A determined group of North Bay immigrants and supporters set out this weekend on a 35-mile march to Sacramento to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement actions. Their peaceful demonstration comes amid growing outrage over federal deportation arrests that have ignited protests across California.
Starting Saturday in Vacaville, the marchers — joined by roughly 350 participants throughout the journey — were en route to the State Capitol by Sunday afternoon, trekking along rural roads near UC Davis.
“It shows that the movement continues to grow,” said Oakland activist Danny Selaya. “Despite Trump’s failed attempts to try to scare the community, we’re out here. We’re taking to the streets.”
The march, planned well in advance, gained heightened urgency as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched sweeping arrest operations in Los Angeles this weekend, prompting widespread demonstrations and unrest. At least 11 people were arrested in LA during the protests.
Renee Saucedo, a longtime immigrant rights advocate in the North Bay, emphasized the bravery of undocumented marchers.
“What courage they have to do this long walk,” Saucedo said. “To attend peaceful protests, knowing they could be picked up at any minute. This walk and what’s happening in L.A. is the culmination of many months of endurance and suffering.”
Among the critics of the administration’s response is Rep. Sam Liccardo of Palo Alto, who denounced President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles without a request from Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Leave urban policing to the experts,” Liccardo said. “We don’t need the military involved. This is a reckless use of well-intentioned citizens who serve in our National Guard.”
Former public defender Bernice Espinosa joined the march, expressing alarm over ICE’s tactics — especially arrests at courthouses where immigrants are appearing for legal proceedings.
“This makes no sense,” Espinosa said. “We ask to be a country of law and order, and yet there is no due process. As an attorney, I swore to defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. That includes the president.”
As the group prepares to rally at the State Capitol on Monday — where lawmakers are expected to be largely sympathetic — Saucedo predicts this is only the beginning.
“I think you’re going to have a lot more protests,” she said. “I think people are going to stand up more and more and say, ‘This is not right.’”
A recent CBS News poll conducted before the weekend’s unrest shows that a slight majority of Americans support the Trump administration’s deportation policies — a stark contrast to the sentiments expressed by many on California’s streets.
