Long Beach, CA — More than 100 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members, leaders, and allies gathered in Long Beach on September 11 at a “Reclaim Our Streets” Rally, standing in powerful resistance against the fear and devastation caused by recent ICE raids and the increasing militarization of immigrant communities in Southern California.
Organized by AAPI Equity Alliance, in partnership with grassroots and advocacy organizations, the event was a vibrant demonstration of unity, resilience, and cultural pride. It followed the chilling September 8 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing immigration agents to stop individuals based on race or ethnicity—a ruling that has already deepened the targeting of immigrant and AAPI communities.
“We are here today to reclaim public spaces and to defend our right to live and thrive in our communities,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance.
Calling ICE raids “coordinated attacks on immigrants and working class communities,” she said the federal enforcement actions “continue to harm and destroy our communities and our families across Los Angeles.”
The rally came in direct response to the escalation of immigration enforcement under Trump-era policies that continue to reverberate across Los Angeles. According to the Department of Homeland Security, over 5,000 arrests have been made in the region since the renewed crackdown began—impacting families, disrupting communities, and instilling widespread fear.
“We stand together because no community should be isolated in the fight for justice,” Sayon Syprasoeuth, Associate Program Director of United Cambodian Community, told rally attendees. “When ICE comes for one of us, they come for all of us. And when we link arms, we raise our voices and we demand change together.”
Held in Long Beach—home to the largest Cambodian community outside of Cambodia—the event highlighted the disproportionate targeting of Southeast Asian communities in the region.
Other speakers at the rally shared stories about terrified AAPI community members facing deportation and separation from their children. Richer San, Founding and Board Member of Cambodia Town, Inc. told the audience about frightened Cambodian families living in and around Long Beach.
“Don’t give up,” he told attendees.
The event featured visuals honoring detained and deported loved ones, as well as cultural performances, crafts, and resources. Community resources were provided by participating groups: United Cambodian Community, Cambodia Town, Inc., Pacific Asian Counseling Services, South Asian Network, Little Tokyo Service Center, Filipino Migrant Center, Families in Good Health, NAPAFASA, and LA vs Hate.
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About AAPI Equity Alliance:
AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity) is a coalition of more than 50 community-based organizations serving the diverse needs of the 1.6 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County and beyond. It is dedicated to improving the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through civic engagement, capacity building, and policy advocacy.
Here are select quotes from the event:
“We are here today to reclaim public spaces and to defend our right to live and thrive in our communities. We are here today to underscore the need for continued awareness because these are coordinated attacks on immigrants and working class communities: Latino, Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander–and ICE has not gone away.”
Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director, AAPI Equity Alliance
Full Speaker Clip (link)
“Since Memorial Day, there have been 160 Southeast Asians that’ve been deported quietly and that is really not acceptable. I know there are more numbers than that coming out and we know our communities are afraid to come out, to go shopping, to go to work, grocery stores” … “We stand together because no community should be isolated in the fight for justice. We know that when ICE comes for one of us, they come for all of us and when we link arms, we raise our voices and we demand change together. And we are stronger than fear, stronger than cages and stronger than forced deportations.”
Sayon Syprasoeuth, Associate Program Director, United Cambodian Community
Full Speaker Clip (link)
“In June of this year, Councilwoman Suely Saro called Cambodia Town to say, please Richer, help our Latino community because they cannot come out to pick their groceries. So Cambodia Town and Cambodia American Cultural Center, United Cambodian Community (UCC) and her office were able to raise some money. We collected a lot of food, and then we dropped it off to where it is [needed]. We continued to do that for two weeks. We know what hunger can do and we were there–we were homeless, we [also] went through terrible [things] so we understand when people say, I need help. So this is the story I want to share with you. Don’t give up.”
Richer San, Cambodia Town, Inc.
Full Speaker Clip (link)
“I’m the daughter of immigrants who escaped a war torn Vietnam. My parents worked around the clock to put food on the table for three children. They were too traumatized and busy surviving to nurture any familial connection. My eldest brother, along with many other Southeast Asian boys at the time, struggled with that the most. He sought community elsewhere with local gangs. Over the years, I witnessed my brother houseless, abandoned by my family and struggling with addiction and escaping gang life. He was luckily never incarcerated, but he knew many who ended up that way or worse. Today I’m sharing a story from Bao who is not as lucky as my brother, but could have very well been my brother, who is one of the many Southeast Asians who are being unjustly detained and deported right now based on decades old criminal records.”
Tina Pham, Communications Manager, AAPI Equity Alliance
Full Speaker Clip (link)
“These ICE raids have created and reinforced fear and division and marginalization among our people. This is not a matter of who suffers more or who suffers less. This affects all races, all families, and all of us. Together we must advocate for the safety and dignity of our streets and our communities.” … “These situations impact the entire community. When these raids happen, communities lose workers, students and caregivers. Local businesses struggle, schools see empty seats and families are torn apart, often left without their only source of income. Beyond that, the emotional toll is unimaginable. Parents live in fear, children with trauma and neighbors with uncertainty of who will be taken next.”
Karena, Families in Good Health
Full Speaker Clip (link)
“Post 9/11, we had a legislative act called the Patriot Act, which allowed the U.S. government and the law enforcement agencies to surveil anyone to seize and seize any property of any person, regardless if that is a citizen or a non-citizen. Today in this country unfortunately people who are legitimate legal citizens in this country are being picked up in broad daylight by the mafia of ICE and being thrown out of this country. We will not tolerate this, we will not stand for this. We’ll continue to fight until every human being, every person, regardless if an immigrant or not, regardless a citizen or not, we’ll stand with them today and every day.”
Shakeel Syed, Executive Director, South Asian Network
Full Speaker Clip (link)
“For the Filipino community, for us as an organization, we’re working with caregivers who are undocumented. These are caregivers who are afraid to go to work, who are afraid to take the bus to work. And they are the ones who are taking care of our elders in our community. We are the nurses, we are the caregivers, the CNAs in the hospitals, all of our people, not just Filipinos. We are the people in the service industries serving and preparing our food. We are all of the workers who are coming together to make the city and this world go round. And so for us, that’s why it’s very important for us to be able to stand with each other, to take action together.”
Romeo Hebron, Executive Director, Filipino Migrant Center
Full Speaker Clip (link)