{"id":231732,"date":"2026-03-22T22:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/231732\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T22:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:55:07","slug":"surfers-hold-paddle-out-in-la-jolla-to-protest-immigration-actions-ice-killings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/231732\/","title":{"rendered":"Surfers hold ‘paddle out’ in La Jolla to protest immigration actions, ICE killings"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of surfers held a paddle out Sunday morning \u2014 an action typically reserved for mourning<\/a> the death of a beloved community member \u2014 to protest the Trump administration\u2019s weaponization of immigration agencies. <\/p>\n

Dozens of surfers gathered at La Jolla Shores on Sunday for the event, \u201cLet\u2019s Get Salty \u2013 Time to Melt the ICE,\u201d which was organized by a collective called San Diego Salty<\/a>, with the stated goal of bringing awareness to arrests, deportations, forced disappearances, and deaths at the hands of Immigration Customs and Enforcement and other border agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about showing up together, sparking conversation, and building clear bridges to action \u2013 while reminding one another that we are not alone and that solidarity is stronger when we move as ONE,\u201d their Instagram page said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The paddle out ceremony emerged from Hawaiian surf culture<\/a>. Surfers paddle out, as the name suggests, to an agreed-upon destination, then form a circle and join hands, which represents how the ocean brings people together. Sometimes they toss flowers or scatter ashes; other times they simply hold hands for a moment of silence. Often, they are done to memorialize a beloved community member. <\/p>\n

Sometimes, however, paddle outs are used as a form of protest. For example, a paddle out<\/a> was done in San Clemente last October to call attention to radioactive waste stored at San Onofre. <\/p>\n

And sometimes, they\u2019re also intended to lead by example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something called social proof<\/a> that I\u2019ve heard about ,like the more you make protest visible the easier it is for other people to have the courage to take action,\u201d said one of the organizers, who only wanted to be identified as Kristen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWee support justice for immigrants. We don\u2019t like what we\u2019re seeing \u2014 the kidnappings in our community \u2014 and we wanted to mobilize people to take action in the surf community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said that they were originally inspired by Paddle for Peace<\/a>, which was created to mourn George Floyd in 2020. She reached out to some surfers, connected with a group she found called Santa Cruz Salty<\/a>, and went from there.<\/p>\n

She added that their mission is clear. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to give people ways to take action and I feel like people think of surfers as kind of hippies, they think they\u2019re just disorganized \u2026 I think it\u2019s cool to organize them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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