LOS ANGELES – At least 200 protesters against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies were detained in a tunnel on Cesar Chavez Avenue, near Union Station, Monday evening, KCAL 9 reported.
Los Angeles Police Department officers were met with some demonstrators hurling rocks and bottles as they tried to disperse crowds in downtown Los Angeles Monday night, NBC 4 reported.
Demonstrators initially assembled Monday morning on the steps of City Hall, close to the Hollywood (101) Freeway.
Around 11 a.m., they began marching along First and Spring streets. The group eventually made its way to the area near Crypto.com Arena, where they gathered at an intersection, waving flags and chanting. The group then made its way back north, joined by hundreds more participants and other people in vehicles who joined in the procession through downtown.
The protest appeared to be peaceful, with police allowing the group to move through city streets.
Katherine Sanchez, 18, a senior at Burbank High School, attended the protest outside Los Angeles City Hall with her parents and sister. She held a sign that read, “Ur racism won’t end our strength.”
“It’s very heartwarming,” Sanchez, who heard about the demonstration on TikTok, told the Los Angeles Times.
A motorist performed a series of spinouts as the crowd cheered near an intersection along Alameda Street as police worked to keep the protesters north of the Hollywood Freeway.
By early afternoon, about 1,000 protesters had swarmed the Spring and Main Street overpasses of the Hollywood Freeway, with police on standby to prevent them from trying to walk onto the highway — as many did on Sunday, The Times reported.
LAPD formed skirmish lines and are working to move protesters away from the overpasses of the Hollywood Freeway during rush hour as the crowd appeared to be moving north into the Chinatown area..
Monday’s protests were part of a coordinated series of actions nationwide dubbed “A Day Without Immigrants.”
In downtown Santa Ana, hundreds of protesters gathered at Sasscer Park and across the street at the Ronald Reagan federal courthouse. About 150 residents gathered at Fifth and Ross streets to protest Trump’s immigration policies and his administration’s vow to deport thousands of people living in the United States illegally.
The protesters held up signs saying, “Mexicans Aren’t Going Anywhere,” and “Don’t Bite the Hands that Feed You,” with motorists honking in support, The Times reported.
They were led in a chant, “It is right to rebel, Donald Trump go to hell.”
On Fourth Street, Orange County’s historic Latino corridor, Fernanda Hernandez joined several of her friends who were protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Holding a sign that read, “My Parents Work Harder than Your President,” she told The Times, “Trump wants us to be afraid but we can’t be.”
Hernandez, 19, whose parents lack permanent legal status, added, “We need to stand up for our gente. He wants us gone, whether we’re illegal or not.”
Organizers Tonali Un and Carla Valencia said they were social justice activists who hope to make the demonstrations a regular thing. They chose the location for the protest because it was near the federal buildings for courts and immigration services.
“I think people are finally opening their eyes,” Un said.
“A lot of people I talk to now regret” voting for Trump, she said. “People are finally realizing they have to do their research.”
Un said many of the Latino Trump supporters she has spoken to did not believe he would crack down on immigration or follow through of many of his policies.
There were also reports late Monday morning of another protest in North Hollywood.
The protests against Trump’s immigration policies began Sunday. Protesters gathered on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles in what police called a non-permitted demonstration. The crowd swelled to a few thousand as the group marched to City Hall, with many eventually making their way onto the Hollywood Freeway near the Alameda Street exit.
Thousands of protesters blocked traffic on the freeway and clashed with law enforcement before dispersing in the evening. Footage from the scene showed boisterous protesters walking on both sides of the freeway shortly after noon, many waving U.S. and Mexico flags and holding signs criticizing ICE.
The LAPD, which had earlier called the demonstration peaceful, reported that Spring Street, Main Street, Los Angeles Street, Arcadia Street and the Santa Monica (10) Freeway were experiencing major gridlock by Sunday afternoon.
Downtown Los Angeles was already experiencing traffic delays in the area around Crypto.com Arena, where a number of streets were closed for Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
Police briefly opened the freeway in both directions around midday, when the demonstration had moved back onto surface streets. However, protesters managed to get back on the freeway, leading to another shutdown.
The California Highway Patrol stated, “Accessing state highways or roads to protest is unlawful and extremely dangerous because it puts protesters, motorists, and first-responders at great risk of injury.”
The freeway was fully opened on Sunday night.
Video posted later showed a few demonstrators spraying graffiti on the freeway walls and appearing to vandalize at least one car that was stopped in the middle of the crowd.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has acted on his campaign promise to increase deportations, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting raids in major cities. Immigration was a major focal point of his campaign, with Trump vowing to conduct mass deportations, expelling people in the country illegally — particularly those charged or convicted of crimes.
