A group of protesters were in a standoff with law enforcement officers outside a federal building in downtown Santa Ana on Tuesday evening after tensions over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations across Southern California spread to Orange County for a second day.
But as of close to 8 p.m., the immediate conflict appeared to be diffused, after police declared an unlawful assembly and the group eventually dispersed.
Around 6:30 p.m., a large group of protesters splintered off from a crowd of about 100 demonstrators in the Civic Center and headed to the federal building on Santa Ana Boulevard a block away. They chanted “Nazi soldiers” at a group of federal law enforcement officers, some with shields. The officers just watched. But there was a sniper on the roof.
“Shame on you, coming into our neighborhoods, taking our families,” one protester yelled, as the group joined in, chanting “Shame on you.”
Earlier in the evening, dozens of demonstrators had gathered in the Civic Center area, where a calmer, though energized, mood prevailed.
“It makes me feel good,” said Erika Robles, a Santa Ana resident, observing the peaceful demonstration. “We are protesting for a good cause. Come out. This is the time to stick together. United. Loud but nicely.”
Robles said she was saddened about the violence the prior night.
“This is a beautiful country, and we have to stick together,” she said.
As workers and visitors at nearby government buildings and downtown businesses carried on their normal routine on Tuesday, military-style vehicles and National Guards troops blocked a portion of 4th Street in front of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse and a part of Santa Ana Boulevard in front of a federal building a couple blocks away.
Workers were actively removing graffiti — most of which condemned ICE in explicit language — from government and private buildings. Some early-morning downtown visitors stopped to take photos of the military vehicles and National Guard soldiers in the normally quiet downtown area.
Sandra Montano choked back emotion as she watched the protesters Tuesday.
“This is our right,” she said. “We are here for anyone and everyone. Hyphenized or not, we are all Americans.”
A day earlier, reports of federal immigration authorities apparently targeting day laborers waiting for work outside local Home Depot locations sparked protests in Santa Ana. Crowds grew and eventually faced off with police.
The outbreak of violence drew condemnation from city leaders over how the immigration raids were being conducted.
“Why do you pick up working individuals? They’re not serious, violent criminals to the best of my knowledge,” Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana said at a news conference on Tuesday.
He called the raids “counterproductive” and warned they were causing fear and instability in the communities he represents.
Correa said at least 31 people were currently in custody at ICE detention facilities in Santa Ana, from what he saw during two visits to the centers in recent days.
“I didn’t get the background on each individual who was apprehended, but I saw a couple of individuals that looked like they got pulled off a job painting somewhere,” he said.
“What we are seeing in Santa Ana right now is pure violence and destruction of our city and businesses,” Mayor Valerie Amezcua wrote in a statement late Monday night. “Please go home and remember this is our city, do not destroy it. At some point this protest became nothing but pure chaos and violence. You have Santa Ana council members and a county supervisor condoning this destruction!!! What was accomplished today???
“Pls be safe, stay home, take care of one another and if you are arrested you may face FEDERAL charges which are quite serious. Pls stop the violence.”
Elsewhere in Santa Ana on Tuesday, the normally crowded bus stops at the intersection of Bristol Street and McFadden Avenue, a heavily Hispanic area, were eerily quiet and empty.
“What’s truly heartbreaking is seeing everyone’s fear. People are afraid to just go out and make ends meet,” said 22-year-old Karla Muñoz. “They’re (undocumented people) are scared to go out right now so we have to be that voice for them.”
A little further down from the busy intersection, in a plaza shared by Northgate Market, a crowd that grew to about 200 people by evening gathered in an anti-ICE protest, waving American and Mexican flags as music from country artists like Los Tigres del Norte filled the plaza.
Passing cars honked in support as protesters held signs that read, “No Human is Illegal” and “My Parents Fought for My Future, I’ll Fight for Their Rights.”
At the protest was an older woman originally from Michoacán who was selling flower bouquets and asked not to be named for safety concerns. She broke down in tears as she described how her children had urged her to stop going out in fear of her getting grabbed by ICE.
“I’m working hard, I have children protesting on 4th street and fighting for me and others like me who don’t have papers,” she said in Spanish. “They tear-gassed them. I have faith in God that I’ll be protected. If I stop going to work I won’t be able to feed my family.”
On Monday night, police made 11 arrests downtown, Santa Ana police Officer Natalie Garcia said, including for charges ranging from failure to disperse to vandalism to assaulting a police officer. There were reports of minor injuries to both demonstrators and officers, Garcia said, but none that required anyone to be taken to a hospital.
“We support people’s First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and protest, but if and when they escalate then it is no longer a peaceful assembly and we are going to do everything we can to restore order,” she said.
Protesters clash with law enforcement in Santa Ana after day of ICE raids in OC
Photos: Santa Ana Police declare riot as immigration raids spark day-long protest
