Run Against ICE route, from Koreatown to Olvera Street, set to include areas hit by immigration raids

KOREATOWN, LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Immigrant rights activists are set to participate in a Run Against ICE Saturday morning along a 15-mile route from Koreatown to Placita Olvera and through other communities that have witnessed raids and arrests by Immigration Customs Enforcement agents in recent weeks.

Organizers call it a “non-violent journey of resistance through Los Angeles” and said it is part of a 30-day “Summer of Resistance” campaign designed to push for an end to ICE raids and deportations they say have “tore families apart.”

Upwards of 2,000 people have registered to participate in the run, which will include a stop at downtown’s Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street, which has been the site of multiple clashes between people protesting immigration-related arrests and law enforcement officers.

The latest arrests were reported Saturday after a large group of protesters blocked traffic in downtown Los Angeles during a July 4 rally opposing federal immigration enforcement raids and other policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

The “End of Occupation” rally began Friday morning outside City Hall and continued into the afternoon and early evening, with several hundred protesters marching through the downtown area while police National Guard troops and some Marines stood guard.

The event was sponsored by the group 50501 SoCal in conjunction with SEIU Local 721, CARECEN, NDLON and the Community Power Collective.

Videos from the scene showed many people carrying Pride flags, and flags of Mexico, the United States, California and Palestine, and a 15-foot- tall helium-filled balloon of Trump wearing a Russian military uniform.

The Los Angeles Police Department said demonstrators blocked both sides of Alameda Street by placing traffic barriers in the road. Police issued a dispersal order around 7 p.m., ordering everyone to leave the area. The LAPD said the crowd quickly dispersed, but Alameda between First Street and Aliso, and First Street between San Pedro and Alameda would remain closed until further notice.

At 8:28 p.m., police said all traffic was open on Alameda, though LAPD units were sent to clear the Sixth Street Bridge following reports that people were stopping vehicles there.

Police later said “multiple arrests” were made Friday “during several different demonstrations in DTLA. Most were peaceful but once again, as the evening approached, outside agitators began to cause issues.

“We are requesting that any and all acts of damage or vandalism be documented by photographs or video and forwarded to Central Division,” the LAPD added.

Similar July 4th protests were planned to take place across the country.

Earlier Friday, up to four people were detained in a federal immigration enforcement raid at a local car wash in the West Hollywood area, according to multiple media reports.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted the raid at around 11 a.m. Friday at the Santa Palm Car Wash at 8787 Santa Monica Blvd., 7 reported.

West Hollywood officials condemned the raid.

“On a day meant to honor the ideals of liberty, democracy, and freedom from oppression, we instead confront a deeply troubling reminder of federal overreach. Independence Day should be a time for reflection and reverence, not fear and persecution,” they said.

ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Also Friday, the fan group Angel City Brigade staged a walkout in the 12th minute of the LA Galaxy’s match against Vancouver at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The group said it was “protesting the LA Galaxy administration’s silence in the wake of recent ICE raids, citing the lack of support for their community.”

Federal authorities have carried out a series of immigration raids in Los Angeles County since June 6, sparking widespread street protests and condemnation.