Tens of thousands of protesters in Southern California are expected to join others in cities across the United States Saturday for marches and rallies against what they call the autocratic immigration policies of President Donald Trump.
More than 20 rallies are planned across San Diego County. The largest is the so-called No Kings protest in downtown San Diego.
The downtown rally gets underway at Waterfront Park at 10 a.m. Saturday, next to the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway. The march will head south along Harbor Drive past Ruocco Park and back north on Pacific Highway.
"San Diego residents are mobilizing over concerns about immigration enforcement, cuts to social programs and the administration's use of executive authority," organizers said in a news release. "They point to increased (immigrations and Customs Enforcement) ICE arrests, cuts and reductions to healthcare, Medicaid and school nutrition programs and the treatment of detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center as issues affecting local San Diego families."
Speakers at the Waterfront Park rally include Bobby Wallace for a Kumeyaay land acknowledgement, San Diego County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre, Pastor Manuel Retamoza of The Border Church and Lorena Gonzalez, the California Federation of Labor Unions President.
According to organizers, the march will be "a direct confrontation with escalating state violence, from deportations carried out with little to no due process to military aggression abroad."
Events are scheduled across San Diego County, including Downtown San Diego, Ocean Beach, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Mira Mesa, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Fallbrook, Temecula, Valley Center, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona, La Mesa, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Otay Mesa and Borrego Springs.
The organizers are calling for the impeachment and removal of the Trump administration and the abolition of ICE.
The No Kings National Day of Nonviolent Action will see more than 3,000 communities hold simultaneous demonstrations. The rallies are being supported locally by more than 30 organizations.
Other rallies scheduled Saturday are:
- Downtown San Diego's Ruocco Park, a family-friendly event from 9:30- 11:30 a.m. 585 Harbor Lane;
- La Jolla, 10-11:30 a.m., Girard Avenue and Pearl Street;
- Carmel Valley, 10 a.m.-noon, Del Mar Heights Road and Carmel Country Road;
- Ocean Beach, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 4812 W Point Loma Blvd.;
- Mira Mesa, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 10782 Westview Parkway;
- Carlsbad, 10 a.m.-noon, 2086 Marron Road;
- Vista, Soroptimist Park, 10 a.m.-noon, 230 N Santa Fe Ave.;
- Vista, Wildwood Park, 10-11:30 a.m. 651 E Vista Way;
- Fallbrook, 10 a.m.-noon, S Mission Road and Ammunition Road;
- Rancho Bernardo, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Bernardo Center Drive and Bernardo Plaza Court;
- Valley Center, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Valley Center Road and Mirar de Valle, 27650 Valley Center Road;
- Escondido, 3-5:30 p.m., 321 N Broadway;
- San Marcos, 3-5:30 p.m., West San Marcos Blvd. and Grand Ave., 717 W. San Marcos Blvd.;
- Oceanside, 4-6 p.m. City Hall, N Coast Highway and Pier View Way;
- La Mesa, 10 a.m.-noon, intersection of University Avenue and La Mesa Blvd., 8011 University Ave;
- El Cajon, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 415 Fletcher Parkway;
- Ramona, 4-6 p.m. 10th Street and Main Street;
- Otay Mesa, 10-11:30 a.m., Birch Road and Millenia Ave.;
- Chula Vista, 1-2:30 p.m., H Street and Broadway;
- Borrego Springs, 9-10:30 a.m., The Mall, south side of Palm Canyon Drive, 587 Palm Canyon Drive.
More details are available at mobilize.us/nokings.
