Protestors marched peacefully in San Francisco’s Mission District Monday evening denouncing the Trump Administration’s militarized mass deportation efforts. The marchers were cheered by residents and onlookers in the heavily immigrant community.
The march comes as National Guard and U.S. Marines have been deployed in Los Angeles to quell protests there, sparking fears of yet further escalation.
“This is going to remain a sanctuary city where ICE is not welcome, where the National Guard is not permitted to come to our city,” said an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), one of the groups that organized the march, to a cheering crowd. “Trump and the billionaires he represents [[are]] mistaken if they think we are going to be scared and stay at home when we see the National Guard rolling out.”
A diverse crowd of some 2000 gathered June 9 in the heart of The City’s Latino community. The march, organized by PSL, Mission Action SF and others, began around 6PM on the corner of 24th and Mission before winding its way through the neighborhood. Chants of “abolish ICE” and “protect immigrants” filled the streets as residents cheered from windows and balconies above.
Even non-residents supported the march. Portuguese tourist Joao and his girlfriend had just stepped out of the BART station with two large suitcases when the crowd came, blocking the road and thus the bus to their hotel.
“I’m from Portugal, I’m not that well informed, but I think what the administration is trying to do is not right, trying to get people out of the country, I think it’s not right. I mean they are people at work, they live like all the other Americans, I don’t think it’s right to send them out of the country for no reason,” he said.
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder addressed the crowd from the back of a pickup truck. She drew attention to the arrest of 154 people protesting ICE on Sunday night in downtown San Francisco.
“The right to protest is not negotiable. It is essential. SFPD should not be doing Trump’s work for him. Peaceful protest isn’t a crime, it is a democratic tradition. When we speak out against injustice, we are using our power as people, not threatening public safety, but fighting for it.”
One of the organizers was Richard Becker, who told the crowd that they are in the midst of an “epic battle” with the Trump administration.
“They want to repeal the rights people have fought for for so many years… it’s a danger and we have to take it seriously. Like I said, it’s an epic battle in that it’s going to have consequences for a long time to come.”
Monday’s protest follows weeks of stepped-up immigration enforcement in communities across the country, with record numbers of detentions and reports of a Department of Homeland Security memo outlining how National Guard troops will be used in future deportation efforts, including “night operations and rural interdiction.”
Speaking with NPR, retired general and former head of the Illinois National Guard William Enyart described Trump’s decision to send National Guard and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles as unnecessary and “inflaming tensions.”
Some 1000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles despite objections from California officials including Governor Gavin Newsom. California is now suing the Trump Administration over the deployment.
Protests against ICE and the Trump administration continue, meanwhile, with planned actions in cities nationwide in the lead up to June 14, which marks the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday and the birthday of the president, who plans to hold a military parade in Washington DC to commemorate the date.
Critics say the move echoes similar parades in dictatorships including Russia and North Korea. On Tuesday Trump warned of “very heavy force” for any planned protest during the parade.
Despite the peaceful nature of Monday’s protest, the night ended with some 60 arrests after several dozen unorganized protestors broke off around 9PM, after the march returned to 24th and Mission to disperse.
Anonymous members of that crowd told ACoM they intended to walk to Civic Center, not wanting to further disrupt Mission residents.
Police, in the background throughout the evening, closed in as individuals began to overturn garbage bins and smash windows on their way up Valencia towards Civic Center. They were kettled and detained upon reaching Market and Fell streets.
Earlier in the day, speaking on the steps of City Hall at an event protesting the Trump Administration’s newly enacted travel ban, District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood announced that his office is planning to introduce a resolution to “fully support our right to protest” at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. He added that he plans to work to boost The City’s legal-defense efforts for immigrants.
The ban, which went into effect June 9, restricts travel from 12 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
While Mahmood didn’t address the crowd at Monday night’s protest, he did attend, standing alone in the crowd and at times applauding.
“We’re already seeing people organizing. This is peaceful…” he said. “Especially after what we’re seeing in LA, to show that we are standing against militarization, against federalization of our National Guard against ordinary citizens and residents. I think it’s important that elected officials stand with our residents against the risk of dictatorship in our national government.”
