Activists in San Francisco and Los Angeles Stop Traffic to Protest Immigration Raids

Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez - 01/26/16 - things that matter
credit: https://twitter.com/Edna_SoLA/status/692018161755947008

Undocumented immigrant activists have taken to the streets in two major California cities demanding a stop to the recent immigration raids carried out by the Obama administration.

Protesters shut down major intersections in front of I.C.E. federal buildings in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The protesters created human chains to disrupt traffic. They are trying to bring attention to the Obama administration’s aggressive move to deport Central American refugees seeking asylum in the US.

Since the start of the latest immigration raids, 121 people have been detained. Most of those detained are women and children from Central America fleeing from gang violence and corrupt governments.

READ: These Latinos Break Down Immigration AND Make it Funny

Even with the threat of arrest, protesters stood their ground and continued to protest.

In Los Angeles, law enforcement declared “unlawful assembly” and made arrests.

Dozens of protestors form both LA and SF have been taken into custody while chanting, “ICE out of California.”

Officers for the San Francisco Police Department were cutting the chains off of the protesters to make arrests.

Still, other protests stayed put.

READ: Letters of Detained Immigrants are Getting Mass Exposure by Becoming Works of Art

“This administration needs to take accountability for the fact that there’s immigrants here because of policies that the US has created,” Julio Salgado [pictured: top left], a DACA recipient, said while protesting in SF. “And so, instead of criminalizing, we need to welcome communities.”

More than 300 people are taking part in just the LA protest.

Check back for updates on this story as they develop. Share this story with your friends to get the message out that people want to #StopTheRaids.

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