About 100 people gathered in downtown Morgan Hill Thursday, then marched to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office about a mile away to protest federal immigration policies and practices.
The protest was organized by local activists including South County siblings Rebeca and Reymundo Armendariz, who helped gather a number of local organizations to the event.
As the group marched from the Community & Cultural Center to the ICE office on Vineyard Court, they were led by a group of Aztec dancers and an independent support group known as the Black Berets. Morgan Hill Police controlled vehicle traffic while the protesters slowly marched along the southbound lanes of Monterey Road to Tennant Avenue before arriving at Vineyard Court.
Reymundo Armendariz, of Morgan Hill, said a goal of the protest was to gather a diverse crowd to demonstrate the broad support for the local immigrant community that is at risk of being targeted by federal authorities for deportation under the policies of the Trump Administration.
“We wanted to show the impacts of unprecedented and unabashed deportations of anybody regardless if they have a criminal background or not,” Armendariz said before the group began marching from the CCC. “All of us are impacted by the unrestricted deportation of undocumented community members.
“We also want everybody to remember we are all immigrants here, and reach out to those folks and let them know we appreciate our undocumented residents in South County.”
Similar protests against Trump Administration activities happened in other communities in California and the U.S. around the same time on July 17—coinciding with the anniversary of the death of former Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis who died in 2020.
Gilroy resident Rebeca Armendariz said the protest in Morgan Hill was also more broadly about raising awareness of recent government threats to civil and human rights.
“The disrespect of our Constitution, eroding of our civil rights and increased aggression to members of our immigrant community is compelling us to speak out,” she said. “We see what’s happening to our country and it’s not OK. It’s snowballing toward authoritarianism. We are a democracy—we love it, we appreciate it and we fought for it for generations and will continue to do that.”
Once the group arrived at the end of Vineyard Court in front of the ICE office, a traditional Aztec dance performance was followed by remarks over a portable sound system from local organizers and activists.
