five rounds of 40-mm rubber bullets were used on the crowd, Randolph said.
“The Los Angeles Police Department fully recognizes and respects the rights of individuals to peacefully protest and express their views,” Randolph said at the meeting.
However, he said, if there is “unlawful behavior” such as the “vandalism, violence and threats to public safety” reported by officers during the protest, the department will take action to “restore order.”
As in Los Angeles, the Inland Empire saw violence and arrests during their protests. In Perris, six people were arrested by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies. In San Bernardino, at least five officers were injured and five protesters arrested after officers tried to stop marchers from entering the 215 Freeway, police said.
Just as police will continue to keep order, demonstrators say they will continue to take their viewpoints public during protests.
Wearing a Mexican flag hanging from her belt loop and holding a sign saying “we will return to the streets, stronger than ever, the fight continues,” Kristeena Aranda attended the Monday protest in L.A.
The Inland Empire resident participated to honor her family’s history with immigration. Her grandparents and father came to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1970s and it took her father about 20 years to become a citizen, she said.
“I’m just really proud of them for committing and achieving their goal, for coming here,” Aranda, 21, said. “I’m protesting for immigrant rights. For my grandparents, even though they have their papers and are here legally, it is still so scary for them. They worry that might not matter.”
She knows the march onto the freeway “upset” many.
“For me, I feel like that is the point of a protest, the inconvenience,” Aranda said. “This is the biggest inconvenience that the community is facing, this was a way of making our voices heard, instead of people just being able to drive past us and ignore us.”
While Aranda said police presence puts many people of color on guard, she’ll keep going.
“If anything, it’s something to keep me going, just to show that even with police presence, we’re ready to take that stand for immigrants.”
City News Service contributed to this report.