By Mikaela STONE

“No Musk! No Trump! No KKK! No fascist USA!” is the chant that united two sets of not so different protests on Feb. 5. In the morning, roughly 500 Los Angeles Unified School District students left their schools to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, marching first to Los Angeles City Hall then to the LAUSD offices and back. After the students had returned to their schools, protestors arrived who were affiliated with the 50501 Movement. The 50501 Movement is a series of protests against Donald Trump that are organized by small grassroots organizations across the country with one purpose in mind: 50 protests across all 50 states on one day to declare opposition to the current administration. 

For the LAUSD students who marched in the rain, the rollback on protections against ICE in schools and churches by the Dept. of Homeland Security are personal. Feb. 5 marked the second day of walkouts by students. Several of them carried homemade cardboard signs with variations of the sentiment “Don’t take our families away!” and “Don’t deport our elders!” while dozens got straight to the point with signs and graffiti declaring “F**k ICE.” 

Yet it was not only anger that drew these high schoolers to City Hall. 

“I know you are proud of who you are! I know you are proud of where you came from!” an organizer shouted from the top of a flatbed truck to a cheering crowd of students waving flags from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. None of the students taking part in the protest gave their names as more than one implied they were protesting on behalf of undocumented community members they feared ICE was targeting. 

“All my parents worked for … will not go down just because some White guy over there sitting on his ass won’t change!” one organizer said. She fired back at the idea that immigrants bring crime with them: “Every single Latino and Hispanic I know works hard for everything they have.” 

Fact checking her claim led to the website for the National Institute of Justice and an article titled “Undocumented Immigrants Are Less Likely to Commit Crimes.” This article is no longer viewable and replaced by the message “The Dept. of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs is currently reviewing its websites and materials in accordance with recent Executive Orders and related guidance. During this review, some pages and publications will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” 

While not government sources, nonpartisan non-profit research by the American Immigration Council and NPR concur that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans. 

An organizer wearing a hat bearing the Guatemalan flag dedicated the protest to the students’ parents who “go to bed late and get up early.” Her voice cracked with anger and passion as she shouted, “All our parents do is work and work and all [the current administration does] is take and take.” 

In spite of being a second generation immigrant she referenced prejudices toward undocumented immigrants that have spilled over to legal immigrants due to racism. 

“We are so tired of being used and seen as aliens and wetbacks,” she said. The population of Los Angeles is one third immigrant. Of that number, USC Equity Research Institute analysis reports that 65% of immigrants are U.S. born and only 7% are undocumented. Over 30% of Latino children live with one parent who is undocumented. 

The students are not only wary of ICE but of vigilantes. Fox News 11 noted that LAUSD is aware of reports of civilians pretending to be ICE forces who want to scare LA residents. The agency reminds citizens that impersonating an officer of the law is illegal. 

Matthew G., a local kindergarten teacher, showed up to the 50501 protests in the afternoon to support his students. 

“The majority of my students are from refugee countries right now,” he said. “My school is 50% Latino, 50% Black. The amount of … fear that’s been going through the whole campus about people being deported are [sic] absolutely devastating to them.” He went on, “The only way that you can learn is if you feel safe.” He believes that his students should be able to stand up to any sort of authority they believe is wrong, including him. 

As one of the 50 50501 protests, people from dozens of political leanings arrived, including Centrists, Democrats, Leftists, Socialists and even Communists. Chantelle, who asked only to be identified by her first name, is a communist affiliated with RevCom Corps, whose current agenda is defeating “the whole Trump/MAGA fascist program” before it “consolidates.” Help is asked of people from all political affiliations and religions. Chantelle described the flurry of executive orders of varying legality the “flood the zone strategy … used by fascists to overwhelm the system …Don’t say it can’t happen in America because it can.”

Tanya Sellig of the Food Not Bombs peace organization wheeled around a wagon full of burritos. She had been protesting this way with her mom since she was 15 years old. To her, “the food is a protest.”

“It’s not charity, it’s about solidarity, and also pointing out the inequity that is all around us,” she said. “This attack on undocumented people, trans people, queer people in general, democracy, checks and balances, and overall free speech is like nothing I’ve seen before – and I’ve been an organizer since I was 10 years old and I’m 46 now.” 

Another protestor condensed Sellig’s list by writing on his/her sign, “Too much for this f*cking sign.” 

The 50501 organizers and other community members provided not only snacks and water but supplies to make signs for anyone who wanted to join the protest. Other than the occasional driver who leaned out the window to yell “Trump 2024!” no counter protesters appeared that day for either of the protests as of 4 p.m. 

The protesters not only criticized Trump’s Administration, but Democrats as well, many bearing signs with some variation of “Dems – wake the hell up!” These protestors felt the working class was not supported or protected by either party. 

Elon Musk’s name appeared as often as Donald Trump’s on signs. One protestor, who asked that his name not be shared, expressed that he had only shown up because of Elon Musk’s unprecedented access to the U.S. Treasury Dept. aided by engineers Wired magazine identified as Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger and Ethan Shaotran. He waved a sign that read, “Send Musk to Mars.”