Cars with crushed windows remain in the streets and in the parking lots, mowers running on the grass in front of them, leaving behind an abandoned ice cream cart on the sidewalk.
Inventories of discarded belongings are expanding amid the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration sweep. In each case, the property is left behind by people captured without warning by federal agents. car. Vending cart. Work tools. Food truck. When authorities arrested two gardeners outside their Ontario residence, the homeowner went outside and saw a lawn mower still running, half a cut of the lawn, and a worker’s truck still in the driveway, he told local reporters.
Now, as the attack enters the second month, there is an increasing push to see their belongings still return to their family, even after someone is arrested.
A local police department has announced it is attempting to return abandoned property, such as vehicles and workplace equipment, to parents of people detained by US immigrants and customs enforcement agents.
“We’re taking it out of the box to see how we can help these families,” Santa Ana Police Officer Natalie Garcia is the department’s spokesperson.
Also, grassroots efforts are expanding across the region to let families know about their arrests.
Abandoned property was a frequent problem faced by families separated by immigrant raids that began in early June. Under normal circumstances, if someone is arrested while driving a vehicle, the property could be confiscated and removed by the arrest agency.
However, during the recent immigrant raid, cars, fruit carts and equipment were found to have been abandoned in public after people were detained by masked federal agents.
Santa Ana Police said they are either looking for ways to identify the owner and return the property before it can tow the property, or looking for ways to put an additional burden on families affected by deportation, somehow lost and deported.
Since the attack began in early June, some advocacy groups have mobilized to warn community members about when and where the immigrant raids have occurred, and to link affected families with legal and financial support.
For weeks, some of these groups have been working as de facto intermediaries to return property to their families. The group is trying to post and distribute videos and images of the attack, identify those detained, notify their families, and let them know when their property is left unattended.
Reclaiming their property may be a secondary priority for families who suddenly see their loved ones being detained by immigrant staff. However, supporters point out that some of the property (for example, vehicles) are essential to everyday life, especially after relatives are deported.
Sandra de Anda, co-founder and director of policy and legal strategies for the OC Rapid Response Network, a group of organizations that provide resources to families affected by the Orange County attacks, said the group frequently encountered carts and vehicles left behind after owners were restrained on ice.
“What we’re seeing is that they’re left everywhere,” she said.
Sometimes, some property is left behind by street vendors who have chosen to leave rather than risk detention after hearing local immigration officers.
“They sometimes leave the equipment for hours,” she said.
On other occasions, cars are left in a parking lot near the courthouse where people are detained.
So far, community members have worked together to identify who the car belongs to and contact their families before it gets towed, De Anda said.
Sometimes she said she noticed that her relatives were being held in ice when her family recognized the vehicle in a social media post.
“Many times,” she said. “Families usually pick up cars.”
Garcia said he hopes Santa Ana police will support their families in this way.
On June 26, the department sent a message on social media saying it would “use reasonable efforts” to contact the family and return the property.
About a week before the message was issued, Garcia said the department had begun an effort to return the property. Garcia said he has no information on how many families have been contacted so far.
The message was placed on social media to help connect with residents who may reconsider contacting police for immigrant raids, she said.
“Sadly, many community members don’t want to call us. “But you can call [Santa Ana police] And if you don’t have a paper, we don’t care. We are here to help you. ”
That distrust could be a problem for law enforcement, supporters said.
When the immigrant raid occurred in Orange County, De Anda said the OC Rapid Response Network could receive up to two calls per minute for residents reporting their activity or asking about services.
Many of her are more likely to reach out to groups like the network than local police, she said.
Santa Ana’s efforts are also a way for the department to remind residents that local police are not working with federal agents on immigration enforcement, Garcia said.
“We want to remind you that we are here to serve and protect our community,” Garcia said. “We are not filing a federal immigration lawsuit.”
Tamara Marquez, spokesman for the Inland Coalition of Immigrant Justice, agrees. Her organization monitors and warns communities in Riverside and San Bernardino Ice Raid County, as well as contacting people about cars and carts left behind.
In many cases, even citizen children of ice-detained people avoided reaching out to law enforcement about their property, as they feared other families would be targeted.
“They really don’t want to come out and say, this is my family, because they are mixed positions,” she said.
Instead, community members sometimes intervene to contact the owner to protect the property, she said.
In one incident in Eastvale, she said four people inside the van were taken into custody, leaving the vehicle in the middle of the street with keys inside.
Nearby residents pushed the van into the driveway of the house. There, parents of detained people were kept until they identified the social media van, Marquez said.
“Because there are more and more lost vehicles. [of] “Arrest and detention of people who are driving and being pulled,” she said.
In June, Ontario resident Chris Ames went outside and realized the gardener had been arrested. He told KTLA News that the lawnmower was still running and authorities left workers’ cell phones and keys unprotected inside the truck. A few hours later, the family arrived to charge a truck.
“I think this is wrong. This is not the way we treat people,” he told the station.
Garcia says officers want residents to reach out to police for help, regardless of their immigration status.
Those who find abandoned property will be asked to contact the department’s communications office at (714) 245-8665.
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