Inside Look at the LA Protests

*These videos are being posted with permission of the owner, Alexandria, and have not been edited in any way other than cutting some of them down in length. They include crude language and content that might be disturbing to some.

As protests in LA continue, residents are still taking to the streets to show their support for their immigrant neighbors, friends, and families. The community continues to protect itself against those who will see it torn apart. Aside from property destruction, there has also been a huge lifestyle shift in the area. For who can think of going on with their daily lives as people are being shot with rubber bullets right in front of their eyes simply for trying to walk to their home? When the streets around them not only look like a warzone, but also sound like one?

The thing about communities like this is that immigration is a vital part of their structure. It is the way they have always been, and despite what some people are trying to accomplish, it is the way it will always be. Their walls are not natural, migration is.

Whether you agree with the immigration policies the Trump administration is trying to implement or not, people need to understand that they are not realistic. For how can you expect to arrest and get rid of almost 12 MILLION people in the country and not expect economic repercussions? Humanitarian criticism? Civil unrest? And that is only counting the estimated number of undocumented people who have build their lives in the United States. As we have seen, even people with the ‘right’ documents, and those who are following the ‘right way’ of entering the country are being arrested inside the courts, after their immigration hearings.

Communities like LA were built by immigrants, for immigrants. Whether that is from a different country, or a even a different state, it is a place where cultures meet and learn to thrive together. Where friends are not just friends, but primos and primas. Where regardless of the color of your skin, if you bring the right attitude, you are welcomed in with open arms. And we see that in the way that American citizens are standing up for immigrant Angelinos.

Because like it or not, this is an issue that affects ALL OF US. Not just immigrants. Not just Mexicans. Not just brown people.

American citizens are standing up for people who are more than just the paperwork they hold. They are standing up for their friends, for their families.

And most importantly, they are standing up for themselves, and the future that they believe in.