Hundreds of people gathered Sunday outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center to mark the anniversary of the start of ‘No Kings’ rallies and show support for detainees held inside the facility. The demonstration, led by the group Indivisible, took place along Calzada de la Fuente in front of the detention center. Organizers said the event also coincided with Flag Day and highlighted what they described as the international nature of the United States. Flags representing multiple countries lined the sidewalk outside the facility during the rally. Connie Elder, an organizer with Indivisible, said the timing of the event was significant. “This Sunday is the first anniversary of the No Kings one rally. It also is Flag Day, and we thought this would be a good time to emphasize the international nature of our country.” Elder also commented on immigration enforcement efforts. “It’s a tremendous irony, isn’t it? That we, the United States of America, are hosting an international competition at the same time as we are doing everything we possibly can to get rid of people from other countries that are in our country.” Last month, an ICE spokesperson told NBC 7 in part that “Many of the individuals that are counted as ‘non-criminals’ are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more; they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S.,” adding that nearly 70% of ICE arrests are criminal illegal aliens. Elder disputed that characterization. “71% of the people in detention centers in the country right now have committed, have absolutely no crime. They have no criminal record, no speeding ticket,” she said. Organizers also played music outside the detention center, saying it could be heard by people inside. Elder said the music serves as a message of support to detainees. “And we blast music and the the people on the inside hear the music.” “We’re actually going to try to to levitate the detention center and, and release the evil spirits and let everybody out.” she added. According to Elder, detainees have communicated to the group that hearing music from outside the facility provides comfort and lets them know the community remembers them and their immigration journeys. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less