San José: 300 protesters take to the streets in solidarity with Los Angeles and Alejandro Orellana

San José, CA – On June 15, San José residents came out to protests to what they say are attacks to First Amendment rights and political repression in Los Angeles. In the last couple of weeks, National Guard troops have been mobilized to assist ICE operations in Los Angeles with response from residents taking to the streets to protest.

After ICE operations in San José, the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee (SVIC) rapidly mobilized protests against what they said were attacks on their community. The Committee held a series of protests shortly after the ICE operations had started and shut down ICE offices for two days.

Uriel Magdaleno, community organizer with SVIC, responded to why it was important for SVIC to mobilize rapidly, stating, “Whenever we see that our communities are being attacked, we want to mobilize a presence there to show that ICE isn’t going to brutalize our neighbors; we come out to where arrests were taking place and show that our community does not tolerate their presence.”

When asked why the protest was held at King and Story Road., Magdaleno responded, “ICE operations have taken place here, they’re actively profiling our Chicano, Mexican and Central American Community in San José in the same way East LA is being targeted.”

Lyla Salinas, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, read a statement of solidarity with the protests in Los Angeles. “Chicanos, Mexicanos, Central Americans and supporters across Los Angeles are rising up against the agents of Trump’s attacks on immigrants.”

The main theme of the protest was people’s resistance towards ongoing ICE operations. Victor Vasquez, with SOMOS Mayfair, outlined the importance of standing in solidarity even on Father’s Day, in order to stand up for immigrant fathers at risk.

The protest took to the streets and protesters marched up to Target, which they say is a local collaborator with ICE, as it allows agents to use its parking lot for operations.

Magdaleno ended the program with a call to action for Alejandro Orellana, for all charges to be dropped. They also demanded that Ulises Peña Lopez – who was abducted and brutally beaten by immigration officers on February 22 – be able to have his Congress Representative Ro Khanna visit him at Golden State Annex detention center in Bakersfield.

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