Thousands rally in downtown Los Angeles, shut down 101 Freeway to protest Trump’s immigration policies
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Thousands of demonstrators rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday and shut down a section of the 101 Freeway to protest President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and his aggressive deportation policies.
Draped in Mexican and Salvadoran flags, demonstrators gathered near City Hall shortly before noon, blocking traffic at Spring and Temple streets, amid honking horns and solidarity messages from passing motorists. Protesters blasted a mix of traditional and contemporary Mexican music from a loudspeaker, and some danced in the road in traditional feathered headdresses.
The protests continued into the evening. After a citywide tactical alert was issued around 7 p.m., L.A. police officers were deployed downtown in riot gear, equipped with helmets, batons and less-than-lethal weapons, according to Tony Im, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Near Union Station, officers formed lines to stop the protesters and push them back, he said. As of 10 p.m., there were no reports of arrests or injuries. Police remained at the scene, Im said, as there were “still areas where we are addressing the situation.”
Videos posted on social media after 10 p.m. showed police calling for protesters to disperse.
Trump has declared a crisis at the southern border and released a flurry of executive orders aimed at revamping the country’s immigration system and promising to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally. Protesters told The Times that it was those actions that prompted them to rally downtown.
By 1 p.m., the number of protesters ballooned to several thousand, with some carrying signs that said, “MAGA — Mexicans always get across”; “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” referring to the state’s agricultural workers; and “I drink my horchata warm because f— I.C.E.,” a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
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Nailah Esparza, 18, said that it was her first protest and that she learned about it about a week ago from TikTok videos. She held a sign in Spanish that read, “No more I.C.E. raids, no more fear, we want justice and a better world.”
“It was actually something that was very important, so we decided to show support, because of the youth,” said Esparza, who is Mexican American. “We’re very passionate about what we’re here for.”
Another protester, who identified himself only as Rey out of privacy concerns, brought a sign that read, “Trump eat caca! Beware the Nazis.” He said he protested Trump’s immigration policies during his first term as president.
“We thought we were done with his administration,” said Rey, who is Mexican American. “And now we have to do this again.”
The demonstration was largely peaceful, with some enterprising street vendors taking advantage of the moment to sell bacon-wrapped hot dogs, ice cream, churros, beer and even shots of Patron tequila.
But things appeared to ratchet up when the driver of a silver Mustang began doing doughnuts in a usually busy intersection near City Hall. Soon after, a few police cars arrived as dozens of protesters walked onto the nearby 101 Freeway, while hundreds more crowded overpasses, waving flags and holding signs.
But police — whose presence early in the demonstration was minimal — did not converge on the demonstrators, even as throngs made their way onto the freeway. A section of the freeway near the 110 interchange was shut down around noon and remained closed shortly after 4 p.m., officials said.
Protesters rally at Alameda and the 101 Freeway to protest against President Trump’s deportation policies on Sunday in downtown Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Im said on Sunday afternoon that the department was “staffed adequately” to handle the protests but declined to elaborate on staffing details.
A short time after the freeway takeover began, the acrid smell of burning tires hung in the air as trucks and motorcycles did noisy burnouts on an overpass, drawing cheers and cameras amid the noisy din of car horns, police sirens and helicopters overhead.
By 8 p.m., protesters were cleared and the 101 Freeway was reopened, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Promising the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, Trump, in his first days in office, declared a national emergency at the southern border, deploying troops there.
His executive orders sharply limit legal pathways for entering the United States, bolster enforcement efforts to seal off the U.S.-Mexico border, and promote aggressive sweeps to round up and deport people who are not authorized to be in the United States. Some of the orders have been challenged in court, and advocates said others could be soon.
There are an estimated 11 million to 15 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., including more than 2 million in California.
They include people who crossed the border illegally, people who overstayed their visas and people who have requested asylum. It does not include people who entered the country under various temporary humanitarian programs, or who have obtained temporary protected status, which gives people the right to live and work in the U.S. temporarily because of disasters or strife in their home countries.
Times staff reporters Jessica Garrison and Rebecca Plevin contributed to this report.
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