More than a hundred people showed up for an impromptu vigil Friday evening in Mountain View to protest the possibility of an immigration crackdown in the Bay Area and to express their ongoing solidarity with vulnerable community members.
The Oct. 24 demonstration drew a crowd to Gateway Park at the corner of El Camino Real and Castro Street, where protesters held signs registering their opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as the Trump administration more broadly.
“Our rights are under attack! What do we do? Fight back!” protesters chanted as motorists honked their support during the rush-hour commute.
In recent days, the Trump administration has threatened to deploy federal law enforcement agents to San Francisco and other Bay Area cities, prompting widespread protests in the region. The planned immigration enforcement operation has been reportedly called off, but not without drawing a lot of skepticism from community members.
“It’s a warning sign of what’s to come,” said longtime community activist IdaRose Sylvester, an event organizer and co-founder of Together We Will Palo Alto Mountain View, a political action network.
Organized on a day’s notice, and co-sponsored by Mountain View Voices for Peace and Justice and It’s Blue Turn, attendees at the demonstration included people who have been participating in protests against the Trump administration since the beginning of the year.
“I’ve been going to protests every week,” Sunnyvale resident Lou de los Reyes said. “And then I received an email about this emergency rally and thought, ‘Why not?’”
Mountain View resident Mariya Genzel, an event co-organizer from It’s Blue Turn, said that the reason for the Friday evening demonstration hit particularly close to home. Having grown up in the Soviet Union, it was common to see people disappear from the streets, a situation that she said created a pervasive culture of fear and intimidation.
“We can’t stand by and let that happen,” Genzel said.
While the region has not seen the same level of immigration enforcement as other parts of the country, like Los Angeles or Chicago, it does not mean that it will not happen, Genzel said. The threat of a crackdown is still having a local impact with many community members afraid to leave their homes or go to school or work, she added.
Mountain View resident Jamie Crane said she was galvanized to participate in the rally with her family to show her support for those who were too afraid to come out. She also noted that she wanted a better world for her children to live in.
“History has shown us the first people to be taken away … are the most different,” Crane said, adding that being blind has made her particularly aware of this dynamic. “Eventually nobody is safe.”
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Thank you for covering this (and other) protests!