Up to 900 people reportedly showed up to protest against deportation on Olvera Street yesterday, amid unconfirmed rumors and reports of ICE raids around the city . The peaceful protest was organized by makeup artist and activist Emily Tovar, who spoke passionately multiple times at the rally and led the mass of protestors safely through Downtown Los Angeles. The large group marched to City Hall and back.
L.A. TACO contributing photographer David Lopez attended the last-minute protest. He confirmed through interviews there that many of the protestors were children of immigrants, as well as young people born in the city, appearing there on behalf of their parents, who are living in fear amid widespread allegations of ICE Raids on the city’s streets.
According to a report in L.A. Times, the initial claims of large-scale immigration enforcement operations being conducted in Los Angeles during a national emergency have been debunked. The Times report goes into detail and includes a statement from the Department of Homeland Security which says, “DHS is committed to ensuring that every individual who seeks shelter, aid, or other assistance as a result of a natural disaster or emergency event is able to do so regardless of their immigration status.”
Nonetheless, organized just one week before Trump’s inauguration, following his loud, anti-immigrant campaign promises, the protest was still a resounding show of force of L.A. residents standing against mass deportations.
Lopez shared the following photos with us.
