Immigration rights activists held a rally in California on Tuesday in protest against the White House deportation raids targeting Central American families.

Protesters held demonstrations across the state, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, denouncing the raids being conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deporting newly arrived immigrants who entered the country illegally. As Latin Post reported, the agency confirmed it has apprehended 121 Central Americans across multiple states so far this month.

During the rallies, activists shared their experiences in real time on social media using the hashtags #StopTheRaids, #Not1More and #ShutDownICE on Twitter. At one point, demonstrators put their lives on the line by sitting in the middle of a street in L.A., tweeted the National People's Action.

Other protesters were seen sitting in front of the ICE building on Sansome Street in San Francisco.

Activists also denounced the call being pushed by Donald Trump and other 2016 Republican candidates to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and beef up security.

Despite their call for action, the White House has publicly supported the raids, while the Department of Homeland Security announced that they may be expanded to include undocumented children who entered the U.S. without a guardian.

Government officials justify the raids, arguing that they are being used to deter immigrants from illegally crossing the border. However, immigration activists say the immigrants should receive refugee status since many left their homes in effort to escape ongoing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. As a result, sending them home would put their lives in jeopardy.

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