Pro-immigrant activists begin banner drop in major SoCal freeways and streets

On Tuesday, drivers from San Bernardino to downtown Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, to Fresno noticed large banners advocating for immigrant rights on major freeway overpasses and street crossings.

The banners had messages like “Immigrants are welcome here!” and “No a las deportaciones.” The participating organizations are advocating to keep families together after incoming President Donald Trump announced his plan for mass deportations. He promised to start taking action on the first day of his presidency to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and their families.

The action was part of the 40 Days of Action movement organized by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and other organizations. 

A group gathered for a banner drop at the 215 freeway overpass on Foothill Avenue in San Bernardino. An activist identified as Mireya said they were advocating for immigrant legalization and not deportations.

“We work, we are your neighbors, we are churchgoers, we take our kids to schools, so we are here, and we do not need [deportation] threats,” she said. 

Samantha Barrientos was part of a group that gathered on the 101 freeway overpass by Benton Way near downtown L.A. She said this action day is crucial for her because she comes from a mixed-status family. As a U.S. Citizen, she was able to vote for the first time this year, but her civic duty didn’t end at the polls. She said she wants to show the community they are united and will participate in any movement supporting immigrant rights. 

“We're going to educate our community [to be prepared and [to]be ready to delay or stop any kind of attack from the Trump administration,” she said. 

Barrientos considers Trump’s plan very costly and believes that the money should be used to create initiatives and community building to advance education, jobs and the environment. 

“But we can see that this administration is hostile towards immigrants and is ready to bring about more harm than good,” she said.

Educating the community

Maru Galvan, an activist from San Fernando Valley, gathered first in Canoga Park and then at the intersection of Roscoe and Van Nuys in Panorama City. She said her group was at the intersection displaying the banners and passing flyers in order to inform the community. She said the objective is to educate the community so they know what to do in case they are affected by these threats of deportation. 

Galvan said she is also part of a mixed-status family. She’s undocumented, her daughters are DACA recipients, and her grandchild is a U.S. Citizen. She said while Trump promises to deport entire families to keep them together, they are not divided families. They are mixed-status families that have been here for years.

“We want to send the message to the president that we will not allow the deportation or separation of families,” she said. “This is our home.”

Barrientos said they also passed flyers to inform the community about their rights. 

Other areas that displayed the banner drop included Bakersfield, Lancaster, Santa Clarita and Hesperia. ​​ 

Anti-immigrant support

On Sunday, the National ICE Officers Association (NIOA) announced their “strong support” to Trump for appointing former acting ICE director Tom Homan to serve as the border czar. 

“Former Director Homan is one of us and knows exactly what it takes to do the job and make our communities safe,” said NIOA. “The men and women of ICE ERO (Immigration and Customs Enforcement / Enforcement and Removal Operations) are fired up and ready to go get to work.”

The group also commended Trump for the nomination of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They said they trust Noem “will bring about the changes we desperately need to do our jobs and protect the American people.” 

Trump has promised to remove undocumented immigrants utilizing federal agencies and the National Guard. Meanwhile, the transition team is looking into expanding detention centers with more beds near major metropolitan areas. Immigration experts said non-citizens with a criminal record–about 1.3 million in the U.S.–are most at risk for immediate deportation. 

While Trump has promised mass deportations from day one, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated he made a similar promise in his first term and it never happened. This was because removing them “would entail restrictions on basic freedoms core to American life.”