Latest news with #JavierRamirez
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘I Am American, Bro!': MAGA Supporter Regrets Trump Vote After ICE Confrontation
Jason Brian Gavidia is a proud American. He even has the first words to the Constitution—'We the people'—tattooed in large black lettering across his back. He voted for President Donald Trump. Then, he was stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And now he has changed his mind. 'I am American, bro!' Gavidia, 29, protested as two masked, rifle-toting immigration agents held him against the wall, asking for proof of his citizenship. The ICE agents had stopped him and his friend, Javier Ramirez, 32, another U.S. citizen, as they walked the streets of Montebello, a majority-Latino city east of Los Angeles. 'What hospital were you born?' one agent barked at Gavidia. 'I don't know, dawg!' he said. 'East L.A., bro!' Ramirez recorded the altercation on his phone before Ramirez himself was wrestled to the ground and driven to a detention center. 'I believe I was racially profiled. I believe I was attacked because I was walking while brown,' Gavidia told NBC Los Angeles. Gavidia, shaken by the experience, has pivoted his political views. Though he was once a Trump supporter, Gavidia now condemns the Trump administration's immigration raids. 'He ran on lies,' Gavidia told NBC. 'We were all manipulated, we were all brainwashed, and now look at us. We're all suffering because of it. And I feel guilty 100 percent.' 'Where's the freedom? Where's the justice?' Gavidia said, waving a pocket constitution he now carries with him. 'That's why I'm protecting the constitution.' Gavidia is now one of the plaintiffs named in a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Trump administration. NBC Los Angeles reported that the lawsuit resulted in a court order protecting individuals in seven Southern California counties from being arrested by federal agents due to their race, accent, or place of work. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment. Now, Gavidia says he is repenting for his voting history by holding 'Know Your Rights' workshops and by distributing cards to immigrants that inform them of their rights when interacting with federal agents. Gavidia is not the first Trump supporter that the administration has targeted, and will likely not be the last. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
16-06-2025
- New York Times
‘I'm an American, Bro!': Latinos Report Raids in Which U.S. Citizenship Is Questioned
They swept into the Southern California car lot last Thursday at 4:32 p.m. — masked and armed Border Patrol agents in an unmarked white S.U.V. One agent soon twisted Jason Brian Gavidia's arm and pressed him against a black metal fence outside the lot where he runs an auto body shop in Montebello, a working-class suburb east of the Los Angeles city limits. Another officer then asked him an unusual question to prove whether he was a U.S. citizen or an undocumented immigrant. 'What hospital were you born at?' the Border Patrol agent asked. Mr. Gavidia, 29, was born only a short drive from where they were standing, in East Los Angeles. He did not know the hospital's name. 'I was born here,' he shouted at the agent, adding, 'I'm an American, bro!' Mr. Gavidia was eventually released as he stood on the sidewalk. But another U.S. citizen, Javier Ramirez, 32 — Mr. Gavidia's friend and co-worker — had been forced facedown to the ground by two agents in the car lot. Mr. Ramirez was put inside a van and driven to a federal detention center, where he remains in custody. Mr. Ramirez's lawyer said that officials at the detention center had denied his request to speak to his client. 'I know enough to know this is not right at all,' Mr. Gavidia said in an interview. 'Latinos in general are getting attacked. We're all getting attacked.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Southern California father who is U.S. citizen, arrested during immigration raid, family says
Family members are demanding answers after they say a man who is a U.S. citizen was wrongfully arrested by federal agents during an immigration raid in Montebello. On June 12, surveillance video captured the moment several masked and armed agents surrounded a tow truck business in Montebello. The agents quickly entered the property and began detaining mechanics and other workers at the site. One of the detained men who was later released spoke to KTLA but asked not to be identified out of safety concerns. He said he was violently grabbed and taken by the agents despite being a U.S. citizen. 'He slammed me to the gate,' the man told KTLA's Ellina Abovian. 'He put my hands behind my back. I'm an American citizen. You do not do that to Americans.' Nataly Degante, whose cousin, Javier Ramirez, 32, was arrested in the raid, said that while agents began handcuffing everyone, they reportedly never provided identification or information about why they were there. 'We see in the video that they don't come with a warrant,' she said. 'They don't have any documentation in their hands.' Degante said her cousin is a U.S. citizen and a single father of two young children. She described him as a hard worker with no criminal record. Video of the raid shows some workers being moved to the ground as agents quickly handcuffed them. Ramirez is also seen on the video yelling to the agents that he's a citizen. 'He's telling them he is a U.S. citizen and he's letting them know, 'My passport is in my pocket,'' Degante said. However, Ramirez was handcuffed and taken into custody. His brother tried following Ramirez's location through his cell phone's tracking app, but the signal was eventually lost. His family has not heard from him since. 'We haven't heard anything about him,' said Abimael Dominguez, his brother. 'He's diabetic. I don't even know if he has insulin yet or has he eaten? We don't know anything. ' It remains unclear whether the agents were with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Some of the agents appeared to be wearing uniforms with a Border Patrol insignia. 'I voted, but not for this,' said the man who was detained and later released. 'I'm an American citizen. I want the best for all of us. I feel like there is due process that we must follow.' 'They're not only taking criminals, they are taking our community,' Degante said. As of Friday afternoon, Homeland Security has not responded to KTLA's request for comment about why Ramirez was detained or whether he was wanted for any crimes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
07-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Northeast Philadelphia high school chef tackles food insecurity, impacts students one meal at a time
Lunch is one of the busiest times inside Tacony Academy Charter High School in Northeast Philadelphia. Chef Javier Ramirez takes joy in serving hundreds of students every day. Everything is made from scratch, and many are the chef's own recipes. "The chicken is fresh, all fresh vegetables, the sauces are not from the can," Ramirez said. Ramirez is a culinary expert with more than 20 years of experience. He traded in a fancy hotel kitchen for one that's in a high school cafeteria in Wissinoming. "As soon as they finish their lunch, they tell me if it's good or it's bad," Ramirez said. Daja Haines is a senior, and she said her lunches give her fuel to tackle her studies. "Whatever I eat makes my energy more ready for school or for class," Haines said. Ramirez is part of a group called Red Rabbit , a national organization that provides restaurant-quality meals to mostly inner-city schools throughout the U.S., including six in Philadelphia, where food insecurity is on the rise. Ramirez works closely with the Vice President of Partner Relations, Nausher Khan, who popped in from New York City. "Food is the only thing in our lives when we have it, it's the last thing we think about, and when we don't, it's the only thing we think about," Khan said. "Working with children, primarily children of color, Black, brown children who are in under-resourced or low-income areas." Ramirez is impacting these students one meal at a time. "That's the reason I'm coming to work. That's my reward," he said.
