Hundreds protest against Trump’s policies at Silicon Valley’s capital

As tech bosses cheered Donald Trump at his inauguration, people took to the streets to protest against the US President’s mass deportation policies.

A rally at Silicon Valley’s biggest city, San Jose, attracted hundreds of people just hours after Donald Trump returned to the White House, protesting against the US President’s new policies, including mass deportations.

On Tuesday (Australian time), Mr Trump signed dozens of executive orders, from unwinding Joe Biden’s climate and diversity policies to immigration — including one declaring a national ‘emergency’ at the US and Mexico border and another which would move to end recognition of automatic birthright citizenship.

Hundreds of protesters march down Santana Row in San Jose, rallying against Donald Trump's immigration policies. Picture: Rob Locke

Immigration rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Trump administration soon after Mr Trump signed the order which would end birthright citizenship for children born in the US whose mothers entered America illegally or on visas and fathers who aren’t citizens or legal permanent residents.

The policy prompted hundreds of people to march down Santana Row in San Jose at the end of what had been a quiet day in the area known as the US tech capital, with Mr Trump’s inauguration held on the same day as the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday.

Guests at Hotel Valencia on Santana Row in San Jose were told by management to stay indoors as the demonstrators marched by, chanting and holding placards emblazoned with the words ‘now fascists wear business suits’ with a photo of Mr Trump and one of his closest advisers, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.

Other signs said ‘No border militarisation’ and ‘Legalisation for all! Solidarity with immigrants’.

When asked about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, Mr Trump said: “I don’t want to say when but it’s going to happen’.

As demonstrators took to the streets in an area home to many of America’s biggest tech companies, executives including Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Apple boss Tim Cook were in Washington DC to attend Mr Trump’s inauguration.

(L-R) Priscilla Chan, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla CEO Elon Musk attend the inauguration ceremony.

Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg are the world’s three richest people, and in addition to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who also attended, their combined fortune sits at just above $US1 trillion ($1.6 trillion), according to Forbes.

The tech tycoons have spent the weeks since the election courting favour with Trump, marking a dramatic shift from Silicon Valley’s more hostile response to his first term four years ago. Mr Zuckerberg has also ended fact-checking on his platforms, including Facebook and Instagram — a move which has aligned him closer to Mr Musk but sparked condemnation from Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.

US markets were closed on the federal holiday, but the US dollar fell by more than 1 per cent on Mr Trump revealing he was considering a February 1 start of 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The Australian dollar hit a three week high.

Mr Trump also said “what a great feeling” when asked what it was like to return to the Oval Office, saying it was “one of the better feelings I’ve had”.

But, a demonstrator at San Jose called Carol told NBC she felt “pain”.

“To see so many people out here fighting for it, I love it, but to know why they are here is what hurts the most”.

Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena.

Erika, who also attended the rally, said her “biggest fear” was “losing” her parents. “I don’t even want to think about it because if I were to lose my parents to deportation, my whole world would fall apart,” she told NBC.

Mr Trump has promised an “American golden age” and accused the Biden administration of a “horrible ­betrayal” of the country. He said under Mr Biden, the rights of illegal migrants had been prioritised over the interests of US citizens, and vast sums had been spent on foreign conflicts instead of securing America’s southern border.

“For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken,” he said. “We will immediately restore the integrity, competency and loyalty of America’s government.

“Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear.

“But, I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason — I was saved by God to make America great again.”

Originally published as Hundreds protest against Trump’s policies at Silicon Valley’s capital