The streets of Los Angeles are full again — not with joy, but with anger. Protesters, mostly Hispanic, are rallying against ICE raids and Trump’s latest decision to deploy federal troops into majority-Latino neighborhoods.
Black folks are watching. Quietly. Thoughtfully. And some are asking:
Should we show up for people who rarely show up for us?
It’s the paradox of being Black in America. We’re expected to be everyone’s freedom fighters — marching, shouting, voting — not just for ourselves, but for everybody else too. Yet when we’re gunned down by police, denied home loans, or jailed under laws built to cage us, many of those same groups go silent. Or worse, they vote for the very people who oppress us.
📉 Where Was the Support?
Let’s be honest: in both the 2020 and 2024 elections, Hispanic men were Trump’s fastest-growing demographic. According to Pew and exit polls, Trump won 43% of the Latino vote in 2024 — including nearly 50% of Latino men under 45.
These are the same men now facing ICE raids in their own neighborhoods. Some of them cheered when Trump promised “law and order.” Others stood with Republicans while Black communities begged for help fighting voter suppression and racialized policing.
So we ask again: Do they stand for us when it matters?
🛡️ But Let’s Not Miss the Bigger Picture
Despite the justified frustration, sitting out this moment would be a mistake. The same surveillance tools ICE uses today were developed for “gang units” and “urban crime initiatives” that targeted Black neighborhoods first. Now, they’ve just been rebranded as tools for immigration enforcement.
If these tactics go unchecked, Black communities will be next — and worse, they may already be in the crosshairs.
🤝 Support With Strategy, Not Blind Loyalty
We shouldn’t protest just to play the moral hero. We protest to protect our future. But here’s the shift: we must demand reciprocity.
If we march, we speak.
If we show up, we organize.
And if we fight for you, you damn well better fight for us next time.
Black leaders should join these protests, but with a message: “We’re here. But will you be there when they defund our schools or flood our prisons?”
Protest is not performance. It’s leverage.
🧠 Quote of the Moment
> “If they come for me in the morning, they’ll come for you in the night.”
— James Baldwin
That wasn’t just a warning. It was a strategy memo. We either build coalitions now or get crushed one group at a time.
🗳️ More Than Marching: We Need Coordination
Trump’s playbook is clear: provoke chaos, send in troops, and dare communities to fight back in ways he can criminalize. But what scares him isn’t the crowd. It’s the courtroom, the ballot box, and the coalition that can sway both.
We need legal challenges. Voter drives. National alliances. That’s how we protect our rights — not just with signs, but with strategy.
⚠️ Sidebar: What Is Project 2025?
Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for Trump’s second term — and it’s chilling. The plan would:
Eliminate civil service protections
Remove career civil rights staff from DOJ
Expand federal policing powers
Centralize law enforcement under the president
That means less accountability, fewer rights, and more danger — especially for Black and Brown communities. ICE raids today are just a preview.
✊🏾 Final Thoughts
Black people have always been moral leaders in this country. But moral leadership doesn’t mean being used. It means knowing when to show up — and what to demand when we do.
Yes, we should support these protests. But let’s do it with clear eyes and firm terms. Not because we’re supposed to. But because we see the danger clearly — and we refuse to wait until it hits our doorstep.
Let’s stand — but let’s also speak, organize, and expect something back.
Fush them Mexicans. They NEVER support us!
This.
The Hispanic community needs us now. But we need to protect us too. Great article Jeff
Right, whose next ???
First, the interjection of the National Guard and Marines at the LA demonstrations against ICE raids was totally unnecessary.
The property damage caused by some demonstrators is rather minimal and LAPD can handle those idiots. I feel for any human being who is suffering in their own country and seek a better life, but bum rushing the borders can be problematic for the welfare of citizens born in the U.S. and those who have obtained citizenship through authorized channels. There’s got to be a way to provide some relief to suffering non-citizens while prioritizing the relief of suffering people who are already here legally. Some of the ICE tactics are inhumane and possibly illegal, but we must also consider a more basic question: Is there no limit to the amount of people from other nations that the U.S. should allow into the country without proper documentation? If so, then let us go save the millions of starving children in Africa as well, many of whom also live among warring factions. There is no way to ensure that collaborating with Hispanic protestors in the streets of the U.S. will result in any quid-pro-quo for Black Americans. I’m not sure that even elected officials with Hispanic blood are raising enough hell about how ICE is handling their brothers and sisters, so who could galvanize reciprocal Hispanic support for causes that Black Americans continue to fight for?
Great article; very enlightening and thought provoking.
I agree with most, if not all of your points. I also agree with the majority of your respondents. Black boots on the ground alongside brown boots would not significantly change the results. But, I do believe a coalition of black and brown leaders, and “elected officials”, would get more traction. However, we must keep in mind that the current battle is primarily a brown issue, the suggested fight should be broader. And, this is not a “colored” versus “white” issue. It should not be a democratic versus republican issue either. This should be a stand against Trump and his administration. Therefore, the coalition should also include whites, and other nationalities, to include white elected officials. It’s time for U.S. Congress representatives to join their state elected officials and stop the madness.
Furthermore, the administration’s goal should be to identify and remove illegal criminal immigrants, not all illegal immigrants. Seeking criminals should not cause generalized raids to deport those who seek the American dream. Those individuals should be identified and required to appear in immigration offices on specific dates to begin the naturalization process. Greater control should be implemented at the border to restrict additional illegal entry. Those with criminal history or criminal affiliations, should be gathered and deported. Yes, this would likely overwhelm the immigration system, but it would also increase employment opportunities to accommodate the increase.
Those “who didn’t stand with us” succumbed to the same old “divide & conquer” xenophobia that has been used to exploit people of color forever. Let’s not fall victim to it yet again.
It’s been demonstrated that there are better ways to remove immigrants. Without ever requiring the National Guard or violating the Constitution, Obama removed 5.3 million individuals, Biden removed 4.6 million, and Trump (in his first term) removed 2.1 million (see: https://www.newsweek.com/immigrant-deportations-removals-trump-biden-obama-compared-chart-2026835). And regardless of where the quotas are set, the process is (and has been for years) broken. Let’s not forget the “Bi-partisan Immigration Reform” that almost passed in 2024 – and furthermore how it failed: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-collapse-of-bipartisan-immigration-reform-a-guide-for-the-perplexed/ But this “manufactured crisis” (in my opinion) is just a means to topple a larger target.
The current administration is certainly following the script of project 2025 (even if inadvertently) and the irrefutable result is chaos, confusion, and unrest (not limited to the immigration challenge). Xenophobia (and resulting de-humanization) is being exploited to slip in legal precedence for further enhancing the powers of the Executive branch (violating the spirit and letter of the Constitution) all in the name of (in my opinion) “might (i.e., money) makes right”. We (Black Folk) have seen that before, up close and with virtually no support (go see the African American exhibit at the World War II Museum for evidence). We need to do all we can to (peacefully) protest this de-humanizing agenda and support any and all allies in doing the same – before “peaceful protest” is outlawed.
“This article truly opened my eyes. I was initially inclined to withhold support from those who don’t support us. But after reading it and reflecting on the bigger picture, my perspective shifted. Dr. King’s words ring louder than ever: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ We must stand for what’s right, even when it’s not returned, because justice isn’t about convenience—it’s about conviction.”
Thanks, Jeff. Great article and great discussion. It reminds me that any organizing not based on a real understanding of racism is doomed.