Thousands gather in anti-ICE protests across California
More than 60 largely peaceful protests took place this weekend against the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including several in Southern California.
But if many demonstrations took place without incident, they did not lack anger and moments of tension. Organizers called these rallies “ICE Out for Good Action Weekend in response to the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
In Huntington Beach, Ron Duplantis, 72, carried a diagram depicting the three shots fired at Good, including one through his windshield and two others that appeared to pass through his side window.
“These last two shots,” he said, “clearly show me that this is murder. »
Participants in the “ICE Out” protest hold signs Sunday in Huntington Beach.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
Huntington Beach has been the scene of clashes between Trump supporters and anti-racist activists, but by mid-afternoon, Sunday’s protest was tense at times, but without violence. About 300 people — and two dozen counterprotesters — stood outside City Hall, with demonstrators carrying anti-ICE signs, ringing bells and chanting “ICE out of OC.”
As cars sped past them on Main Street, many motorists honked their horns in solidarity, while some rolled down their windows to shout support for ICE, MAGA and President Trump.
“The reason I’m here is democracy,” said Mary Artesani, a 69-year-old Costa Mesa resident, carrying a sign reading “RESIST.” “They need to remember that he won’t stay in power forever.”
Participants at the “ICE Out” protest in Huntington Beach hold up signs as a car with a MAGA hat on the windshield drives by.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
The Trump administration has largely supported the ICE agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying he acted in self-defense. Democratic officials and many citizens said videos of the shooting circulating on social media appeared to contradict at least some of the administration’s claims.
“I’m outraged that a woman was murdered by our government and that our government lied to us about it,” said Tony Zarkades, 60, a protester who has lived in the Huntington Beach area for nearly 30 years. A former Marine officer, Zarkades said he was considering moving to Orange to escape the presence of so many Trump supporters in Huntington Beach.
Large protests against ICE took place in the Bay Area as well as in Sacramento and other California cities over the weekend. In Oakland, hundreds of people demonstrated peacefully on Sunday, although the night before, protesters gathered in front of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and left graffiti, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report.
In Los Angeles on Saturday evening, protesters marched through downtown to City Hall and past the Edward Roybal Federal Building. Los Angeles police issued a dispersal order around 6:30 p.m., according to City News Service.
While many protests focused on what happened to Good in Minnesota, they also recognized Keith Porter Jr., a man killed by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge on New Year’s Eve.
In Huntington Beach, the coastal community has long had a reputation as a Southern California Republican stronghold, although its politics have recently changed. Orange County has a painful legacy of political extremism, including neo-Nazism. In 2021, a “White Lives Matter” rally in the area resulted in 12 arrests.
On Sunday, a small group of about 30 counterprotesters waved Trump and MAGA flags on a corner across from the anti-ICE rally.
Counterprotester Victoria Cooper, 72, holds signs and shouts at participants of the “ICE Out” protest in Huntington Beach.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
“We are here to support our country and our president and support ICE,” said Kelly Johnson, who gave her age as “old enough to be your sugar daddy.”
Wearing an “ICE Immigration: Making America Safe Again” t-shirt, Kelly said the protesters were “paid agitators” who had been lied to by the media.
“Look at the other angles of the [shooting] videos,” he said. “She ran over the officer.”
Next to him was Jesse Huizar, 66, who said he identified as a “Latino for Trump” and was there to “support the blues.”
The Chino resident said he came to the United States from Mexico when he was 5 years old, but was not afraid of ICE because he “came here legally.”
Huizar said Good’s death was sad, but that “if she had obeyed, if she had gotten out of her car and followed orders, she would be alive right now.”
But their voices were largely drowned out by those of anti-ICE protesters. One of the event’s organizers, Denise G., a 52-year-old Huntington Beach resident who declined to give her last name, said they have been gathering in front of City Hall every Sunday since March, but this was by far one of the largest turnouts they have seen.
She felt “devastated, angry and more determined than ever” when she saw the video of Good’s shooting, she said.
Counter-protester Kelly Johnson stands in front of the ICE Out protest.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
“It could be any of us,” she said. “People who are not here today need to understand that it could be their family member, their spouse, their children. The time is now. It’s all hands on deck.”
Nearby, Yvonne Gonzales, 27, had gathered with around ten of her friends. They said they were motivated to come because they were outraged by the shooting.
“I wish I was surprised by it,” Gonzales said, “but we’ve seen so much violence from ICE.”
She suspected race was a factor in the outpouring of support, noting that Good was a white woman while many others injured or killed by immigration enforcement were people of color, but that it was still “great to see this turnout and this visibility.”
A few feet away, Christie Martinez, 41, stood with her children, Elliott, 9, and Kane, 6. She cried thinking about the shooting and recent ICE actions in California, including Porter’s killing.
“It’s sad and sickening,” said Martinez, who lives in Westminster. “It makes me really sad to see people being targeted because of their skin color.”
