Immigration protests continue in the heart of downtown Los Angeles

For the second consecutive week, demonstrators gathered in downtown Los Angeles to protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, along with actors, activists and influencers, gathered at the historic Placita Olvera to rally. As with past protests, the organizers used various social media platforms to publicize the peaceful demonstration.

While this march wasn't as large as last Sunday's protest, hundreds of demonstrators turned out. As the crowd grew, the speakers included activist Flor Martinez, who addressed the need to update the 1986 immigration registry.

“The last time we had an immigration reform was over 38 years ago. That's over 38 years of being undocumented for many of our community members,” Martinez said. She also shared that the Placita Olvera was one of the first places where mass deportations took place in the 1930s. “People were hanging out just like this, and they brought up a bunch of fences and filled them up and deported people and that's when the Mexican repatriation started, which then deported almost two million people; over 1.5 million were U.S. citizens. It looks like history wants to repeat itself.”

Martinez shared her personal story. “I have my mom on the other side of the border. I know what it's like to be part of a separated family by a man-made border, and I refuse to let that happen to any more children in this country,” Martinez said at the protest.

Mario Ponce, a social media influencer and actor, also spoke at the protest. He said that the protests that people are attending and organizing are crucial for the community, as there is power in numbers. “You know, in the city of L.A., everybody knows that they fear us when we come out,” Ponce said. “We're playing nice and they're not just doing protest here in L.A.; they're doing it all over the country. People support it. They support immigrants, you know.”

The actor also shared with the protesters how his father came to the U.S. to provide him with a better future and how he made the most of that opportunity to create something positive. “I'm not sure if you guys know, but I come out in videos, movies, all kinds of stuff, and every time I go to set, nine times out of 10, I'm the only Hispanic there. So we need more people to come out and represent because our faces show our stories,” Ponce said.

By noon, the demonstrators had made their way to Los Angeles City Hall, where street vendors were selling hot dogs, flags, fruit and even ice cream. Some vendors joined the march, walking alongside the protesters while continuing to sell their goods along the way. Many individuals were carrying Mexican, Honduran and other flags, while others carried signs saying “Keep families together,” “Soy la voz de los que no pueden gritar” and “ICE out of our communities.”

Now that Los Angeles has become part of a nationwide movement of protests against immigration reforms, the Los Angeles Police Department has started slowly increasing enforcement around the rallies.

LAPD officers had already positioned themselves on the streets as the protest began, blocking the freeways until the march ended. During the first week, demonstrators took over the freeways, and on Friday, a 17-year-old student was stabbed. With the protests continuing, it’s likely that LAPD presence will increase in the upcoming weeks.