In LA, activists patrol Home Depots, parks using a volunteer network to warn of immigration raids
LOS ANGELES A young undocumented man stood outside of the Hollywood Home Depot looking for work on a latest hot Wednesday afternoon Since the store was raided by federal immigration agents in June he s been on high alert fearing detainment and deportation But he relies on being in society spaces for his livelihood like a large number of other laborers and street vendors and he has four kids to help There s no freedom living in this fear revealed the man who petitioned to remain anonymous due to fear of being deported That s why district groups like Union del Barrio and Los Angeles Tenants Union are using their volunteer networks to provide warnings of foreseen raids so laborers and vendors can continue to find work despite the risks At a m on a Thursday Union del Barrio volunteer Francisco Romero and around others are already out patrolling the region documenting probable immigration enforcement activity or vehicles that could belong to federal officers Two assistants patrolled the MacArthur Park area with Romero while others scoured areas across the county including in South Central and Vernon In the last month the group has trained hundreds of assistants to check on reports of immigration activity and warn region members of promising raids before they occur Helpers were greeted at MacArthur Park and later at a nearby Home Depot by friendly waves as Union del Barrio vehicles pulled through marked with magnets that read Protecting communities from ICE police terror Romero and other contributors talked with day laborers passing out fliers with information about Union del Barrio a group that first implemented locality patrols across California amid the civil unrest that followed the beating of Rodney King When a carriage seems suspicious often a large American-made pick-up truck or van sometimes missing tags or registration stickers contributors log a voice note with identifying information in episode they see the bus again at an immigration enforcement action Romero revealed he and other population advocates can t stop federal immigration officials from enforcement activity but they can push for greater transparency and warn communities when there are ongoing or impending immigration raids Right now they have free reign Romero stated They re out of control The Trump administration has pledged to run the largest deportation effort in American history claiming the country is overrun with illegal immigrants As a impact the federal authorities has aggressively pursued daily raids across Southern California and the nation targeting day laborers street vendors gardeners farmworkers and others While the administration has touted a priority for targeting violent criminals countless picked up in raids have no criminal records immigration experts say U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and agents are highly trained and dedicated professionals who are sworn to uphold the law protect the American people and assistance U S national safety interests ICE disclosed in an emailed report The administration has defended its aggressive tactics including masked immigration officers who are often in plainclothes and use unmarked vehicles during raids and detainments President Trump s boundary czar Tom Homan noted individuals who interfere with ICE operations will face charges When you annoyingly impede an ICE officer when you put hands on ICE officer you will be prosecuted Homan revealed on Fox News In Hollywood region organizers with the Los Angeles Tenants Union a local organization demanding affordable housing and universal rent control responded to the June Home Depot raid by maintaining a regular presence at the home improvement store The organization also sets up a red canopy across the street with a set of tables filled with know your rights cards and tenants rights fliers Every week day at least one LATU activist stands near each of the three entrances while looking at each motorcycle that drives in like Union del Barrio does for signs that it might be a federal agent If they do see a suspicious van a message is sent to their structure of organizers When a sighting of a federal immigration agent is substantiated organizers alert laborers and vendors over a megaphone On a latest Wednesday afternoon three men looking for work stood in the shade of a tree outside the Hollywood store They all wore baseball caps and two had backpacks The latest raid left plenty of of them fearful of being taken by masked immigration agents but they needed the work Next to the group stood a volunteer with LATU who was holding up a sign that declared ICE Out of LA Certain drivers honked in encouragement as they drove by Ren Marquez an organizer with LATU declared the area organizing at the Hollywood Home Depot is a microcosm of how communities across the region have responded to the widespread raids What we ve been doing here is a little bit of a template for how other cities and organizers can create these mutual aid systems of care Marquez announced Alida Garcia a volunteer in a San Fernando Valley group patrol was one of more than people to attend an Adopt a Corner training through the National Day Laborers Organizing Arrangement last month that connected participants and taught them tactics to earn the trust of day laborers in their region The Valley group she declared is made up of a limited dozen contributors including working mothers like Garcia Everybody is just like everyday people all across the Valley who just know that what we re experiencing right now is wrong she declared and that we need to show up for each other She and other helpers have passed out conchas coffee and materials to day laborers and vendors at Home Depots in San Fernando North Hollywood and other locations around the area When sightings are informed the patrol warns day laborers in the area After one of the patrols Garcia disclosed immigration officers raided a San Fernando Home Depot and activists believe around workers were detained Once the group patrol got the review they returned to gather witness reports and contact local elected functionaries Emma de Paz one of the people taken by masked federal immigration agents on June had been vending outside of the Hollywood store for nearly years according to a woman who sold food next to her Though the woman is authorized to be in the U S she demanded to remain anonymous for fear of being taken by agents Despite being terrified the woman who knew de Paz returned to vending four days after the raid She needed to work She reported she used to make enough money to pay rent and backing her children but business has gone down since the June raid If we can t pay we ll live on the streets she declared Everything changed after they manifested up the first time reported the man looking for work to backing his four children Before the raid he declared he felt at ease being friendly and engaging with people while looking for work Now he s on constant alert He commented less people are showing up looking for work and that specific of his friends don t leave their homes because they re scared they ll be taken by masked men The amount of work the man gets on a daily basis has also dwindled He used to get three jobs a day now he s lucky if he gets one He also declared the amount of money people have been paying per job has gone down They re grabbing all these good average people looking for work he announced Why are they going after us On Tuesday federal officers arrested four people including area organizer Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala on suspicion of interfering with law enforcement while they patrolled a Home Depot in Van Nuys The four are accused of laying down homemade tire spikes to disrupt officers vehicles representatives stated Ayala has years of organizing experience and took part in Union del Barrio trainings Romero noted and he doesn t believe the accusations against Ayala Last month Sen Josh Hawley a Missouri Republican and chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism also launched an probe into Union del Barrio and multiple other organizations A letter from Hawley claimed the groups provided logistical and monetary encouragement to protests in Los Angeles that he announced escalated into lawless mob actions ICE representatives claim assaults on officers are up significantly and agents face doxing when their identities are known ICE strongly condemns the persecution assault and doxing of its employees who are accomplishing their congressionally mandated mission to protect the homeland ICE announced in an emailed report Activists are doing everything they can to work within the law and not be arrested Romero mentioned but there are no guarantees they won t be History teaches us that if you re doing something that is impacting the system Romero disclosed you re going to eventually end up behind bars We understand that We re fully prepared like I m mentally physically spiritually prepared to go to jail right now We have to be Related Articles Joe Soucheray Why did Tim Walz need worth of law-firm coaching Judge orders Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops arrests in California Judge scolds Justice Department for refusal to detail deportation plans for Kilmar Abrego Garcia Bureaucrats say about immigrants were arrested in raids on Southern California farms Alligator Alcatraz evokes racist trope of gator bait
