Filipino American activists join anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles

Filipino American activists join anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. Photo from Tanggol Migrante

LOS ANGELES – Filipino American activists and migrant rights advocates have joined thousands of protesters who amassed in downtown Los Angeles in opposition to federal immigration raids in the area.

On the fourth day of protest actions Monday, hundreds of US Marines were deployed to the city to assist National Guard troops protecting federal facilities.

The migrant advocacy group Tanggol Migrante said they “stand with migrants of all nationalities in condemning the horrific immigration raids that occurred across Los Angeles and other parts of the country this past week.”

Photo from Tanggol Migrante

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to build people power in order to defend our fellow kababayan and all those under attack,” the group said. “People power is the people’s defense.”

Protesters began gathering downtown late Monday morning, initially with a small group in an intersection near the federal Metropolitan Detention Center at Temple and Alameda streets. The crowd grew steadily through the morning, while others gathered in front of the federal building on Los Angeles Street south of Aliso Street.

Photo from Tanggol Migrante

The federal building houses the offices of US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE).

Around midday Monday, hundreds of union members attended a large rally in support of arrested union leader David Huerta, president of SEIU California, who was detained Friday and appeared in federal court Monday afternoon, facing an obstruction charge. Huerta was released from custody on bail after that appearance.

Photo from Tanggol Migrante

Tanggol Migrante denounced Huerta’s detention, saying that SEIU “stood staunchly with Filipino workers” including mobilizing support for one of their members – Lewelyn Dixon, the Filipino green card holder who was detained by ICE for three months.

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“Huerta’s arrest clearly shows that this crackdown is not aimed at criminals, but towards anyone who defends migrant workers,” the group said.

They also condemned the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to quell the protests, describing it as a “despicable act.”

INQUIRER.NET USA photo by Robert Gamo

Tanggol Migrante said these developments directly affect the Filipino community as Los Angeles is home to over 3.5 million immigrants who make up 35 percent of the county’s population.

“Between 2012 to 2021, the Philippines has ranked 3rd in the top 5 countries of origin for migrants. The Filipino migrants in Southern California and across the US are facing the dangers of these attacks under the Trump administration because of the need to provide for their families and the lack of livable wage and sufficient livelihood opportunities in the Philippines due to its chronic under-development,” the group said.

After rallying at Gloria Molina Grand Park, the union protesters marched several blocks away, with many joining the group outside  the federal building and others marching to Olvera Street.

At the federal building, the protesters were kept at bay by a line of National Guard troops positioned to ensure protesters remained outside the building.

Law enforcement officers maintained a major presence in the Civic Center area, in some cases preventing protesters from marching along certain streets and setting up skirmish lines to block access to freeway on-ramps.

The LAPD again declared a tactical alert, allowing it to keep officers on duty beyond their normal shifts if needed to respond to growing protests.

Early Monday evening, police declared the gathering outside the federal building an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse. Officers in a skirmish line then pushed the crowd south on Los Angeles Street, effectively clearing the street between Aliso and Temple streets.

As the skirmish line pushed the crowd, some protesters hurled rocks and water bottles toward officers, and police fired what appeared to be flash-bang devices to keep the group moving.

The overall size of the protest seemed to have diminished, but a significant number of people remained in the area near Los Angeles and Temple streets.

A short time later, officers again began moving the group south on Los Angeles Street, farther from the complex of federal buildings. Once the group moved south of LAPD headquarters at First Street, many people took off running south and scattering onto side streets.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at an early evening news conference that “not a lot of people” had been arrested, but he said additional arrests are likely as police identify people committing crimes under the guise of protest.

US Northern Command confirmed Monday that about 700 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Twentynine Palms east of Los Angeles will be deployed in the area to “seamlessly integrate” with federalized National Guard troops that arrived Sunday to help protect federal facilities and personnel.

The Marine deployment will ensure there are “adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,” according to US Northern Command.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, announced that hundreds of state and regional law enforcement officers were being shifted into the area to support the Los Angeles Police Department and county Sheriff’s Department to quell potential unruly protests.

According to Newsom’s office, nearly 400 California Highway Patrol officers will be deployed in Los Angeles in support of the LAPD. The CHP also issued a tactical alert, moving more than 250 other officers additional officers into the area to assist with road and highway safety.

Another 240 officers will also be moving into the area from sheriff’s departments in San Bernardino, Orange, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and from police departments within Los Angeles County.

Protests have raged in the Los Angeles area the past three nights, sparked by a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the area on Friday. Tensions appeared to heighten significantly over the weekend when President Donald Trump federalized as many as 2,000 California National Guard troops to deploy them to Los Angeles to protect federal facilities.

INQUIRER.NET USA photo by Joe Cobilla

INQUIRER.NET USA photo by Joe Cobilla

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Los Angeles) issued a statement calling the Marine deployment “an astounding overreach of authoritarian power.”

Newsom also condemned the move, saying Marines “shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president. This is un-American.”

According to the LAPD, 29 people were arrested during Saturday night’s protests for failure to disperse. On Sunday, the LAPD made 21 arrests for offenses including attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, looting and failure to disperse.

Police noted that officers were authorized to fire gas canisters to disperse protesters who were launching projectiles at officers near Spring and Temple streets. Officers also fired more than 600 rounds of less-than-lethal projectiles.

LAPD officials also said officers encountered groups of protesters who were using handheld radios to coordinate movements and “evade law enforcement.”

National Guard troops arrived in downtown Los Angeles at 4 a.m. Sunday after Trump ordered their deployment to protect federal facilities, over the strenuous objection of local Democrats, led by Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom, who said the deployment would escalate tensions.

By early Sunday afternoon, National Guard troops were facing off with angry protesters as they tried to protect the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and the neighboring Metropolitan Detention Center. (With CNS report)