Immigration

San Diego demonstration against ICE raids draws hundreds of immigrant supporters

The grassroots demonstration positioned in front of the San Diego Convention Center Sunday morning

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Demonstrations in San Diego continued this weekend against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

More than a thousand demonstrators gathered near the entrance of the San Diego Convention Center on Harbor Drive and Fifth Avenue and marched to the nearby "Coming Together" sculpture at Park Boulevard in support of immigrant rights.

“We’re here. We’re not here to destroy. We’re here to stay. We deserve to be here. We’re taxpayers, we’re not criminals as you want to label us," said Carlos Gomez Perez, a Silver Star disabled U.S. Marine veteran.

Gomez Perez came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child with his undocumented family. He later became a legal resident in order to join the military.

Demonstrators from across San Diego County began with a small group, Sunday morning, outside the Convention Center at Harbor Drive and Fifth Avenue.

The demonstrators came from across the county and beyond to protest the Trump administration’s current crackdown on illegal immigration and the president’s plans for mass deportation. Andrea Ortega is the wife of a Mexican national who became a citizen after their marriage. They share children with dual citizenship.

"(We want) to be on the right side of history and to defend the people that might not be able to defend themselves or who are too afraid to defend themselves right now," Ortega said.  

Their mother went back to Mexico with him, too.

Having a family member ripped away from you at a young age is horrible. It’s something no one should ever have to go through," said Alondra.

Her sister, Reyna, said “I think it’s more complicated than a solution. I think we need to be more welcoming, more open to our brothers and neighbors just like it says in the Bible.” 

Reyna Jauregui (left) and her sister, Alondra Jauregui, are U.S. citizens whose father was deported back to Mexico when they were just in elementary school.

Mairene Branham is with the East County Latinos En Accion organization. She carried a sign during the demonstration inviting cooperation with President Trump by extending amnesty to undocumented immigrants.

“It (amnesty) allows us a pathway to citizenship. It allows us to be able to secure the borders now that we have a president willing and able to secure the border and pair it with regulating companies that are hiring illegal immigrants," Branham said.

At the moment, the Trump Administration has not offered amnesty as an option for immigrants.

The solution is to not deport people who have not committed dangerous crimes simply because they’re in the country without documentation. It is not a crime worthy of deportation.

Kirstin Jarstad, immigrant ally and supporter

Whatever the solution, there were plenty of personal stories and opinions shared at Sunday's demonstration that marched on into the Gaslamp Quarter downtown.

“The solution is to not deport people who have not committed dangerous crimes simply because they’re in the country without documentation. It is not a crime worthy of deportation," said Kirstin Jarstad who called herself an ally and immigrant supporter.

Amelia Knezevich also called herself an ally.

"So, if you deport all the workers, what's going to happen to our prices? They're going to go up. You don't have to be a bleeding-heart liberal. If you're thinking with your pocketbook, then think with your pocketbook."

Similar demonstrations were being held across the country, including in Los Angeles where a large protest blocked the 101 Freeway and prompted the Los Angeles Police Department to declare a "non-permitted demonstration."

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