The recall Valerie Amezcua protest in Santa Ana, Calif.

On June 17, a large crowd of Santaneros and allies showcased their grief and pleas during Public Comment as a form of protest, which began around 5:30 p.m. and ended a little over midnight.

Activists in the community, such as the OC Peace and Freedom Party, OC Party for Socialism and Liberation and activist couple Fernando Deveras and Leslie Priscilla, rallied people through social media to recall Mayor Valerie Amezcua.

Criticism over Amezcua circulated over her lack of discretion about I.C.E. activity within Santa Ana, a sanctuary city for undocumented people. Santa Ana has over 153,900 immigrants or 102,000 non-citizens, taking up 46% of the city’s population. (Source: City of Santa Ana website.) Of that, 46% of over 78-80% are Latinos, not including other ethnic immigrant demographics.

Over 123+ people (Not including Zoom) signed up for Public Comment. In the first hour or so, the commentators were given one minute and 30 seconds. However, this was repudiated alongside the city council’s precedent of three minutes for each commentator.