Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of people protesting mass deportations planned by President Donald Trump marched in Southern California on Sunday, including in downtown Los Angeles where demonstrators blocked a major freeway for several hours.
Protesters gathered in the morning on LA’s historic Olvera Street, which dates to Spanish and Mexican rule, before marching to City Hall.
By the afternoon, marchers had blocked all lanes of U.S. 101, causing traffic to back up in both directions and on surface streets. The demonstrators sat down in lanes, while a cordon of California Highway Patrol officers stood by. It took more than five hours for the freeway to fully reopen, CHP Lt. Matt Gutierrez said Sunday evening.
The CHP and the Los Angeles Police Department said there were no reports of arrests. Hundreds of people also protested in the cities of Riverside and San Diego.
In Texas, demonstrators gathered in downtown Dallas on Sunday in a pair of protests against recent arrests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dallas police told The Associated Press that approximately 1,600 people gathered between the two rallies.
