Brendan Cassidy of Hillcrest made demands. Raul Rodriguez Jr. of Apple Valley made demands. Both attracted media and went on a march.
But the similarities ended there Saturday outside the U.S. Border Patrol’s fenced-in Chula Vista Station as demonstrators staked out starkly different views on asylum seekers and border security.
Speaking to 80 fellow protesters in front of the closed Vista Terrace Recreation Center pool, Cassidy made six demands of world and U.S. governments as a representative of Otay Mesa Detention Resistance.
“Stop the profiling and criminalization of refugees,” he said via handheld amplifier. “Lift the executive order limiting access to asylum.”
At the entrance to the parking lot, Rodriguez, carrying a bullhorn, led a handful of counterprotesters in chants of “U-S-A” and “Build that wall — nice and tall.”
Like the shutdown showdown in Washington, the two sides found little common ground. But the opponents were both watched by at least a dozen San Diego police officers.
Only the larger group of protesters — including one with an “International Socialist Organization” banner — was being photographed from inside the Border Patrol yard, however. (The Canon-using worker declined to give his name, but said he was shooting “for the archives.”)
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Responding to the pro-Trump shouts, one male protester said: “Go back to Europe. Go back to your land.”
Reading from his smart phone, Cassidy made other demands:
- That governments around the world respect the rights of asylum for Central Americans.
- Process asylum claims with expediency. (“We reject the Customs and Border Protection’s claim that port of entries lack capacity to let in refugees.”)
- That the U.S. government publicly acknowledge its role in the Honduran coup in 2009.
- That the United Nations and Mexico also recognize the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Freedom for incarcerated migrants and free movement for asylum-seekers. (“No incarceration of migrants in shelters or for-profit detention centers.”)
- And: “We should prosecute the officials who violate the human rights (of those) who seek asylum in any country.”
After several more noontime speakers, the group began a march west on Athey Avenue, down Caithness Drive and south on Del Sur Boulevard and east on Beyer Boulevard — drawing the interest (and sometimes supportive chants) of residents of the Villa Nueva Apartments.
They did call-and-response to traditional chants: “Trump, escucha, estamos en la lucha” (“Trump, listen, we’re in the fight”) and “We didn’t cross the border — the border crossed us.”
Police allowed an eight-member group of President Trump supporters to follow, but kept them about 30 yards away. (A San Diego Police Department spokesman later said no arrests were made.)
Earlier, the oft-quoted Rodriguez, 76, said: “We support President Trump and everything he’s doing.”
On the partial government shutdown: “I think the Democrats need to work with the president to secure the border, make sure no more Americans are murdered by illegals, by MS-13 and all these other organizations.”
He also said he hoped Trump would shut down the border and declare a national emergency.
“That means that no one else will be able to cross that border legally or illegally until this thing is settled,” he said (although he’d allow American citizens to cross back from Mexico).
Amy Sutton of San Diego, another counterprotester, called the asylum issue “a manufactured crisis starting in Mexico and other countries. …. They have created this because they know all of our loopholes.”
She asked: “Did you know that more than 50 percent of all federal crimes are committed by undocumented immigrants?” And Sutton declared that terrorists “are on their way (here) right now.”
They’re always coming in, she said, adding: “There’s been over 800. This is known factual evidence that over 800 to a thousand ISIS members have been apprehended coming through our border just in the past year.”
Though this claim has consistently been debunked, Sutton said: “That’s all government information that you can look up.”
But less dramatic hazards were a concern as several women in MAGA hats followed the chanting, sign-carrying protest group.
“I hope we have people watching our cars in that parking lot,” one woman told another.
