Among the counter-demonstrations held on President Donald Trump’s inauguration day, Centro Community Service Organization (Centro CSO) organized a protest rally at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.
Carlos Montes, a longtime activist and Centro CSO organizer, said the protest was against Trump’s plans for “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
“We felt it was important to show our community that we’re going to stand up and fight for our rights, especially for people who don’t have legal status,” said Montes. “We wanted to make the statement that [under] President Trump we’re going to continue fighting for our rights.”
The anti-Trump demonstration also included calls for women’s rights, reproductive freedom and U.S. support of Palestine. Speakers included Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado and Dr. Rocio Rivas, a board member of the LA Unified School District.
Representatives of Union del Barrio, a local branch of the Teamsters Union, the Harriet Tubman Center, Black Lives Matter LA and other local community groups also participated.
“We had a pretty diverse group,” said Montes, noting that most of the protestors were young people, including local high school students and young adults. One young man held up a sign that read, “My father is an immigrant.”
“It felt good to see so many young people rallying and being motivated by the speeches,” said Montes.
Taking Action for Immigrants
The rally was an opportunity to show the immigrant community that “they’re not alone,” he said.
“I’ve had a lot of calls since Trump won from people who are concerned about what will happen,” said Montes. “Some have businesses, they have children and they’re worried. They keep asking, ‘What should I do?’”
To answer their questions, Centro CSO is conducting “Know Your Rights” workshops. The first lesson: If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “comes to your door, don’t open it – and don’t let them in.”
“We tell them to ask to see a warrant, and to verify that the warrant is signed, and that it’s for a [specific person] and for the address of that house,” Montes explained. “Sometimes they have what they call affidavits or just a memo or something, and that’s not valid … for an arrest.
“And don’t agree to anything,” he continued, “and don’t sign anything.”
The Centro CSO, Montes said, is also establishing a new group called the People’s Defense Coalition, to respond in the event of verified immigration raids. Coalition members will go to the site of the raid and create a picket line with signs, bullhorns and chanting, to protest “in every way that’s legal,” said Montes.
“We’ll go out there to voice our opposition – we have a right to picket on the sidewalk,” he said.
Given the recent increase in false and unconfirmed ICE sightings, he said they will need to verify that an immigration raid is actually in process, at a worksite for example, before taking action.
“There are so many government vehicles … and people get them confused, but we’re going to show people how to differentiate between the different vehicles and uniforms in [upcoming] classes,” explained Montes, noting that another factor contributing to the confusion is simply that people are fearful and on edge, especially given the promises of the incoming administration.
Montes said the Latino community has been targeted in previous years, recalling 2006 and 2008 during President George W. Bush’s administration, when numerous raids were held at factories and other worksites that employed undocumented immigrants. Now, given Trump’s goal of launching mass deportations across the board – including in sanctuary states, such as California, and in cities like Los Angeles – he said it’s difficult to imagine how that will look and play out over the next four years.
“Let’s see what he can really do,” Montes said about Trump’s vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. “Even some Republicans admit that logistically and financially it’s not a feasible project. … It’s going to disrupt the economy and [hurt] a lot of families.”
But for the moment, Montes is feeling slightly hopeful after the successful rally last Monday.
“We got a lot of signups by people who want to join us,” he added. “I feel like we’re off to a good start in motivating folks.”
Let us dispense with the sanctimony. Those who knowingly violate immigration law are not victims of oppression but participants in a flagrant disregard for national sovereignty. To describe deportations as “targeting” is a perverse twisting of language….it is not “targeting” to enforce laws that exist precisely to maintain order and protect the integrity of a nation’s borders.
The notion that communities have a “right” to flout these laws and then demand protections is as absurd as it is insulting. Rights are earned and safeguarded by those who respect the laws of the land….not by those who trespass upon them and then demand immunity under the guise of victimhood.
Mr. Montes and his allies are indulging in a willful subversion of legality…. encouraging defiance against lawful authorities and teaching people to obstruct justice. This is not activism…..it is an anarchic farce cloaked in the rhetoric of compassion. The sheer audacity of entitlement displayed is nauseating…..as is the pretense that such actions are noble when in truth…they undermine the very principles that hold a society together.
The “Know Your Rights” workshops are a stark reminder that this is not a plea for justice… but a calculated strategy to thwart lawful enforcement. If we are to have a society governed by laws and not chaos….such flagrant disregard for those laws cannot be tolerated. The broader public recognizes thisas evidenced by their growing impatience with those who, while living outside the bounds of legality, demand to be shielded from the consequences of their actions.
A country unwilling to defend its borders ceases to be a country at all. Let the activists wail and chant….but they should not expect the rule of law to bow to their theatrics.