Thread: Activists Gather for March in MacArthur Park to Protect DACA, Defend ‘Dreamers’

POSTED 4:22 PM, SEPTEMBER 10, 2017, BY LOS ANGELES TIMES AND ELIZABETH ESPINOSA, UPDATED AT 07:16PM, SEPTEMBER 10, 2017

Hundreds of activists rallied in MacArthur Park on Sunday to protest efforts by the Trump administration to phase out protections from deportation for roughly 800,000 young immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents.

The loud but mostly peaceful group of demonstrators swarmed the park west of downtown L.A. about 3 p.m., chanting, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA,” and “No hate, No fear, immigrants are welcomed here.” Some held up posters that said, “Protect Dreamers, deport racists,” and others waved Mexican flags.

About a dozen pro-Trump demonstrators gathered on the corner across the street from the park at Alvarado and 6th streets. One man with a bullhorn yelled at demonstrators to turn themselves into a local police station for deportation.

“Do the right thing,” he said. “Get out of here.”

http://ktla.com/2017/09/10/activists...fend-dreamers/

“Do the right thing,” he said. “Get out of here.”

LOL!! I just love Trump Supporters.

I love that second one, Jean. What great Americans! Exposing the charade of Che Guevara at the same time they are opposing DACA.

"Do not confuse patriotism with racism." GREAT ONE!!

"God Bless Donald Trump." Love these people.

"Is that all you got?" (Referring to the small crowd of protesters.)

Hundreds gather in Oakland to protest Trump’s DACA decision

BY ASHLEY WONG | STAFF
LAST UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

Lucy Siale, a high school student from Walnut Creek, stood in the back of a pickup truck and faced the hundreds of people who had come to Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Saturday.

“We are showing up for the 800,000 people who have been targeted this past week,” Siale shouted into the microphone, her voice echoing from the speakers strapped to the roof of the truck with twine.

Cheering in response was the crowd of about 1,000 that had gathered in the Oakland plaza at 2 p.m. that day to protest President Donald Trump’s decision to repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which gives those who immigrated to the United States as minors a chance to defer deportation action and obtain a Social Security number and a work permit.

Under Trump’s new decision, DACA will be gone in six months. About 800,000 people in America are DACA recipients.

UC President Janet Napolitano announced Friday that she and the UC Board of Regents are suing the Trump administration over its decision to rescind DACA.

At the front of the crowd, a large area was cleared to make room for those with disabilities, with several sign language interpreters on hand to translate every speech.

Marlene Gutierrez, a DACA recipient whose parents brought her from Mexico to America at two years old, addressed the crowd in English and then Spanish, dressed in a traditional Mexican dress. She challenged those who told her that she had “nothing to offer,” stating that she was heavily involved in community education and that her parents came in search of a better life.

“I will not apologize for coming here illegally,” Gutierrez said. “There may not be a piece of paper to say we are American, but it is written across our hearts and minds.”

Representing the Jakara Movement, a grassroots organization to support Sikhs in California, Palvinder Kaur condemned the ‘model-minority’ stereotype of Asian immigrants, stating that it ignores those who are still struggling. She went on to state that there are more than 10,000 people of South Asian descent who are DACA recipients.

Many people brought handmade signs, with slogans such as “Protect the UnDACAmented Students” and a long, butterfly-decorated canvas reading “Rise With the Dreamers.” Several people of Brazilian descent brought Brazilian instruments to march with, including a green, hand-painted berimbau.

The protesters marched down Broadway Street, turning onto Clay Street and returning back in a one mile loop to Frank H. Ogawa, where trays of food — spaghetti, cornbread, fruit, sweet potatoes and rice — were laid out. A small band brought their guitars out for a few performances in the grass.

According to the Oakland Police Department, no one was arrested or injured at the protest.

On Tuesday, after Trump’s decision to overturn DACA, Siale began to send out emails and make phone calls to community activists. She said that without the support and resources of the community, the event would not have been possible — especially with regards to making it accessible to people with disabilities. Siale said she is planning another rally in Walnut Creek.

“We tend to start getting involved when it’s too late,” Siale said. “If we did these types of actions when Obama was still president, maybe we could have made some changes.”

Hundreds gather in Oakland to protest Trump's DACA decision