Unsettling images coming out of Los Angeles, California of protestors clashing against police and immigration officers filled our feeds this week. Just as disturbing was the reactionary deployment of a federalized National Guard and a battalion of active-duty Marines to an American city. Scenes of burning cars, plumes of smoke and gas masks, vandalism, officers firing non-lethal bullets at protesters and journalists, military personnel in uniform, and mass arrests are symptoms of a society at odds with their government.

We’ve seen this story before. In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, nationwide protests that became synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement defined the first summer of a global pandemic and the final year of President Trump’s first term. Protestors marched on city streets around the country and in Washington D.C. in solidarity with the Black community against police brutality. Unfortunately, others used the opportunity to commit crimes like vandalism, arson, looting, or marching with guns and rifles resulting in the death of protesters. It was a chaotic and unsettling time on American streets.

We are not destined to repeat history, but history can guide us. Civil unrest is rarely unprovoked. When the people are unable to meet their needs, are actively targeted, or discover in their time to disrupt the status quo of injustice, they respond by making themselves seen, heard, and demands known. It’s how societies function when their government neglects the needs of its people or becomes dysfunctional.

The protests and counter-reaction in Los Angeles and materializing in cities around the country are in direct response to the alarming scenes of immigration enforcement tactics. Unannounced roundups of migrants at job sites, in public spaces, city streets, schools, universities, and houses of worship are the stories of political fiction and authoritarian regimes of the past. This week’s demonstrations reveal that fiction has become reality.

As visionary people of hope, we believe in a better tomorrow for everyone, everywhere. We believe in a safe and orderly society equitably extended to all. We believe in the right to peaceful protest without intimidation or interference. We believe widespread civil unrest is a symptom, not a cause. We believe in supporting political leaders who are eager to and capable of empathizing with the needs of the public without fear of retribution. We believe government services can be both orderly and humane. We refuse to accept binary solutions to complex problems in our changing world.

We celebrate the fact that we’re a diverse and pluralistic nation. From natives and naturalized citizens to foreigners seeking to make America a home for themselves and their children, we are better together. At its finest in cities and communities across the country, America is representative of a free, inclusive, and thriving human family to which we all belong.

A hopeful future requires holistic solutions, not overly simplistic ones. We can have accessible borders, expedited immigration policies, and equitable pathways to citizenship so long as we choose it. Protesters can go home, the military can return to its barracks, and our communities can be as vibrant as ever when we build a better future for everyone.