Peaceful Protest Sweeps Through Several Locations Including Santa Maria
Jarrod Zinn
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Protesters marched in Santa Maria down Broadway this afternoon, and they were headed for the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.
A gathering in front of Santa Maria City Hall started small and grew to a large swell at noon, as local residents joined Indivisible’s “La Marcha de la Puebla: Heroes Not Villains” protest.
A youth-lead organization called ‘La Cultura Del Mundo’ organized the gathering, and they reminded people to keep it peaceful.
“We have at least 150 individuals coming on busses for an event that they call the Freedom Rides,” says Cesar Vasquez, La Cultura Del Mundo’s founder.
According to the Pew Research Center, roughly one third of U.S. adults believe anyone residing in the U.S. illegally should be deported. About 16% believe no one should be deported. And the remaining 50% land somewhere on a wide spectrum between the two extremes.
“Our goal is to bring people together,” says Vasquez. “Conservatives are saying they don’t agree with how people are being taken. Our stance is that no one should be taken.”
Once buses arrived from Paso Robles, Atascadero, and San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria residents joined them for a rally in front of the Civic Center along Broadway.
Organizers say they had strict regulations for their protesters’ signs for this rally.
“We had fliers that said that ICE agents were Nazis and fascists, and we decided to not bring those out today because the second that we lead a movement with hate, we are the oppressors,” says Vasquez. “We have to live in a world where no one is oppressed, where everyone really bleeds red and where everyone feels the same.”
After the rally at city hall, they marched down Broadway headed for Santa Maria’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, but it was closed for the day.
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