LOS ANGELES — The afternoon sun beat down on Los Angeles City Hall as Xavi Moreno watched the crowd around him swell, struck by the momentum of it all.

It was a scene of collective anger over the families, fruit vendors, gardeners, day laborers and others who have been targeted for deportation under the Trump administration and a protest against the violence accompanying the immigration actions over the past few weeks. But the moment was also punctuated by something unexpected: a tinge of hope.

“The protest is student led, it’s young, it’s Black, brown, white, Asian,” Moreno said. “Everybody is here across the country, and I hope it sends a loud message that we’re done, and it doesn’t stop today.”

Moreno, of Boyle Heights, was one of thousands gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Friday as part of a nationwide protest over immigration enforcement arrests and increasingly aggressive tactics used by federal agents that have spread anxiety and fear in communities across the United States.

Moreno stood by an immigrant vendor as he handed out signs that read “ICE out of our streets.” By 1 p.m. the steps of City Hall and Spring Street were awash with protesters of all ages, including some students who participated in a Los Angeles Unified districtwide walkout.

The nationwide protests and walkouts, which appeared largely peaceful, come after similar demonstrations in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, and Alex Pretti, also 37, an ICU nurse, were fatally shot.

While much national focus has been on Minneapolis, tensions have also escalated in Southern California this month as daily immigration operators continue across the region. The scope of the sweeps appears to be down from last summer’s operations but continue to occur from street corners in Boyle Heights to downtown L.A.’s Fashion District.

Those protesting the immigration actions have found themselves at odds with federal agents, at times in confrontations that have resulted in gunfire and serious injury.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security officers blinded two protesters by shooting a less-lethal projectile at close range during a demonstration in Santa Ana. Days later, a federal agent opened fire at a man, who the Department of Homeland Security said rammed agents with his vehicle while attempting to evade arrest, during an operation in South Los Angeles.

The demonstrations starting Friday call for people to stay home from work and school and refrain from shopping. The sweeping “ICE Out Everywhere” protests are planned to continue Saturday.

Organizers hope the “national shutdown” will convince the Trump administration to stop sending immigration agents to cities across the country or, at least, tone down the heated interactions with protesters. They also hope the actions will pressure the federal government to cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to nationalshutdown.org, a website sponsored by various student groups, labor organizations and religious coalitions.

Teens at high schools across the region walked out of their classes — some in solidarity with protesters and others to join the demonstrations themselves. Along a barrier in front of Los Angeles City Hall, students in backpacks carried signs that called for “full rights for all immigrants” as well as justice for Keith Porter Jr., a man fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge last month.

One of these students, 16-year-old Neven McGarvey of Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, said he decided to leave school in the early afternoon to support his classmates, some of whom are the children of immigrants.

“I think protesting like this would make them feel like a part of us,” McGarvey said. “I feel like we have to protest against this.”

He and a row of classmates shouted chants disparaging the mobilization of ICE on cities across the U.S. and responded loudly to honks of support from passersby. Students walking up from nearby schools were handed signs and took position on the steps of City Hall.

Twenty feet from the archways of the municipal building, Dan Egan led the crowd of protesters in a series of chants: “ICE out of L.A.!” and “Our streets!”

The young Australian Canadian says he’s been living in the United States for 12 years and sees the recent “decline of humanity” as his main concern for the country. Demonstrating, Egan said, is part of his duty as a citizen.

“We probably got like 5,000, 6,000 people out here and it does my heart good,” Egan said. “I hope we can sustain this effort.”

President Donald Trump has called the protesters “paid agitators and insurrectionists,” but offered no proof to support claims that those rallying have been paid.

Egan laughed when asked about Trump’s claims. “I would pay money to protest Trump,” he said. “You don’t need to pay people to come out on the streets. L.A. is angry and you can feel it today.”

Meanwhile, chants rippled across the crowd of Angelenos, some of whom waved American and California flags and banners from Mexico and Palestine. Women adorned their hair in ribbons and men wore Los Angeles Dodgers caps to shield their faces from the sun, the crowd representing an array of identities that make up Los Angeles.

Beba Bonilla, 37, a teacher in Los Angeles, wore braids that hung down the back of her shirt that read “F— ICE” in bold letters. Bonilla said she felt it was her duty to show up for the immigrants who are too afraid to leave their homes.

“I took a personal necessity day because, as a teacher, I just felt so strongly that I had to be here and join the nation,” Bonilla said. “My parents are immigrants and the only way I got my master’s was because of their sacrifices.”

There were signs this week that the outcry from the public and lawmakers might move the needle. Trump’s border adviser, Tom Homan, announced Thursday that federal authorities would wind down immigration crackdowns in Minnesota, but only if agents were given access to jails to seize undocumented immigrants for deportation.

But that hasn’t appeased protesters at demonstrations throughout Los Angeles County.

In Long Beach, roughly 3,000 middle and high school students walked out on Friday, according to the Long Beach Unified School District. Honks and cheers from passing cars drowned out all other sounds on Santa Fe Avenue as students crowded the sidewalk.

Federico, a freshman at Cabrillo High School who declined to give his last name, said he wanted to join the demonstration — his first — to support his parents who are undocumented and fearful they could be targeted for deportation.

“I want to be a voice for them,” he said, as he carried a Mexican flag on his shoulders.

Several businesses, including Silver Lake sports bar Untamed Spirits and Canyon Coffee in Echo Park, said on social media that they will be closed Friday for the general strike. Others have vowed to donate a portion of proceeds to organizations in support of immigrants.

The temporary work stoppages have even affected Hollywood television productions. Sources confirmed to Variety that producers postponed filming “Grey’s Anatomy” on Friday after crew members said they would not be showing up for work. Filming for the show’s 22nd season will continue on Saturday, according to the outlet.

Across the country at a protest in Minneapolis, signs held by protesters on Friday included lots of expletives, urging people to resist, to end the “ICE age” and get federal agents out of Minnesota.

“Abolish ice! No one is illegal!” Terresa Hardaway, a graphic design professor at the University of Minnesota and creative director of Blackbird Revolt, a social justice-based design studio, chanted.

Despite Trump’s comments that the administration would deescalate in Minnesota, Hardaway said she hasn’t seen any meaningful changes.

“We are still under occupation by a federally backed institution that is harming our community, that is stealing and abducting our neighbors,” she said. Still, she said, the city remains united.

(Staff writers Kate Sequeira and Seema Mehta contributed to this report.)

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