Compton, California — Ernest Melendrez awoke early Sunday to clear his neighborhood’s streets of tear gas pellets and other burnt and shattered debris left over from the night before’s clash between protestors protesting immigration raids and federal and municipal officials.
Melendrez wore a mask that covered his nose and mouth, but he coughed frequently, which was insufficient to shield him from the residual tear gas in the air.
Across the street, businesses were adorned with anti-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement graffiti.
“I think people have the right idea, just the wrong approach,” Melendrez remarked as automobiles passed him, some honking in praise or stopping to inquire about the night before. “Everyone has their own style of dealing with problems, and if no one is present to help them regulate their emotions, this is what can happen. “You need some community support.”
Melendrez, his wife, and daughter cleaned the streets, which had been clouded just hours before by massive clouds of tear gas fired by federal authorities. The protests spurred President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to downtown Los Angeles, despite California Governor Gavin Newsom’s reservations. The governor has described Trump’s order as a “complete overreaction.”
More protests erupted on Sunday, with troops outfitted in combat gear stationed outside Metropolitan Detention Center downtown, where hundreds of people had previously clashed with federal officials. Tear gas was fired when some demonstrators approached the Guard forces.
The previous night’s conflict took place at a Home Depot about a block away from Melendrez’s cleaning station. On Sunday, everything was quiet and deserted; a lone worker removed graffiti off the store’s sign as customers drove in.
As federal cops in tactical gear shot tear gas and other nonlethal weapons in Compton and Paramount on Saturday, some protestors set off a series of tiny fires that left black char on the streets. Graffiti was seen on a doughnut store, a taqueria, a gas station, and other locally owned establishments. Despite Melendrez’s efforts, the damage in Compton remained raw and uncleaned on Sunday, with spray-painted inscriptions such as “What is America without Immigrants” all over.
Launie Melendrez, Ernest’s wife, said she backed peaceful protest and empathized with the families who were “being destroyed and wrangled up.” “It’s sad.”
She shook her head as she looked around at the devastation to local businesses. “The devastation of people’s hard work. This is how these people and their families support themselves. And the destruction of that will not help your case.”
Given the extent of the destruction, neighbors expressed frustration that they were left to clean up the mess.
Melendrez’s daughter, Elaina Angel, grew up in Compton and says she was not shocked. Nonetheless, she was frustrated to see the Home Depot reopen while her streets and local businesses remained littered with trash and graffiti.
“They don’t care about Compton,” she murmured under her mask, pausing to cough from anger. She was referring to political officials, law enforcement officers, and others who were not to be found Sunday morning. “But I don’t think they were counting on us to come out and clean it up.”