Advocates denounce immigration enforcement raid at Southern New Mexico dairy
Advocates on Monday denounced a recent immigration enforcement raid carried out by Homeland Security Investigations agents that led to the arrests of 11 workers at a southeastern New Mexico dairy farm.
María Romano, coordinator of the Lea County office of the New Mexico worker and immigrant rights organization Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said the raid in Lovington — the first of her knowledge in the area — has stoked fear among immigrant communities as tensions surrounding immigration enforcement spike nationwide.
"People are sad. They're angry. But more than anything, they're scared," Romano said in an interview in Spanish.
In a June 4 post on X, formerly Twitter, the El Paso field office of Homeland Security Investigations — the federal law enforcement agency housed within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — announced agents had arrested 11 "illegal aliens for violations of fraud & misuse of visas, permits & other documents" during a raid at Outlook Dairy in Lovington.
ICE's Facebook page noted the raid in a post Saturday, adding, "Criminal employers who hire illegal workers put other employees and our communities at risk. Plus, they undercut their competition by exploiting illegal alien labor, making it harder for legitimate American businesses to stay afloat."
Outlook Dairy manager Isaak Bos declined to comment on the raid when contacted by The New Mexican on Monday. He told the Albuquerque Journal the workers provided false paperwork.
Of the 11 people arrested during the raid, Romano said 10 were from Guatemala and one was from Mexico. While she doesn't know where the Guatemalans are currently, she said, she believes the Mexican worker is now back in Mexico.
ICE did not immediately respond to The New Mexican's request for more information on the raid, including the location of the 11 people arrested.
The Lovington raid and Romano's response to it come amid rising tensions between federal immigration enforcement and immigrant communities across the U.S.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Los Angeles over the weekend to denounce the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. President Donald Trump deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to quell the demonstrations, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to sue the president over the move, calling it an "unmistakable step toward authoritarianism" in a social media post Monday.
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat who represents much of the southern half of the state, on Monday advocated for the Trump administration to "reverse course to restore peace" and maintain focus on reforming the "broken" immigration system.
"Raiding workplaces, turning federal agents and the military against American citizens, and transforming our streets into war zones is not how we enforce our immigration laws," Vasquez said in a statement.
He added, "We need real immigration reform rooted in due process, public safety, and compassion, not inflamed tensions and conflicts in the street.'
In response to the Lovington raid, Somos Un Pueblo Unido issued a news release calling on local and state officials to "push for humane immigration laws" while demanding transparency from ICE and protecting "the rights of all New Mexicans, regardless of immigration status."
The organization also provides materials and organizes workshops to ensure immigrants know — and know how to exercise — their civil rights.
It's something Romano encourages people to do.
"We've spent many years telling people: 'Understand your rights. Learn your rights. Even if you're undocumented, you have rights,' " she said.
Romano added, "We have to be very well-informed about our rights and avoid any missteps — because we already know where we'll end up."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Torched driverless taxis prompt Waymo to stop downtown L.A. service
After five of Waymo's driverless taxis went up in flames Sunday during anti-ICE protests in downtown Los Angeles, costing the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, questions remain about how the vehicles made their way into the area. Waymo eventually suspended service downtown after officials with the Los Angeles Police Department reportedly advised the company to do so. In footage captured by KTLA, a row of vehicles on North Los Angeles Street, near Arcadia Street, all tagged with graffiti, were seen fully engulfed in flames as dense black smoke thickened the air, while many of those on the street continued to vandalize and photograph them. While it's unclear exactly how protesters started the car fires, there were reports that spray paint was used as an accelerant, with video capturing at least one of the autonomous vehicles exploding. Police eventually closed Los Angeles Street north of Arcadia and South Alameda Streets and declared an unlawful assembly. Los Angeles Police Department Captain Erik Scott said that battery systems in electric vehicles are often difficult to apply water to during a fire and especially in the chaotic environment of Sunday evening's violent demonstrations. The department, according to Scott, had to just allow the cars to burn, which caused an increased threat to public health. L.A. driver goes on high-speed rampage amid violent downtown protests 'When lithium-ion batteries burn, they release hydrogen-fluoride gas that is a highly toxic substance that could damage your lungs and can be absorbed through the skin,' Scott explained. 'It can cause serious internal harm.' According to a 2024 report by the Wall Street Journal, analysts estimated that Waymo's driverless cars cost between $150,000 and $200,000 each. With the five destroyed robotaxis, the cost of damages would amount to roughly between $750,000 to $1 million, based on WSJ's estimate. As for how the Waymo taxis made their way downtown to begin with, investigators and the company are looking into whether protesters may have used the app to order up the cars and light them on fire or, as other have speculated, protesters intercepted the vehicles from customers attempting to flee the area. The company that the suspended downtown service may lead to increased wait times in other areas of L.A. and that as of right now, there is word on when service will resume in the area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nearly two dozen arrested outside Manhattan ICE facility after protests erupt into chaos
Nearly two dozen people were busted as protests erupted Wednesday night after ICE arrested multiple migrants at a Lower Manhattan courthouse hours earlier, cops said. Twenty-three people were taken into custody as activists rallied outside the U.S. Immigration Court on Varick Street near West Houston Street, according to police. Eighteen were released with summonses, and the status of the five others was not immediately known. The arrested demonstrators were attempting to block the path of the two vans that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were using to transport the detained migrants, Hell Gate reported. The crowd also clashed with authorities over the barricades set up to keep them back, according to CBS New York. The protesters were outraged after two dozen masked, plainclothes officers gathered Wednesday afternoon in the lobby of 26 Federal Plaza, where they corralled at least six migrants as well as a Queens pastor who tried to intervene, according to a report in The City. The six men and one woman were spotted as agents carted them — some in handcuffs — back into an elevator they had just come out of, the outlet reported. ICE spokesperson Marie Ferguson told The City that the operation was in line with the Trump administration's push for 'expedited removal' of those who had illegally entered the country over the last two years under the Biden administration. 'ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been,' Ferguson said. 'If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.' But a member of the crowd gathered on Varick Street told CBS he was astonished by the scene. 'I've never seen anything like this,' said the man, who only provided his first name, Ben. 'I've been working here for a couple years and I've never seen this many agents, let alone agents dressed in plain clothes, wearing masks, pulling people out of line. It's totally out of the ordinary.' Meanwhile on Thursday, at the City Council's Fiscal Year 2026 executive budget hearing, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the NYPD prohibited by city law 'to participate or assist in civil immigration enforcement, and we do not.' 'We have been very clear and consistent on this, and our officers understand that this is a red line we cannot cross,' the top cop said. 'At the same time, we will continue to target criminals, regardless of their immigration status.' 'Some have asked whether we should reconsider our cooperation with federal agencies on criminal investigations in light of their work with ICE,' Tisch added. 'The short, straight answer to this is no. Working with our federal partners on criminal matters is crucial to the safety of our city.'
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Waymos Have Been Vandalized by Protesters
Smoke billows as a Waymo car burns in the street during protests in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. Credit - David Pashaee—Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images As protesters and police clash across Los Angeles and beyond, a striking image from the mayhem has been that of graffiti-strewn white cars engulfed in flames. But these aren't ordinary cars. They've got sensors protruding from the top and sides—and, critically, they've got no drivers. Waymo, a robotaxi company, found itself at the center of the demonstrations against the Trump Administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids after a group of protesters over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times, approached a parked row of the autonomous vehicles and smashed their windows, slashed their tires, spray-painted them with anti-ICE slogans, and set them on fire. While eye-catching, the trend is also extremely dangerous. Electric vehicles, like those in Waymo's fleet, have lithium-ion batteries, and in a post on X, the L.A. Police Department warned: 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby.' According to Scientific American, first responders exposed to the fumes of burnt lithium-ion batteries without protection historically 'have developed throat burns and breathing difficulties upon arriving,' and, depending on the hydrogen fluoride levels, individuals can start coughing up blood within minutes of exposure. At least six Waymo vehicles across the county have reportedly been the target of vandalism, resulting in the company temporarily suspending operations in the area 'out of an abundance of caution.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have condemned the violence and destruction, which Newsom attributed to 'insurgent groups' and 'anarchists' who have infiltrated otherwise peaceful protests. President Donald Trump, who mobilized the National Guard to respond to the situation, has called the demonstrators 'troublemakers' and 'paid insurrectionists.' Here's what to know. Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, and grew out of the Google Self-Driving Car project that began in 2009. It launched its robotaxi business in 2020 in limited markets, which grew to include Los Angeles in 2024. While the company says its mission 'is to be the world's most trusted driver,' a national survey earlier this year found that '6 in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle' while the proportion of people enthusiastic about the development of the technology has actually decreased from 18% in 2022 to 13% in 2025. Waymo vehicles were involved in 696 accidents across the U.S. between 2021 and 2024, or about one accident every other day. MKP Law Group, a Los-Angeles based firm that represents clients involved in accidents, acknowledged in a blog post that this statistic 'is not necessarily indicative of Waymo causing those accidents, as some may have been the fault of the other involved drivers.' Studies show that self-driving technology is likely safer than most human drivers. Waymo has also reportedly annoyed some people, including those who find self-driving vehicles to be an eyesore as well as locals where the vehicles routinely get stuck. Neighbors near a Waymo charging station in Santa Monica have complained about noise pollution caused by the driverless vehicles honking at each other in the parking lot. Waymo vehicles as well as other self-driving cars have previously been the target of vandals, particularly in California, where Waymo is headquartered. In January, a Waymo car was torn apart in Los Angeles. In February 2024, another Waymo car was smashed and set ablaze in San Francisco. And in July 2024, a man was charged with slashing the tires of 17 Waymo cars in San Francisco. Several potential explanations have emerged for why Waymo vehicles were targeted during the protests in Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal reported that part of the reason the cars were vandalized was to obstruct traffic—a traditional, albeit controversial, protest tactic. Some social media users have suggested that self-driving vehicles in particular have become a new target because they are seen by protesters as 'part of the police surveillance state.' Waymo's cars are equipped with cameras that provide a 360-degree view of their surroundings, a tool that has been tapped by law enforcement, according to reports. Independent tech news site 404 Media reported in April that the Los Angeles Police Department obtained footage from a Waymo driverless car to use as part of an investigation into an unrelated hit-and-run. And Bloomberg reported in 2023 that police have increasingly relied on self-driving cars and their cameras for video evidence. Chris Gilliard, a fellow at the Social Science Research Council, told Bloomberg that self-driving vehicles are 'essentially surveillance cameras on wheels,' adding: 'We're supposed to be able to go about our business in our day-to-day lives without being surveilled unless we are suspected of a crime, and each little bit of this technology strips away that ability.' Waymo told Bloomberg at the time that it 'carefully' reviews every request from police 'to make sure it satisfies applicable laws and has a valid legal process.' Some activists have also suggested that the burning of Waymo vehicles should garner less sympathy from onlookers. 'There are people on here saying it's violent and domestic terrorism to set a Waymo car on fire,' racial justice organizer Samuel Sinyangwe posted on X. 'A robot car? Are you going to demand justice for the robot dogs next? But not the human beings repeatedly shot with rubber bullets in the street? What kind of politics is this?' 'There is no human element to Waymo,' climate and labor organizer Elise Joshi similarly posted on X. 'It's expensive and bought-out politicians are using it as an excuse to defund public transit. I pray on Waymo's downfall.' Contact us at letters@
