Police arrested at least three people Wednesday during a protest of President Trump’s immigration policies and deportation efforts in National City.
The protest, attended by about 150 people, began near the Price Breakers Indoor Bazaar on Highland Avenue and lasted more than five hours, according to police.
Police said they arrested one person on suspicion of felony vandalism after they allegedly spray-painted a building, and a second person was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication. Another individual who allegedly stole traffic cones used to block off streets was also arrested, said National City police Sgt. Paul Hernandez.
Officers blocked off about a six-block stretch of Highland Avenue and nearby streets to keep vehicles out of the area, while protesters marched within the police perimeters.
The barriers were erected to prevent “anybody from doing burnouts in the roadway” and to protect people from being hit by cars, Hernandez said.
There were no reports of injuries, and the crowd dispersed around 9:30 p.m.
A second protest in National City on Thursday afternoon, on Philippines Independence Day, was organized by a coalition of youth organizations, including Filipino advocacy groups Malaya Movement USA, Bayan Southern California and Tanggool Migrante.
The demonstration called for an end to ICE deportations and improved migrant worker pay. It was held outside Seafood City Supermarket on East Plaza Parkway, where days earlier the organizations said they had stood between federal agents in unmarked vehicles and migrant employees in the store.
After hearing from a handful of speakers who decried the Trump istration’s deportation policies, the group of about 40 to 50 young people marched around the shopping center parking lot while carrying signs that read, among other things, “Keep families together” and “Defend migrant workers.”
More demonstrations are scheduled to occur Saturday throughout San Diego County, including a protest dubbed the No Kings rally at Waterfront Park on Pacific Highway downtown, which is expected to have a significant turnout.
