Jackie Ramirez always knew her skin color.
There was a school cross guard called her Morenita, Little Brown Girl. An uncle who lovingly called her Pasita, a country girl.
But as immigration agents descended to Southern California and arrested hundreds, I have never felt the best skin tone this month. Videos and stories circulate people arrested for car washes. Agent picking up street vendors without a warrant. A Latino American citizen asked what hospital he was born in.
The growing fear of kicking for those who “driving while they’re black” is widely known. However, recent immigration sweeps highlight how many skin color issues are, and all the circumstances that come with it are also aimed at Latinos.
Samuel Brown-Vazquez and Avocado Heights Vaquer@S Lead demonstrators supporting immigration rights, from Avocado Heights Park to La Puente City Hall.
(Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
Ramirez was born and raised in East Los Angeles. Her mother was born in Mexico. Her father is of Mexican descent.
“You’re scared to be brown,” said Ramirez, the Los Angeles Radio host for “The Cruz Show” on Real 92.3. “You’re scared to see in a certain way now.”
The Department of Homeland Security denies agents racially profiled. Agency spokesman Tricia McLaughlin has called for claims that people are targeted because of their skin color “aversion and decisive falsehood.” But it doesn’t subside concerns that dark-skinned people are likely to be stopped by immigration enforcement agents.
Latino parents warn American citizen children to be careful when they leave the house. Some people carry their passports in their pockets. Workers at Santa Ana’s coffee shop ask customers to “secuden” – take care of themselves – text their loved ones when they get home.
Even Latinos have expressed concern. Francesca Olivas, 24, recently drove two hours from Hemet in downtown LA to protest.
“I’m a White Pass, a third generation Latina, and I’m scared,” South Bay lawyer Taylor Teeman posted on an Instagram thread. “To my brothers and sisters – sorry. This country is failing you.”
Over 8,000 likes since then! In another post that won the film, Nico Blitz, the fiancee of Filipino-American Ramirez, highlighted the effects of the attacks across racial and ethnic boundaries.
“Filipinos – your legal status doesn’t mean you’re not brown, especially in ice eyes,” posted by Blitz, DJ host of The Cruz Show. “This fight is not exclusively for Latinos and black people.”
Research shows that skin color has long influenced the lives of Latinos, amidst the drawbacks associated with darkening the skin.
The majority of our Latinos (62%) said they surveyed the Pew Research Center in 2021. And 57% say that skin color greatly shaped the experience of daily life.
But amid President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, skin colour added another layer of fear.
Nico Blitz on the right and Jackie Ramirez of the Center will be attending an immigration rights rally at City Hall.
(Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
In January, Native Americans alleged that immigrants and customs enforcement agents were harassing tribe members. A letter sent to Trump by nine Congressional Democrats said they had heard “several reports of reports” about detention and harassment.
“Members of Native American tribes are American citizens. Stop people because of what they look like. Dark skin, Asian, Latino, or Native American characteristics are never accepted,” the letter states. “ICE’s dangerous behavior in harassing American citizens is unconstitutional and non-American, only because of the way they look.”
This year, Ice Agent mistakenly detained Tucson’s Deputy U.S. Former S., in a statement from a former US spokesman, this year, because it “complies with the general explanation of subjects sought for ice.” The agency did not specify what US assistant or what explanation he suited.
The identity of the Deputy U.S. ex-s. has been confirmed by other law enforcement officers.
As immigration agents increased the pace of arrests across Southern California in early June, LA County superintendent Hilda Solis issued a statement informing them that people are being targeted “based on the color of their skin and the type of work they do.”
Solis, whose mother moved from Nicaragua and Mexico from her father, said he “never felt under siege.”
“It’s not just our immigrant community, but it’s an attack. [on] Solis said in an interview. “I know there are a lot of people I’m involved with, my colleagues, and families with mixed status, and this is hurting our economy.”
Solis said during the covid pandemic, Asians were targeted based on what they looked like.
“I’m Latino now,” she said.
On a recent weekday, Martin Chairs, a church pastor in Santa Ana, was walking with his sons as he stopped to take photos of National Guard troops posted outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Orange County and the courthouse. He took his sons there to pray for the community.
Samuel Brown Vazquez passes the American flag to demonstrators as he prepares for a four-mile march from Avocado Heights Park to La Puente City Hall to support immigration rights.
(Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
Chairs was born in Nayarit, Mexico and came to the United States when he was nine years old. He was what is called a dreamer. He was one of the millions of immigrants brought to this country before he turned 16.
Chairs has been married for 20 years, but his wife said she cannot petition him to acquire legal status until the 11th anniversary of her marriage. He is now a legal permanent resident.
While working as director of Tijuana’s border program, he said he saw asylum seekers and refugees coming from Haiti, Ukraine, South and Central America.
“It’s very clear that no one in Ukraine, no one in Russia, has been detained and deported. They shouldn’t. They’ve also come here to escape and seek opportunities,” Chaes said.
“I think it makes clear that people in Central and South America are being targeted, but people in Europe are not,” he said. “And again, they shouldn’t, but the people of South and Central America should not.”
Chairs’ wife is black, and his 14- and 12-year-old sons are interracial. When they get older and learn how to drive, he said he would have to have a conversation with them “of the meaning of driving while being black.”
“Now, it’s applied not only to those situations, but almost every aspect of our lives,” he said. “When we go to the grocery store, when we go shopping, when we are here, we take a walk, will we be targeted? We seem to be in a permanent position of vulnerability right now.
Nearby, Chelsea Salazar, 23, rushed back to the Santa Ana parking meter after taking photos of the National Guard. Salazar, a coronavirus resident and immigrant daughter, said he had heard of the attack on the 91 Expressway.
That’s when she realized that she left her ID and her passport at home. Suffering from anxiety, Salazar said he was panicked and asked his friend to stay home while things were calm rather than on the highway. She is a citizen, but “Are they going to believe in me? What are they going to do to me?”
Vaquero Robert Cervantes keeps an eye on protesters as they prepare to march.
(Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
“I’m sure I’ll probably be looking at a single out or something else,” she said.
Carlos Garcia Mateo, a 24-year-old US citizen, said his parents were documented and they just received their paper 20 years later. A Santa Ana resident pointed out how long it takes people to become US citizens in the country, and said he has his own fears.
“If I leave the house, will I be introduced racially?” he asked. “People like to hint at Nazi Germany.
On Father’s Day, more than 50 people gathered at Avocado Heights Park in San Gabriel Valley for its deportation and marching against the attacks. At a house near the park, handwritten Spanish signs were selling goat milk. The animal cried out from behind a wooden fence.
Residents of the equestrian community gathered on foot for a more than three miles of trekking to city hall in the relentless sun, with an American flag covered on the shoulders of one rider. People say, “La Puente Heat melts ice,” “I hate ice!” and “I hate ice!” and “I hate ice!”
Music wafted from the lines of the queue, and people drifted from speakers moving along the route. Their soundtrack included “Somos Más Americanos” by Los Tigress del Norte. “We’re more Americans.” The band sang shouting and singing “to go back to my land” thousands of times.
“I want to remind Gringo: I didn’t cross the border, it crossed me,” the lyrics rang out. “America was born freely, and people separated them.”
Ramirez and Blitz joined the caravan sitting in the bed of a black Toyota Tacoma truck. Ramirez’s brother, sister-in-law and 4-year-old Nie were inside. Ramirez waved the Mexican flag. Blitz American.
“We need a Filipino community to realize that we are brown too. No matter what we do, we won’t be white and we won’t have white skin,” said Blitz, born in San Francisco.
“There may be legalization. Parents may be legal,” he said. “But regardless of the facts, every time an ice agent goes out, they feel they’re not looking for a paper. They say, ‘Hey, where’s your passport?’ They look at your skin tone. ”
When they reached Lapuente City Hall, Ramirez and Blitz were sitting on the grass. Organizers urged attendees to register on the ballot to see if they were eligible and called out groups of people who were taken to immigration agents. Fruit vendor. Car wash employee. Construction worker.
“My sexy man,” cried the young woman.
“These are meaningful members of our community,” Samuel Brown Vazquez told the crowd, along with Avocado Heights vaquer@S. The agent said, “We’re not chasing criminals. They’re chasing people who come here and come to work.”
Nearby, someone had a sign that read “sin miedo y con orgullo.”
Don’t be afraid to take pride.
Ramirez joined as the crowd began to scream: “Supuee.” Yes, you can.
Times staff writer Summerlin contributed to this report.
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