Hundreds gathered in Downtown Santa Ana on Monday to protest the presence of ICE, following an increase in arrests and sightings in the city.
Community members began documenting and sharing photos and videos of border patrol cars at a Chevron station on Bristol and Civic Center as early as Saturday. Other videos and pictures showed Homeland Security and other agencies parking near shopping centers like Main Place Mall.
By Monday morning, tensions escalated, with social media flooded by videos from different locations across Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, and other neighboring cities that showed federal immigration officials detaining people at a Home Depot on MacArthur and Harbor Boulevard, and even detaining someone who seemed to be waiting for their bus to arrive.
Demonstrators began to gather at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building early in the day. Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento joined them and addressed the community's concerns.
“I’m just here to stand with you shoulder-to-shoulder and to tell you that I am with you when you exercise your First Amendment rights, because this is outrageous,” Sarmiento said. “I want you to know that you're going to have me to stand with you to protect your rights. I just ask you, don’t take the bait, they are trying to provoke us into making sure they paint us as the villains; we know we are here for our parents, hard-working people, and people just trying to get by.”
By 6:30 p.m., the crowd had grown significantly, with cars filling the streets and people waving Mexican, American, and El Salvador flags and signs that read “Immigrants Make America Great” and “No Human Is Illegal.”
As the crowd grew, the Santa Ana Police Department and other agencies assisting them during the demonstration began to form a skirmish line across Civic Center Plaza and Santa Ana Boulevard as demonstrators chanted “ICE OUT OF O.C.”
As the evening rolled in, demonstrators were seen handing out water bottles, snacks, and even masks to protect people from the tear gas that filled the air.
Several times throughout the demonstration, SAPD made their move towards protestors by taking a few steps forward before deploying less-lethal ammunition, which included tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber bullets.
L.A. TACO witnessed several protestors being hit or caught in the crossfire of tear gas. The popping sounds of the pepper balls and rubber bullets hitting trees, cars, and people rang down the street every 5 to 10 minutes.
“I got sprayed with the tear gas because it landed right in front of me, and I also got hit on my back,” said one demonstrator, her eyes visibly irritated and watering.
It’s important to note that less-lethal ammunition is known for breaking the skin, and if aimed at vulnerable parts of the body like the head, it could cause a concussion, severe damage, or even death.
Around 7:54 P.M., those protesting began to move orange construction street dividers and fences that were nearby and seemed to be forming a border of protection from the ammunition being deployed at them.
By 8:30 P.M., SAPD had declared the protest an unlawful assembly and continued to remove demonstrators from the area. Some community members who were seen at the front of the line facing off with law enforcement were either holding their hands up or linking their arms together and chanting.
While the protest began peacefully, many said it escalated when officers started to move in on demonstrators, causing some of them to throw fireworks, water bottles, and other items at officers. Meanwhile, others who filled Sasscer Park chanted from a distance.
“They made it into a riot, shooting us with that tear gas and rubber bullets. We had a good protest going,” a masked demonstrator told L.A. TACO before needing to flee as SAPD continued to move in.
Later that same night, the National Guard took over 4th Street, where they were said to be guarding the Federal Building.
It’s estimated that eleven of those demonstrating were arrested. It is unclear if protests will continue, but ICE sightings continued to grow as of Tuesday morning. The Mayor of Santa Ana did not give any public comment until later in the night, when she condemned the demonstration in downtown. Her statement did not sit well with Santa Ana residents, who have expressed concern with the mayor's lack of transparency with the community regarding ICE.
“What we are seeing in Santa Ana is right now is pure violence and destruction of our city and businesses. Please go home… At some point, this protest became nothing but pure chaos and violence,” she continued. “If you are arrested, you may face federal charges.”
More photos from the demonstration are below, the photos are by Janette Villafana for L.A. TACO.
