Waving Mexican flags and chanting slogans of support for immigrants, hundreds of people crowded onto National City and Vista streets Friday in protest of President Donald Trump’s plans to carry out mass deportations.
Several hundred protesters, many holding up signs and cheering, crowded along all four corners of one of Vista’s busiest intersections during the evening rush hour. “It’s not even politics — it’s human decency,” read one handmade sign. Many drivers at Vista Village Drive and South Santa Fe Avenue laid on their horns in support of the crowd.
Carlsbad resident Ana Ramon said she came to the protest to “be a voice for those who can’t — who feel alone and scared.”
“People are afraid to leave their house, or are afraid to come home and find their parents aren’t there anymore,” Ramon, 43, said.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration, including mass deportations. On his first day in office, he put into motion many of those plans with several executive orders aimed at border security and restrictions on asylum. And within the first week, teams of federal agents were in cities nationwide, including throughout San Diego County, carrying out targeted immigration enforcement operations.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the early wave of enforcement was focused on criminal individuals who “put the American public in harm’s way.” The actions have nonetheless caused fear in many immigrant communities of collateral arrests, such as undocumented family members who may be in the same home when contacted by federal agents.
Organizers of Friday’s rallies warned undocumented immigrants who might want to come out to support the cause that it might not be safe and advised them to stay home.
At one point, some of the crowd on one Vista street corner chanted, “No fear. No hate. No ICE in our state.”
“I’m here to share my voice because some people can’t,” Jennifer Curiel, 27, said.
Jessica Guzman, 34, of Oceanside, attended the rally with her sister. Guzman said she is seeing “uncertainty, fear, chaos” in the community.
A few hours earlier in National City, 300 to 400 people gathered along Highland Avenue near Plaza Boulevard, waving Mexican flags and homemade protest signs. The messages included “Family belongs together” and “Immigrants make America great.”
A group of young people climbed on top of a bus stop shelter, one carrying a sign saying, “School is for education, not deportation.”
The jubilant crowd at times blocked traffic entering or exiting the nearby Walmart parking lot, although many drivers did not seem to mind and honked in support.
Freelance photographer Carlos Moreno contributed to this report
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