I've been marching for immigrants' rights since I was a child. I won't stop now.
I've been marching for immigrants' rights since I was a child. I won't stop now. | Opinion Los Angeles holds the moral consciousness of a divided nation. As the demonstrations continue and spread to other cities, let us be clear-eyed on who and what we are fighting for.
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Protesters defy curfew order from LA mayor, police make mass arrests
In an effort to curb vandalism and looting, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a curfew for parts of downtown Los Angeles.
Recent ICE raids in Los Angeles are unprecedented in their cruelty, targeting vulnerable immigrant communities.
The deployment of the National Guard and Marines in response to peaceful protests against the raids is highly unusual.
The handcuffing of Sen. Alex Padilla for questioning the administration's immigration policies highlights the escalating tension.
Increased funding for immigration enforcement and potential changes to the census raise concerns about the future of immigrant rights.
I was 6 years old when I first marched for immigrant rights in downtown Los Angeles. It was 1994, and then-California Gov. Pete Wilson was seeking reelection.
To hold onto power, he championed the passage of Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that sought to deny social services to undocumented individuals and made the immigrant community his political scapegoat.
Marching alongside immigrant families, I learned at an early age what it meant to petition one's government. Prop. 187 passed but was later ruled unconstitutional by the courts. What resulted thereafter was one of the greatest demonstrations of Latino civic engagement in American history that transformed the state's political makeup still felt to this day.
ICE raids in Los Angeles show a new level of cruelty
More than 30 years later, I was back on the streets of my city advocating once again for immigrants.
Since early June, I have joined seniors, children, priests and others peacefully calling for an end to the latest indiscriminate raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Opinion: My hometown of LA has right to be angry as Trump sends in the Marines
While raids of our immigrant communities are regrettably nothing new, what has transpired recently is unprecedented in its cruelty. We must call on the American public to ask itself what it will do while the demonstrations run their purpose and course.
The examples are striking:
When nearly 1 in 10 of our county's residents are undocumented, chances are we know someone without legal status because they attend our schools, work in our small businesses and contribute to our state and local tax base.
We can begin by mobilizing financial resources to the immigrant-serving organizations supporting impacted families. There is a tremendous need to provide legal services, as many detained immigrants are already facing deportation without representation and due process.
The president's recent call to expand deportations, especially in Los Angeles, underscores the importance of these resources.
There is also an urgent need to closely monitor the developments of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Donald Trump's signature tax cut initiative. One of the provisions in the bill is to significantly increase resources for immigration enforcement, including an additional $75 billion over four years for immigrant detention and deportation.
Opinion: From massive protests to a puny parade, America really let Donald Trump down
President Trump is moving too far on immigration
Public opinion polling is quickly making clear, especially among nearly two-thirds of Latinos, that Trump is moving too far on immigration.
And 86% of Latino voters want a humane approach to immigration policy that includes a pathway to citizenship.
Then there are the actions on the horizon that will decide if the events in Los Angeles can translate into long-term political change.
At stake during the 2026 midterm elections and beyond is the control of the U.S. House of Representatives, key U.S. Senate races in Georgia and Texas, and governorships in places like Arizona and Nevada. Our votes can decide the leaders who hold these offices, and whether they will support or oppose the immigration policies of the remaining years of this president's administration.
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.
A political tilt may appear inevitable given the current political climate, but it is not guaranteed. Latino outreach and the case for voter participation remain a perennial challenge in American politics. During the 2024 presidential election, for example, 45% of Latinos reported no contact from any political party.
Finally, preparations for the next decennial census, a constitutionally mandated process that aims to count all people in our nation regardless of their status, are already underway, and we must stay vigilant.
Lawmakers are already attempting to add a citizenship question to the next census. If successful, immigrants will be dissuaded from participating for fear of being targeted, and the resulting undercount will cause us to lose our rights to political representation and federal resources for our communities.
Los Angeles holds the moral consciousness of a divided nation. As the demonstrations continue and spread to other cities, let us be clear-eyed on who and what we are fighting for: dignity for the least among us and the defense of our democracy for all.
What we choose to do now for them, as I did as a 6-year-old boy, will impact us and our country for generations to come.
Christian Arana is the vice president of Civic Power and Policy at the Latino Community Foundation in Los Angeles.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
34 minutes ago
- The Hill
Watch live: Trump addresses the nation after US bombs Iranian three nuclear sites
President Trump is set to address the nation tonight after he announced the U.S. had dropped bombs on three sites in Iran, including the Fordow site located in a mountainside. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home,' Trump added. 'Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' The action follows days of speculation over whether the U.S. would join the Israel-Iran conflict, and comes shortly after Trump noted he would make a decision on involvement within two weeks. Trump's remarks are scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. EDT. Watch the live video above.
Los Angeles Times
38 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
With US airstrikes, Trump aims to deliver a decisive blow to a weakened Iran
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump with his decision to order U.S. military strikes on Iran's nuclear facility is gambling that direct U.S. involvement can deliver a decisive blow to a weakened Tehran while managing to avoid bringing the U.S. into an expansive regional conflict. Trump announced the strikes on three Iranian enrichment facilities — Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan — and said that a 'full payload of BOMBS was dropped' on Fordo. 'All planes are safely on their way home,' Trump added in his post. 'Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' It remained to be seen whether the attacks mark the totality of direct American involvement in strikes against Iran or the opening salvo of a larger campaign. Trump, who said he will address the nation about the strikes at 10 p.m. Eastern U.S. time, called it a 'very successful military operation.' The president also celebrated the strikes in a call with the news site Axios in which he said, 'We had great success tonight' and that 'Israel is much safer now.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday had said that Trump would decide whether to move forward with U.S. strikes on Iran within two weeks. But on Saturday afternoon, commercial flight trackers identified multiple U.S. aerial refueling tankers that were on a path suggesting that they were accompanying aircraft from the Midwest to the Pacific, raising speculation that something could be afoot. Still, the flight pattern left many in Washington speculating that an attack might happen soon but would not happen immediately because of the time it would take for the aircraft to make it to the region. But that aircraft may have been a decoy — it was not part of the the mission that was carried out early Sunday morning in Iran. Trump returned from his New Jersey golf club just after 6 p.m., and was to head to a previously scheduled meeting with his national security team. Less than two hours later, the president announced the strikes had been completed. The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. The strikes are a perilous decision for the U.S., as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault. The stakes are also high for Trump personally — he won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the U.S. 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground, including at Fordo. It was not immediately clear if the U.S. bombers did in fact drop the bunker busters on the Iranian facilities. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States in advance that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic would 'result in irreparable damage for them.' And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.' The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the damage inflicted by the bombings. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would motivate the country's leaders to give up their nuclear program peacefully. But Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis have said their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel had appealed to Trump for the U.S. bunker-busting bombs, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its immense weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Trump's decision for direct U.S. military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program. For months, Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time. The U.S. in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and U.S. bases from Iranian attacks. All the while, Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a 'second chance' for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Khamenei and making calls for Tehran's unconditional surrender. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump said in a social media posting. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever.' The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, U.S. and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behavior. Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars. The action by Trump immediately raised some concerns among U.S. lawmakers that the president had exceeded his authority. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., quickly posted on the social media site X: 'This is not Constitutional.' Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said on social media that Trump hit Iran without congressional authorization and lawmakers should pass a resolution he's sponsoring with Massie 'to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war.' Vice President JD Vance in a lengthy posting on X earlier this week defended his boss, while acknowledging that 'people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.' 'But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,' Vance wrote. He added, 'I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals.' Madhani and Boak write for the Associated Press. Madhani reported from Morristown, N.J.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
With US airstrikes, Trump aims to deliver a decisive blow to a weakened Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump with his decision to order U.S. military strikes on Iran's nuclear facility is gambling that direct U.S. involvement can deliver a decisive blow to a weakened Tehran while managing to avoid bringing the U.S. into an expansive regional conflict. Trump announced the strikes on three Iranian enrichment facilities — Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan — and said that a 'full payload of BOMBS was dropped' on Fordo. 'All planes are safely on their way home,' Trump added in his post. 'Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' It remained to be seen whether the attacks mark the totality of direct American involvement in strikes against Iran or the opening salvo of a larger campaign. The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. The strikes are a perilous decision for the U.S., as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault. The stakes are also high for Trump personally — he won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the U.S. 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground, including at Fordo. It was not immediately clear if the U.S. bombers did in fact drop the bunker busters on the Iranian facilities. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States in advance that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic would 'result in irreparable damage for them.' And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.' The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the damage inflicted by the bombings. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would motivate the country's leaders to give up their nuclear program peacefully. But Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis have said their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel had appealed to Trump for the U.S. bunker-busting bombs, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its immense weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Trump's decision for direct U.S. military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program. For months, Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time. The U.S. in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and U.S. bases from Iranian attacks. All the while, Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a 'second chance' for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Khamenei and making calls for Tehran's unconditional surrender. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump said in a social media posting. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever.' The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, U.S. and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behavior. Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars. Vice President JD Vance in a lengthy posting on X earlier this week defended his boss, while acknowledging that 'people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.' 'But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,' Vance wrote. He added, 'I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals.' ___ Madhani reported from Morristown, N.J.
