a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
ICE didn't raid Disneyland but federal agents arrested a man at a nearby park
Amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, rumors spread wildly through social media and even Ring app alerts about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arriving at Disneyland on Wednesday to question workers and guests.
While Disney and Anaheim officials disputed the viral claim as unfounded, the city acknowledged cellphone videos of an SUV pursuing a man two miles down the street at Pearson Park the following morning was credible evidence of federal immigration enforcement.
The contrast between Orange County's largest employer and a public park surrounded by a Latino neighborhood illustrates how ICE raids have sown fear, confusion and vigilance in the community.
Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava saw the Pearson Park video on Instagram, got dressed and headed out to vet the claim. She spoke to a young Latino who recounted how federal agents dressed in black with their faces covered approached him and another man at the park.
'They asked him for identification,' Rubalcava said. 'When he told them he was born in the U.S., they told him 'prove it.''
He gave agents his Social Security number when the other man fled on foot. Agents driving an SUV gave chase, apprehended the man and left by the time Rubalcava arrived.
'We're being told that the police are only [going after] people with criminal records and warrants,' she said. 'That doesn't appear to be the case. The person I spoke to, he was asked if he had documentation. That makes me feel like racial profiling is happening. That is really disheartening and worrisome.'
ICE did not return a TimesOC request for comment on any Disneyland or Pearson Park enforcement actions by press time.
Since protests erupted in Los Angeles on June 6 in response to ICE raids, the Orange County Rapid Response Network's hotline has been flooded with similar tips about immigration enforcement closer to home.
Sandra De Anda, the group's network coordinator, emphasizes a 'salute' method for its team of volunteer ICE watchers to assess the 'size, action, location, uniform, time and equipment' details of a raid in confirming it.
None of the social media posts about Disneyland reviewed by TimesOC on Wednesday afternoon had photo or video evidence of ICE agents pulling over workers driving out of employee parking lots, questioning guests exiting the parks or boarding buses along Harbor Boulevard in the Disneyland Resort, as claimed.
But that didn't stop them from going viral — or being untrue.
By Wednesday evening, the Rapid Response Network posted on social media that its team was in direct contact with Disney officials and confirmed no ICE presence at the resort though multiple reports surfaced throughout the day.
The group's own ICE watchers had no independent photo or video of any alleged immigration enforcement action. As of Thursday, it had not received any recent tips about ICE sightings at hotels and restaurants surrounding the Disneyland Resort, either.
'The verification process takes time,' De Anda said. 'We have to confirm with officials like city managers and police chiefs. There has to be several levels of verification before the information goes out into the community, otherwise it will just scare the community.'
By then, social media spread the word about Disneyland far and wide. The Rapid Response Network's own post did not go as viral.
Mike Lyster, an Anaheim spokesperson, has responded to several reports across the city on a daily basis since June 6. Alongside another city official, he drove to Disney's Harbor Boulevard entrance on Wednesday. Lyster did not witness any ICE agents on site nor when he canvassed the area by car.
Disney officials and Anaheim police also had nothing to report.
'We can say with a high degree of confidence that there was no activity there,' Lyster said.
Following a Thursday morning interview with TimesOC, Lyster received another report about potential ICE activity two miles north of Disneyland at Pearson Park and drove there.
An hour later, Lyster told TimesOC that the incident was believed to be a federal immigration enforcement action, but the city didn't know who exactly carried it out.
Despite unverified claims on social media about ICE activity at major commercial hubs in Orange County like Disneyland, the MainPlace Mall, South Coast Plaza, Irvine Spectrum and the Market Place, the Rapid Response Network has more readily confirmed raids at small businesses like car washes.
De Anda said ICE is to blame for creating a climate of chaos and misinformation as she has recently come face to face with agents in her activism.
'Only one time did they produce a warrant from the Department of Homeland Security,' she said. 'When my team was doing this under the Biden Administration, they would produce a warrant, even if it was an administrative warrant. Now these agents are not identifying themselves. The tactics have changed dramatically.'
After finishing her interview, De Anda headed to Irvine to investigate new reports of ICE activity.
