Standing outside Los Angeles City Hall on International Women’s Day among a crowd of thousands, Frances Sandoval from Van Nuys held up a sign that read “Weak men fear strong women.”
Sandoval, alongside her daughter and friends, were protesting against President Donald Trump’s policies that are removing people’s hard-fought rights.
“Women, minorities, immigrants, we’re all human,” said Sandoval. “We all have rights.”
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and revoked the federal right to abortion, Sandoval said she was scared for her 14-year-old daughter Nevaeh Sandoval. She couldn’t believe that a right she gained in her lifetime could be taken away during her daughter’s.
“I’ve always tried to raise her to be strong … to know her worth, to know her rights and to not let anyone put her down,” she said. “I have to, we have to, fight for her – for the future.”
Although abortion is a protected right in California, since the 2022 Supreme Court decision more than a dozen states have banned abortion outright, forcing people to travel to other states to access abortion care or to carry pregnancies against their will.
“Everyone deserves the right to make decisions about their own body,” said Nevaeh, adding that it seems as though the nation is moving backward.
The Trump administration’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program rollbacks further threaten women and other marginalized groups’ equal access to opportunities. These actions are undoing decades of federal anti-discrimination policies that promote equity and remedy systemic discrimination.
“It’s important to come out and fight for our rights because if you don’t, no one else will,” said Nevaeh. “No matter how old you are, how young you are, I think it’s important to make your voice heard.”
These valley women continue to show up and make their voices heard, attending protests for Black Lives Matter, women’s and immigrants’ rights. Just last month, Navaeh participated in a walkout with around 100 students from her high school to protest U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) raids and Trump’s plans for mass deportations.
On his first day in office, Trump immediately signed 10 executive orders related to immigration, including revoking birthright citizenship, declaring a national emergency at the southern border and halting all refugee admissions. His administration continues to threaten mass deportations and target “sanctuary cities.”
“They’re going after innocent people who just want to make a living and are trying to support their families,” said Sandoval, proud of her daughter’s decision to stand up for immigrants.
Although the mass ICE actions anticipated to take place in LA at the end of February were limited to just a few detentions, Trump’s rhetoric and an uptick in ICE sightings throughout the county is cultivating fear and anxiety throughout immigrant communities.
“That has to feel awful to go to work or just outside your house, not knowing if you’re going to be taken and deported and your family’s going to be left behind. It’s not right. People are really scared for their safety, for their families,” said Sandoval.
LA has declared itself a sanctuary city, but when people do not feel protected as reports of ICE sightings increase, Sandoval believes it’s more in name than practice.
“I really think our government, mayor, everyone, has to really step up. … They need to stand their ground,” she said.
“When they want our vote, they’re out there promising us the world,” Sandoval continued. “Listen to the people who voted you in.”
Sandoval’s friend Marisa Martinez added that all elected officials need to do more to defend people’s rights against the Trump administration’s far-reaching policies.
“They’re not even speaking out. It is so frustrating. I just want to scream,” said Martinez.
“It’s very scary, what is happening right now in the United States,” she continued.
As a nurse case manager at a hospital, Martinez is very worried about cuts to Medicaid, which she said will most likely lead to staff layoffs and underserved patients.
Medicaid, also known as Medi-Cal in California, is the health insurance program that services low-income people. Almost 15 million people are enrolled in Medi-Cal, covering half of all children, 40% of all births and also long-term care services for seniors and disabled people, according to the California Health Care Foundation.
“If Medicaid gets severely cut, a lot of people are going to suffer,” said Martinez. “Things are not going to be covered. … Most of the patients at my work are on Medi-Cal … and patients are not going to go home with all the stuff that they need.”
Martinez hopes that people will continue to protest and put pressure on their elected officials to combat the onslaught of attacks from the new administration.
“We need to do anything we can to be heard,” said Martinez. “Write your congressperson, make yourself known at the marches [and] vote!”
As her sign said: “The power of the people is stronger than the people in power.”