Flying the Mexican flag at ICE protests is as American as apple pie | Opinion

The images coming out of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula are unsettling, as the city of 3.9 million gets sucker-punched by a president who hasn’t yet met an immigrant he loved — perhaps including two wives.

When federal immigration forces stormed a clothing factory in the city’s garment district on Friday afternoon and deployed military-style vehicles, it sparked outrage in a city where more than one out of every three residents is an immigrant.

I don’t condone the violence from either side. I believe there are peaceful ways to protest the actions by Immigration and Custom Enforcement, the Border Patrol or Department of Homeland Security agents who — we have been told over and over again — are focusing on criminal undocumented residents. Yet we know U.S. citizens and legal residents have been illegally detained, and Angelenos will pay the price for torched patrol vehicles, damaged property and an unflattering and incorrect image of a gang-run metropolis.

I saw this coming the moment a New York millionaire descended his escalator in Trump Tower to announce a presidential run almost 10 years ago (to the date) and immediately painted Mexican immigrants as murderers, drug dealers and rapists.

Then-President Donald Trump tried to get the 2020 Census to include a question asking a person’s residency status. That effort was negated by the courts, but we got the picture of a president that was hellbent on ridding the country of brown-skinned folks no matter how much they have contributed.

Then the president hired Stephen Miller as a senior adviser on immigration policy. That led to a travel ban, separation of families at the border, a reduction in refugee admissions and an effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Blessed by what he believes was a mandate — but folks, his 1.5% popular vote margin is one of the smallest you’ll ever see — Trump has now upped his war on immigrants.

Amplifying a since-debunked claim that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in a small Ohio community was just the start; Trump issued a presidential order doing away with birthright citizenship, despite courts upholding the 14th Amendment. His administration wants you to believe that banning undocumented residents from receiving Medicaid or SNAP benefits will save those federal programs for citizens. The problem is that any undocumented resident will tell you they are barred from those benefits.

So, why do I bring up these issues? First, this helps explain the pent-up anger the immigrant community has for the Trump administration.

Secondly, because those who belittle protesters carrying the Mexican flag don’t understand California, a state whose name came from the 16th-century Spanish novel “Las Sergas de Esplandián.”

The Mexican flag is American

Yes, the Mexican flag is as American as tacos, salsa and guacamole.

New York displays Italian flags to honor a community that helped build that city. Similarly, Boston has Irish flags in honor of another immigrant community that enriched their city. It was common to see the flags of various countries flown during the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with many ethnic communities showing up to cheer their home team.

Thus, the green, red and white of the Mexican flag is as much a part of the Californian landscape as Hollywood, the Golden Gate Bridge and Big Sur.

Mexicans and their descendants have contributed to California’s richness. Their flag shows pride in their history. They have the right to proudly show their flag.

Los Angeles Time columnist Gustavo Arellano called waving a Mexican flag at a protest “good trouble.” And renowned journalist Edward R. Murrow once said, “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.”

If Trump and his supporters see the Mexican flag as the enemy, perhaps they should brush up on their history of California and take down their Confederate flags.

This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Flying the Mexican flag at ICE protests is as American as apple pie | Opinion."