Giovanni Garcia rose to his feet at the dusty intersection at the South Gate and scoped the scene. It was quiet, and only people returning home from work, but Garcia was among the few people portrayed there, hoping to witness one of the federal raids that recently unfolded throughout Los Angeles County.
Just a few minutes ago, several Instagram accounts posted warnings that a white pickup truck was seen with Green US customs and border protection markings near the intersection.
This was the sixth day when 28-year-old Garcia spent up to 10 hours after such an alert, passing through immigrant-heavy areas in Southern LA, as a friend was loaded into his white Grand Cherokee and a large Mexican flag that leapt out of the sunroof.
He was supported by soda and snacks he picked up at the Northgate market, Garcia’s goal, he said, was to catch immigrants, customs enforcement or other immigration agents for the act of detaining people on the streets.
So far, it has been a fruitless chase.
“I’ve been doing this for six days. I’m going to get these alerts so I’m going to smoke, but I don’t make it in time,” said Garcia, a Mexican-American citizen who lives in South Central.
Monitoring ice activity has become a tough pastime for some Angelenos. A purpose-specific app has pop-up. This, combined with Citizens, Nextdoor, X and other platforms, creates a fire source of unverified user-generated information about federal government movements and operations.
You will find that trying to maintain it in real time can be equally exhausting and frustrating. Reports sometimes turn out to be false, immigrant enforcers seem to attack quickly and accurately and leave, leaving the public with little opportunity to respond.
It is impossible to determine the number of people involved in this sisyphean chase. However, they have been keeping their eyes on it frequently as their anger has grown in response to viral videos of rapid and violent anxiety recently. The Times Reporter and photographer crossed the southern half of Roun County, met Garcia and other Ice Chasers, and enthusiastically pursued federal agents who were always one step ahead.
Giovanni Garcia, 28, drives the South Gate with a Mexican flag. He spent six days trying to witness an ice attack with almost luck.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
A new notification appeared on Garcia’s Instagram feed Thursday afternoon, according to the US Census. So Garcia put his SUV into gear and speeded it up.
He and his crew were delayed again. An eyewitness arrived at the corner about 15 minutes later, with immigration agents with green bulletproof vests and Gators flying out of the car on their faces, handcuffed and taken away a man who had been selling flowers for years in front of a ranch-style house.
“They’re messing around with my people, so I’m continuing to do this,” Garcia said. “It’s not about immigration anymore. Trump is no longer targeting criminals. He’s targeting Hispanics.”
This was one of such raids in South Los Angeles with recent homes, parks and businesses, from car washes to grocery stores.
People cried out at the incidents that were taken in photos and videos of bystanders running cameras shared online. One man was pulled out of a diverse crowd for identifiable reasons while walking around South Gate Park. Another handcuff is on the curb outside the Ross clothing store in Bell Gardens. Two men from Rosemead snatched them from the bakery’s parking lot.
Workers at Vernon’s Fashion Nova Clothing Warehouse told The Times that the ice truck was discovered in the area and they heard agents who were planning to stand up to employees during the shifts.
No one was safe from federal enforcement efforts, from the elderly to children.
Jasmine Vasilio, 35, said he was first worried when he saw on social media that Ice Agent had attacked a car wash at Southgate.
“I knew the flower man was always there, so I live nearby, so I drove right away,” she said, standing at the corner where she was standing 20 minutes ago. “I think they just go and get people out and leave.”
“I’m another frustrated person in Los Angeles who wants to end this. We’re not all criminals,” said Manolo, who runs a candle-making business in Vernon.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
A 20-year-old Latino man who refused to provide his name out of fear of retaliation said he was doing everything he could to spread awareness about what he was doing in his South Gate neighborhood and in South Los Angeles.
“I’m a US citizen, so I’m fine. I’m worried about other people. It was heartbreaking,” he said that a CBP agent streamed live from the streets of South Gate, where it was discovered a few minutes ago.
“They work here, they’re torn apart from their families,” he said. “That’s sad. They came here for American dreams. This is what happens.”
Teens Emmanuel Segura and Jesse Villa scrolled through social media and said they spent hours in despair and despair on the seemingly endless video of people actively being detained. They felt helpless in the face of crackdowns, so they planned a protest at the heart of their community.
On Thursday they went to Atlantic Avenue and Firestone Boulevard in Southgate. There, the villa waved a flag pole with both American and Mexican flags on it. They were joined by more than 30 other protesters who chanted slogans and held up anti-ice posters. The driver rang out support as he passed.
Jesse Villa, 14, is protesting recent ice attacks at Southland on Firestone Boulevard in South Avenue and Southgate.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“That’s kind of scary. They’re taking everyone at this point. I saw the ice go to the car wash and take two of them. And they’re hardworking people. They’re not criminals.” “So we planned a protest against Ice, Trump and his administration.”
The 14-year-old villa lives in nearby Lynnwood, and everyone he knows says he is afraid that they and the person they care about will be the next person wiped out by an ice raid.
“The streets are empty. No one wants to go outside. The kids, especially the kids who have moved here, don’t want to go to school,” Villa said. “They are scared to go to school in the morning and are worried that they will come home and find out their parents have been deported.”
Five miles in Vernon, Manolo stood at the loading dock of a business making candles that he owned as employees loaded boxes of candles behind a black SUV Thursday morning. He has been following news and rumors of the online attack, and said the horrors produced by them and the corresponding protests have been devastating for his company and other small businesses.
“Everyone is worried about that,” Manolo said. He said he had heard from him that day that ice had raided two doors. His company received a zero call on orders that were reduced from 50 to 60 to 60 on Thursday morning, normally received per day. He said that if immigrant raids and protests were not overthrown by the end of the month, he might have to close his business.
Families of STG Logistics employees are waiting to hear the words of their relatives’ place after an ice attack at a Compton company facility.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“This snatcher on the street – why do they handcuff you and put you on the floor and hurt you, why? Of course, that makes me nervous,” said Manolo, a US citizen who moved from Guatemala to the United States 33 years ago and refused to give him his last name out of fear that he and his company would be targeted by law enforcement.
“Not only that, it’s also affecting businesses and affecting people’s lives. It affects the economy, law enforcement. It affects everyday life. When will it end?”
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