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“El mensaje que queremos dar al presidente Trump es rotundo: Dejen de secuestrar a nuestra gente, saquen al ICE de Los Ángeles y dejen de ocupar militares en nuestra ciudad”, clamó Martín Manteca, director de organización externa del local 721 del Sindicato Internacional de Trabajadores de los Servicios (SEIU), uno de los organizadores de la Carrera contra el ICE.

Speakers throughout the event included Fayia Ramage, founder of Run Against ICE; Martin Manteca, external organizing director for SEIU Local 721; and Julita Galwa, founder of Run Club Girls.

The 15-mile route encompassed Koreatown, all the way down to the Metropolitan Detention Center, and then with stops along the way to some of the well-known spots where ICE raids have occurred. Finally, it finished at the historic Olvera Street.

Runners expressed a mix of outrage, heartache and defiance as they jogged in the hot sun for 15 miles through neighborhoods where raids have happened or that are important to immigrants, from streets lined with sidewalk vendors in Koreatown and MacArthur Park to Dodger Stadium, Chinatown, the Fashion District and the city’s historic core, a few blocks from the Metropolitan Detention Center where immigration detainees are housed.

Organizers call it a “non-violent journey of resistance through Los Angeles” and said it is part of a 30-day “Summer of Resistance” campaign designed to push for an end to ICE raids and deportations they say have “tore families apart.”

“We are here for [unauthorized immigrants],” said SEIU 721 Organizing Director Martin Manteca. “We stand with them and we will continue to fight for them.”

Upwards of 2,000 people have registered to participate in the run, which will include a stop at downtown’s Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street, which has been the site of multiple clashes between people protesting immigration-related arrests and law enforcement officers.

The event was sponsored by the group 50501 SoCal in conjunction with SEIU Local 721, CARECEN, NDLON and the Community Power Collective.

The LA Tenants Union, SEIU 721, and the Coalition of Labor Union Employees held a press conference and rally Tuesday morning, urging city leaders to pass immediate protections for renters affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

The L.A. Tenants Union, SEIU 721 and the Coalition of Labor Union Employees joined forces for a press conference and rally on Olvera Street Tuesday morning.