Protesters dance, march to Morgan Hill ICE office for immigrants’ rights

In a protest accompanied by Aztec dancers lowriders and plumes of burning incense over marched to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Morgan Hill The diverse group of marchers came out Thursday afternoon to protest ICE enforcement and the ongoing immigration crackdown spearheaded by President Donald Trump s administration deriding the effects of the actions on their communities offering a show of political force outside of the Bay Area s urban centers Related Articles DOJ announces plans to request information from multiple California county jails Behind the masks Who are the people rounding up immigrants in California Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients personal content including addresses to ICE Gov Newsom blasts Donald Trump over partial National Guard withdrawal Army veteran and US citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone We are here to speak up and show up for those who are being taken reported Rebeca Armendariz a former Gilroy City Council member and one of the organizers of the march who stated ICE was threatening immigrant communities and being dismissive of our constitutional and our civil rights First it s them then it s us Under the hot afternoon sun a cadre of Aztec dancers stomped and swayed to the relentless tattoo of drums the foot-long feathers of their crowns bouncing to the rhythm as they led the marchers on a mile-and-a-half trek through Morgan Hill s main thoroughfare Onlookers watched the crowd move through the streets waving from balconies or shooting video from their cars and porches The protest drew a diverse crowd from Morgan Hill and across the South Bay to protest in front of the ICE office from union members to young families and clergy Aztec dancers from multiple groups around the Bay Area are lead by a drum along with protesters and march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Protesters march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong speaks after protesters march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group People watch protesters march from the Morgan Hill Cultural Center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Protesters march from the Morgan Hill Cultural Center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Aztec dancers from multiple groups around the Bay Area are lead by a drum along with protesters and march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Aztec dancers from multiple groups around the Bay Area are lead by a drum along with protesters and march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Aztec dancers from multiple groups around the Bay Area are lead by a drum along with protesters and march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Julie Meyerson of Sunnyvale marches with protesters from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Aztec dancers from multiple groups around the Bay Area are lead by a drum along with protesters and march from the Morgan Hill cultural center to the ICE office in Morgan Hill Calif on Thursday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Expand It s a justice issue There s a quite a strong sense that our faith calls us to do this commented Reverend Mary Blessing an Episcopal priest noting Jesus was a refugee Casey Sutterland came with her partner and two children to the protest from San Jose My grandparents were in the Dutch resistance to the Nazis I want my kids to feel like they re part of that legacy of resistance Specific recalled the detention of local Ulises Pe a Lopez a Sunnyvale resident who had to receive emergency anatomical healing after being detained by ICE Others called out Trump s executive order seeking to end sanctuary laws that exempt places like hospitals from immigration enforcement activity There s so much fear revealed Darlene Torres-Voss We deserve to know that when we walk into a hospital we won t walk out in handcuffs ICE and the Morgan Hill field office did not forthwith reply to a request for comment regarding the protesters concerns Standing in front of the ICE office Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong noted the county s continued funding and response against the Trump administration and called for unity throughout the South Bay Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere she commented recalling the welcome and help her parents received as Vietnamese refugees in San Jose That is the spirit that is the legacy To stand with immigrant families is in our blood