Heading north on Griffith Avenue in South Los Angeles on Monday morning, Azcena Fabera and Adalbertolios were keeping an eye on unmarked American branded vehicles with dark-toned windows and government license plates that could refer to the presence of immigration and customs enforcement agents.
Fabella turns left at 23rd Avenue and she notices a white truck stopping at a stop near a distant intersection with a flash of yellow light.
“Can you see?” she said.
Azcena Fabera drives around her community for the Union del Barrio.
(Carlin Stiehl / for the Times)
“¿Laslus?” Rios said.
“Yes,” she muttered.
Rios grabbed the two-way radio he was holding in his hand and said, “What’s your place, magnifying glass?”
“27th and San Pedro [streets]In the static noise she said.
The megaphone is sitting in the car before Union Del Barrio patrolling the city of Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl / for the Times)
“I see some light,” he said. “We’ll check it out, let you know if we’ll see anything.”
All over the country, community groups and immigration rights advocates have begun preparing for President Trump’s massive deportation by organizing knowledgeable workshops, street demonstrations and legal representatives for those facing deportation.
In Southern California, many groups united in patrol their neighborhoods, warning residents of immigrant sweep and inform them of their constitutional rights.
At the forefront of this effort is Union del Barrio, an independent political organisation that advocates immigrant rights and social justice. The San Diego-based organization helped organize the launch of the Community Self-Defense Coalition, a network of over 80 community groups.
Unión Del Barrio says it helped train coalition members on how to find federal immigration agents by putting zero vehicles to use before tracking them and using social media to alert local residents. When they can track agents during the immigrant sweep, members of the coalition maintain their distance, but use megahorns to inform residents of their rights.
According to organizers, patrols can also help curb misinformation shared on social media. They say residents who are already intensified vigilance and fear sometimes make false reports or mistake private vehicles for ice.
From left, Francisco Romero, John Parker, Lupe Carrasco Cardona and Adalberto Rios speak after the Union del Barrio patrol.
(Carlin Stiehl / for the Times)
“We are not violent and we are not trying to break the law, but we are doing everything within legal measures to protect our community,” said Ron Gochez, a member of Unión Del Barrio.
For many years, the organization has patrolled the community, Gosches said. They were just as important as those under the Obama administration and the first Trump administration under the immigration enforcement crackdown.
Almost a month ago, Favela said she had met an ice agent who was detaining a man preparing for work.
She said the agent has a folder with a photo of someone they believe is a driver. She told the driver that he refused the car exit by telling the agent that he was not the person in the picture.
“The agents saw that they left because we were there and we were filming,” Favela said.
Gosches said the patrol helped disrupt at least two operations Sunday amid rumors that federal law enforcement is planning to implement massive immigration enforcement measures in the Los Angeles area. He said more than 150 coalition members were keeping an eye on them.
It was one of the patrols that stumbled upon the Alhambra operation. Members of the coalition tracked ice agents from the staging points at the Target Store to the apartment complex.
A video posted to Instagram shows members standing away from federal agents, using bullhorns to communicate with residents within the building.
Azsena Fabella will tie up bandanas and identify Union Del Barrio vehicles to community members.
(Carlin Stiehl / for the Times)
“They can have their own warrants not signed by the judge, they are invalid,” a man hears saying the megaphone on the video before it’s over.
The Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles (Lockup, operated by the Federal Prisons Bureau) had been asked to prepare up to 120 new bookings from the expected immigration attacks, but officials on Sunday dropped about 12 people for processing.
Ice spokesman Richard Beam did not respond to requests for comment.
The bandana acts as an identifier for the Union Del Barrio Car.
(Carlin Stiehl / for the Times)
Favera and Rios continued driving towards the truck with their lights.
At least five volunteers participated, including members of the Harriett Tubman Center for Social Justice and the Raza Educators Association.
Before the patrol, Rios had magnetic car banners placed on several vehicles. The red and black banners show images of a shield with the word “Community Patrol.” Next to it is the phrase “Protecting the community from ice and police horrors.”
Fear is not a word that is used loosely by members of the Union. They point to a long history of police abuse and discriminatory laws targeting immigrants and their descendants in China, Japan and Mexico.
Rios said the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which focuses primarily on the Latino community, was extremely afraid of some people coming and going to the store. People have confused the city’s landscaping trucks due to ice.
“The truck was white and had green stripes,” Rios said.
“I think what you’ve heard from people is that they’re afraid they’ll go to work, but they have no choice,” Favera said, adding that they’ve received requests from residents about patroling their streets.
“There’s a lot of fear, and it’s scary for me. You shouldn’t wake up every morning and wonder if it’s the last time we’ve seen our family.”
Rios reflected that sentiment.
Volunteers will sit in the car used by Unión Del Barrio and patrol the city of Los Angles for ice activities.
(Carlin Stiehl / for the Times)
“We are trying to help our community protect ourselves.”
Residents in the area said they were grateful that patrols and volunteers helped residents to inform their rights.
Along Central Avenue and 20th Avenue, 65-year-old Juan Gonzalez said he was in the area when volunteers stopped and distributed red cards listing constitutional rights under the fourth and fifth amendments.
“The cards give people an advantage,” he said. “They will tell you how to respond in ice situations as these enforcement agencies can happen everywhere.”
Ricky Lewis, 69, said he went further up the street and opposed immigration enforcement, which separated his family. He said that patrols in the community are good.
“I think notifying people helps them know what their rights are,” he said, adding that it helps people make informed decisions.
Favela and Rios said it was a good day without ice sightings.
As they approached the white truck, the pair slowly passed by the truck and looked at it. After a glimpse of the vehicle, we concluded that the pair belonged to someone in the neighborhood rather than ice.
Reassured, they continued their patrol. That would be one of those good days.
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