With its majestic homes and bustling business district, Downey has long been known as “Beverly Hills of Mexico.”
But the Trump immigrant raid in Southern California caused more than 110,000 southeastern county cities this week to spark both fear and anger.
Downey Councillor Mario Trujillo said the attack was “creating a culture of terror,” prompting them to stay home out of concern that federal agents could target simply because they were Latinos, even if they had documents.
The Downtown Downey area, which had already been hurt in a tenuous economy, is now a ghost town, Trujillo said. He understands that immigration agents have the job to do, but Trujillo questions the need to grab workers who try to support those whose families and people are trying to do their daily lives.
“We are supposed to be made to feel safe by this agency because they are removing bad people,” he said. “That’s what they should be doing.”
On Wednesday, masked federal agents detained at least 12 people from Downey businesses, but community members were able to discourage them from taking one man without proper documentation.
Downey has long been a landing site for upward mobile Latinos, which accounts for 75% of the population. The median income is $97,000, above the California average. The Times reported in December that support for Donald Trump had increased in the last election. Although Democrats still ruled, the Times found Trump scored 18.8 percent points compared to the 2020 presidential election.
Paula Mezia, a Downey resident in her 50s who moved to the US from Mexico more than 45 years ago, said few people have gone to restaurants or other Downey businesses since the ice attack began.
“I’m scared and have to carry my passport,” she said. “I’ve never done it before and we’re out of words. Even my kids, they were born here. Now they carry their passports.” On Thursday afternoon, Mezia, who was wearing a green jacket with a “Mexican” badge sewn on, said she was a US citizen and was disappointed with the way Mexicans were treated under the Trump administration.
“They just look at our colours, our nationality, they’re just profiling people,” she said. “Colombians, Peruvians, Ecuadorians. They just call them Mexicans. They are slandering us and want to use the term “Mexicans.” We work very hard in this country.
In the video of the encounter, the unidentified man can be seen sitting on the ground surrounded by masked agents who were chasing him. The man discovered immigration and customs enforcement at his job and rode a bike, but one of the masked men grabbed his tires and defeated him, ABC7 reported.
Melyssa Rivas documented members of the community peering into federal agents with questions about why they were chasing men. It is unclear why the agent urged him to leave the scene.
“It looked like a complete temptation scene in the movie. It was scary,” Rivas told the outlet.
Jose, 26, refused to provide her last name due to safety concerns, is the son of the owner of Downey’s Galaxy Auto Detail, which was targeted by federal agents on Wednesday.
Two agents arrived just after 9am and tried to quickly surround the staff to prevent them from running away. However, the workers saw what was going on and sprinted towards the nearby train tracks. He was later taken into custody with another man. Only one individual was undocumented, Jose told the Times.
Jose said he tried to ask the agent if he had a warrant but was told he would be arrested for interfering if he continued asking questions.
With only five workers remaining, the car washes were closed on Thursday, and Jose said he had no idea when it would reopen. Jose’s mother, an immigrant from Mexico, has owned a car wash for 12 years. She and her son said they believe federal agents are targeting Mexican-owned businesses.
“I have citizenship,” said Jose, born in the United States.
“We’re beginning to feel that we’re the only race we’re targeted because of our skin tone,” Trujillo said. “That’s what’s starting to feel like racial profiling.”
Downey Memorial Church, where a group of armed men wearing face coverings drove alongside Latinx men on Wednesday was completely empty Thursday afternoon. All doors were locked and the lights were cut off.
Esteban Philipi, 22, works at learning centers around the world, a kindergarten right next to the church. Philipi is a teacher and was with the children when the man was taken into custody on Wednesday, but his father, who owns the kindergarten, saw the entire incident unfold.
“All of a sudden, a bunch of vans and cars were pulled up into the parking lot and they just jumped at him,” he said. “Some people in the church were trying to stop it or were saying things, but the man was taken into custody and taken away.”
Although Philippians are half white and half Mexican, born in the United States, they said their Mexican relatives feared they would be outside once the attack began.
“My family is scary right now,” he said. “We’re all documented, but we’re seeing some of it. We know there’s a lot of racial profiling going on.”
Alex Cruz, a 43-year-old Downey resident who worked at Papa John Kerr Wash for the past year, said the attacks were so unstable that many people stopped coming to work. Cruz said seven or eight undocumented workers employed in car washes stopped showing up two weeks ago.
“Everyone is scared,” he said. “Everyone is afraid of leaving their homes. Everyone is afraid of going to work.”
Cruz, the son of an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who came to the United States in the 1970s, said he was angry at the federal government’s portrayal that undocumented people living in the United States are criminals.
“That’s how they classify all Hispanic or Latino,” he said. “The president should be a little more human. If immigrants don’t wash their food, then no one will do it.”
“This isn’t right,” he added. “Everyone deserves the opportunity to work and support their families. Many of these people miss their pay and pay because of what’s going on right now.”
Despite the uncertainty they feel they leave their homes every day, some continue to work.
The man who identified himself solely as Francisco, as he was undocumented and feared deportation, said he had been working as Takero in the downtown suburbs for over a year. He said he has never been as worried as he has now in the shadow of this week’s ice attack.
“We can’t go out to work on the street right now,” the 23-year-old said in Spanish. “We’ve heard from colleagues who work in other positions, but they even arrested a few of them.
To keep him safe, Francis said he restricted his movements and turned his attention to Uber delivery for essentials such as groceries and medicine. But he continues to come to work.
“How do you cover the costs if you don’t go out to work?” he asked.
Staff writer Carla Marie Sanford contributed to this article.
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