Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to Disneyland with his family over the weekend drew protests and political backlash as critics pointed to the timing, like the sweeping immigration raids across Southern California and a federal court ruling rebuking the administration’s tactics.
Demonstrators gathered Saturday outside the Grand Californian Hotel and along Disney Way, waving U.S. and Mexican flags and holding signs that read “No vacations during deportations” and “You don’t get to hate us and enjoy us,” according to a local station. One protester told reporters, “I would tell him to go home. Get the hell out of here.”
The protest followed days of intensified immigration enforcement actions, including ICE raids at farms in Ventura County where about 200 people were detained and one man died in custody. Just yesterday, U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong issued a ruling that blocked ICE from using “roving patrols” and racial profiling in the Los Angeles area. She ruled those actions likely violated the Fourth Amendment and that detainees must have access to legal counsel.
Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento told City News Service he would only meet with Vance if the vice president addresses local fears, saying the raids are “terrorizing residents and shuttering our businesses and making people live in fear.”
Critics say Vance’s decision to vacation in the state the administration frequently denounces isn’t just tone-deaf — it’s political hypocrisy in action.
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