Santa Ana rallies against racial profiling and deaths at the hands of ICE
Santa Ana, CA – On Friday, September 19, about 30 community members protested at the intersection of Bristol and 1st Street to condemn the September 8 Supreme Court ruling that greenlights racial profiling by immigration agents.
The protest also featured a memorial for three men who have been killed directly or indirectly by ICE: Jaime Alanis Garcia, Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez and Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. The protest was organized in response to a call to action by the Legalization for All Network. Protestors loudly chanted, “No more profiling! No more deportations!”
Kevin Trujillo with Community Service Orange County (CSO OC) kicked off the protest, stating, “All this racial profiling is gonna do is lead to more brown people getting killed and injured. That's why we as a community are letting people know that we won't stand for this.”
Rain Mendoza with CSO OC talked about how the ruling will impact those who speak Spanish, speak with an accent, or have working-class jobs, stating, “this is the continuation of the ramped up racist oppression Chicanos, Latinos and immigrant communities have been facing since Trump took office.”
Protesters then said out loud the names of the three victims, demanded justice for them, and held a moment of silence. The memorial that was set up included photos of all three men, quotes from their families, candles and bouquets of flowers.
Mendoza then gave details on the deaths of each victim, stating, “Jaime died after succumbing to the injuries he sustained after falling 30 feet from a building while trying to flee ICE. ICE raided Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California where Jaime worked on July 10.”
Roberto Carlos was fatally struck on the 210 Freeway on Thursday, August 14 after fleeing an ICE raid at a Home Depot in Monrovia.
Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was driving on the morning of Friday, September 12 to work after dropping his kids off at day care. Silverio's car was then stopped by ICE agents who tried to detain and arrest him. Silverio drove forward, fearing the arrest and was then fatally shot.
All three men were simply working hard to provide for their children and families when their lives were stolen.
An activist with Lucha Santa Ana spoke about how they set up a hub at their local Home Depot to support the community where about 27 people have been taken by ICE.
Izzy Mirez, a local Anaheim activist, then spoke about the need to act, “We're not just here to talk about stuff. We have to be moved to action. We have to move to break what is truly wrong with the machine.”
As cars drove by, protesters then chanted and held up signs reading, “No racist racial profiling!” and “No more deaths at the hands of ICE!” They chanted “ICE out of OC!” as cars honked in support.
Trujillo then closed out the protest, urging people to get involved and reminding the attendees that CSO OC, the organizer of the protest, will not stop fighting. He encouraged people to get involved in CSO OC’s campaign to stop ICE arrests at the Santa Ana immigration court.