L.A. Protests: Why Mexican Flags — Not American — Are Flying

India-West News Desk

LOS ANGELES, CA — Amid the chants, traffic blockades, and clouds of tear gas at immigration protests across Los Angeles, one symbol is spotted: the Mexican flag.

The red, white, and green tricolor has become an unmistakable visual in the ongoing protests against immigration enforcement policies. As Politico reports, the flag is far more than a cultural emblem — it is a political declaration, steeped in history and layered with meaning.

To many demonstrators, especially young Mexican Americans, flying the flag is an unapologetic statement of pride and resistance — a refusal to erase or minimize their heritage in the face of growing anti-immigrant rhetoric. “There’s a very popular refrain in our community: you can’t just like our food and our music — you have to respect our people too,” one activist told Politico.

That sentiment is resonating across generations. Many of the flag-bearers are U.S. citizens — second-, third-, or even fourth-generation Mexican Americans — who are marching not only for themselves but in solidarity with their undocumented parents and grandparents. The flag, in their hands, becomes a bridge: a symbol of heritage, but also a message of unity and belonging. “When you see young people with the flag, it’s also about standing with their families,” noted one person interviewed by Politico.

The flag, protestors say is not just as a challenge to the deportation agenda of President Donald Trump, but a cultural and political rallying point in a state where people of Mexican descent now make up more than 30% of the population — roughly 12 million individuals.

The flag’s visibility has drawn criticism from some conservative commentators, who frame it as a symbol of foreign allegiance and a sign of unwelcome incursion. But for those in the streets, that’s precisely why they carry it — to challenge the notion that identity must be binary, or that cultural pride is un-American.

As Politico put it, the flag at these protests doesn’t signify division — it represents a demand to be seen and respected.