The march was inescapable along one of the oldest streets in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people chanted over each other, laid on air horns and sang along with live bands performing from flatbed trucks rolling down the middle of the road.
As the crowd moved, people passed business after business that had been closed for the day in case the peaceful “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration got out of hand. Most storefronts were boarded up with plywood or barricaded behind steel gates.
But between 3rd and 4th streets, one tiny restaurant had its glass door propped wide open, offering an escape from the 28 C heat. Inside, the owner went about his routine alone in silence behind the front counter.
“We’re just here to support people. You know, let them use the restroom, cool down, take a break,” said Eduardo Vasquez, 39, the third-generation owner of the Casa India. “That’s the least we can do for the community out here that’s marching and having their voice heard.”
Countless protesters were front and centre outside Los Angeles city hall or other federal buildings during the demonstration on Saturday, taunting stone-faced military troops and police officers stationed on the steps.
But some of those with the deepest understanding of immigration raids hung back quietly from the tension and the cameras. Many had signs or shirts identifying themselves as first-, second- or third-generation immigrants showing solidarity for friends, neighbours and family members
Victoria Santibanez, 30, whose mother immigrated to the U.S. from Chile, stood far from city hall at the back edge of Grand Park with her husband and a few close friends.
“It’s just hard to see our community in so much pain right now,” she said, growing emotional.
“To see our neighbours, our local businesses, our schools come under threat the way they have and to have it done in such a way that was so traumatic for the community…. Whatever your reason for being here in L.A., when you’re part of the community, the community protects you.”
L.A.’s immigrant roots are central to the city’s identity, shaping its economy and culture over decades. More than one-third of its residents were born outside the United States, according to the U.S. Census.
Advocates and state officials have criticized the arbitrary nature of the recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, which have seen people picked up from homes and car washes to hardware stores and church sidewalks.
Those who are undocumented stay away from demonstrations that have taken place over the last week because they are hiding from authorities, not seeking them out.
“Everybody knows somebody because that’s how tight we are, and you feel that,” said Rev. Gabriel Lopez, 42, whose church community in nearby Whittier, a city in Los Angeles County, was hit by ICE raids this week.
“We’re being cautious and careful, but we’re being there for each other and protecting our community.”
Late Saturday, organizers of the nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events across the country ahead of the military parade in Washington, D.C., that evening.
The Los Angeles event was peaceful and uneventful for a large part of the day, more street party in tone than angry protest. As an overnight curfew in a small section of the city grew closer, the situation grew tense: police officers with armoured vehicles, cruisers and horses pushed demonstrators out of the curfew zone with tear gas and flash bangs.
Blocks away, inside Casa India, Vasquez’s mother, Doris, spent the afternoon prepping the dough for pupusa — a savoury Salvadoran dish stuffed with beans, cheese and pork — the same way she does every day. Her mother, Vasquez’s grandmother, was an undocumented immigrant when she opened the Mexican-Salvadoran fusion restaurant 35 years ago.
It’s become a community hub for fellow business owners from other neighourhoods, like Koreatown, Chinatown and Little Tokyo. Vasquez said the risk of deportation has “always been part” of life in L.A. County and California, but never to “the extreme level” he’s seen in recent weeks.
He was not surprised the city, in all its vibrance, has taken it personally.
“Everybody gets along. Everybody works. People from all walks of life … Angelenos, if you don’t mess with us, we don’t mess with you.” said Vasquez, who is Salvadoran and Italian American.
“We are the microcosm of what a city can be. If you accept immigration and culture from people from everywhere, it does work. That’s why L.A.’s so prosperous.”