Santa Ana fights back as ICE and National Guard move in

Santa Ana, CA – On Monday, June 9, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began raiding multiple locations across the city of Santa Ana and the surrounding Orange County. ICE was seen arresting day laborers at many Home Depot locations, people at fast food restaurants, bus stops, car washes and more.

Community organizations like the OC Rapid Response Network responded immediately, calling for a protest at the Santa Ana United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field office where those arrested were being taken to. Protesters shouted “Shame! Shame! Shame!” at ICE agents surrounding the building holding non-lethal weapons and playing an automated message on a megaphone telling protesters to stay off the property.

As a van tried to exit the facility, protesters stood in front of the van attempting to stop it while ICE agents aggressively removed them and shot pepper balls and mace. The crowd grew and the federal agents began preemptively shooting tear gas and mace at protesters whenever vans tried to enter or leave the facility.

Later in the day, Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) held an emergency rally on the corner of MacArthur and Harbor Boulevards near a Home Depot that was raided that day. Over 100 community members chanted “ICE out of OC!” and “Chinga la migra!” as many cars honked in support as they drove by.

Rain Mendoza of CSO OC kicked off the rally by describing what she saw when she showed up to Home Depot. “I’ve never seen a display of such cowardice! They need to get a real job! They’re out here kidnapping our people and we’re here to say that ICE needs to get the fuck out of here!” She called out Trump’s lie that they are going after criminals. “They’re going to working-class neighborhoods! They’re getting working-class poor people! Shame! This was never about criminality or legality because there’s criminals in the White House, right?”

Diana Terreros of CSO OC talked about the deployment of the National Guard to Santa Ana in response to the protest at the USCIS field office, stating, “They’re coming into our communities, and they’re tear gassing us when we stand up and we fight back. Shame! We’re standing up for our communities and they’re trying to come in here and militarize our streets and we’re not gonna stand for it!” She invited the crowd to join CSO OC’s immigration committee to continue protesting and standing against the raids.

John Nonato of Bayan SoCal spoke about the bravery of immigrants in this moment. “They are fighting and struggling despite the fact that they are up against these cowardly militarized pigs who have millions of dollars in funding and gear.” He reminded the crowd, “We have no reason to be scared. They are scared of us! And that’s why they’re retaliating in this way! When we look at history, the mass movement has always prevailed!”

Protesters then marched towards the Home Depot chanting “ICE out of Santa Ana!” and “Ni una mas deportación!” Once there, protesters called out Home Depot for kicking out CSO OC members for trying to hand out Know Your Rights information on site the day before the raids took place.

As this protest wrapped up, tensions grew in downtown Santa Ana as protesters faced off with the National Guard, Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), and the OC Sheriff’s Department. The crowd that started as 100 protesters in the afternoon grew to over 1000 and law enforcement began shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at them. At around 8:30 p.m. the protest was declared an unlawful assembly, but it continued well into the night. Protesters set off fireworks and took over the streets of downtown Santa Ana to demand ICE out of their city. At least ten people were arrested.

While officials like Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Chief of Police Robert Rodriguez made statements on social media blaming the protesters for the escalation, many protesters called their lies stating that they witnessed first-hand SAPD and other law enforcement escalate without cause. Community members also called out SAPD for its aggression towards protesters alongside the National Guard, despite Santa Ana being a sanctuary city.

Since Monday night, the National Guard has been occupying the streets of downtown Santa Ana guarding the federal building as ICE raids and protests continue throughout the city.

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