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Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. volunteers who document ICE raids are being arrested. How to do it safely
Amanda Trebach, a Los Angeles resident who volunteers to document immigration enforcement operations on Terminal Island in San Pedro, found herself early Friday morning on the wrong side of an enforcement action. She was pinned to the ground, handcuffed and put into an unmarked black van by masked federal agents. The arrest put a spotlight on the risks faced by a growing number of volunteers who work to document immigration enforcement actions across Southern California. Trebach is a member of Unión del Barrio, an immigrant rights organization, one of several advocacy groups that conduct local patrols to respond to and document immigration enforcement operations in Southern California. For the last several months, the registered nurse, alongside members of the Harbor Area Peace Patrol, has volunteered her free time to help document masked federal immigration officials coming into and out of Terminal Island, which is being used as a staging area for immigration enforcement operations. The Department of Homeland Security blamed Trebach for inciting her own arrest, saying in a statement that she 'jumped in front of moving vehicles, causing [Border Patrol agents] to swerve out of the way.' Trebach allegedly 'continued to hit the car with her signs and fists while yelling obscenities at agents. After vehicles evaded her, she again physically blocked and impeded CBP from completing their duties.' Federal agents arrested her on suspicion of impeding and obstructing federal law enforcement. However, Trebach was released from the federal detention center in Los Angeles on Saturday night without criminal charges, according to National Nurses United, a union and professional association of registered nurses. Immigrant advocates alleged Trebach was targeted for her political activism. On the morning of her arrest, Trebach's supporters say, federal agents swerved their vehicle toward the group of advocates and Trebach dropped her sign, which possibly hit the vehicle. Despite the risks, immigrant advocacy groups say they have seen a growing interest among community members to get on the front lines to document immigration arrests. The Community Self Defense Coalition, an immigrant advocacy organization made up of about 80 subgroups across Los Angeles County, has been getting calls from concerned residents asking for resources for their neighbors and wanting guidance on how to create their own supportive network, including local patrols. Advocates say the best way to get involved is to volunteer with a local group that can train and prepare you for patrols and documenting enforcement operations. 'We must do so, however, in a way that keeps us safe, that doesn't jeopardize our security and our constitutional rights because the times in which we're living are just a bit too aggressive,' said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, director of communications for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. You have the 1st Amendment right to observe, take photographs and record video of immigration enforcement in public places, which includes streets and sidewalks, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and Witness, a nonprofit that advocates for the documentation of human rights violations. 'Do so in a way that you know ensures both your safety and ensures that you also are not getting involved in the [enforcement] actions whereby you can be charged with interference,' Cabrera said. Immigration enforcement officials can arrest you for interfering or obstructing an operation if they believe you are getting between a federal officer and the person they're arresting. In this environment, whether you've been alerted to an arrest taking place or have stumbled into one as a bystander, advocates say an operation can happen quickly and the situation can escalate. If you decide to document, you should consider 'how ICE prioritizes their own safety and their potential aggressive response to your presence,' according to Witness. You also should consider how to document someone who is being detained. Advocates have mixed feelings about recording or taking photos that identify a person being arrested. Some recommend that you try to avoid exposing the arrested person's identity, instead focusing on recording law enforcement officials. However, other organizations, such as Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), will temporarily post a screenshot of those who have been arrested on its Instagram account to help identify the arrested person and notify their family. If you encounter an arrest or enforcement operation, Manuel Vicente, director of radio station and immigrant rights group Radio Jornalera, suggests the following safety tips before you hit the record button or snap a photo: Either during or after the incident, call your local rapid response network to notify and share any documentation with them. Here is a list of local rapid response contacts compiled by the ACLU of Southern California and California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. There are several organizations that offer training sessions and volunteer opportunities, including: Adopt a Day Labor Corner — The National Day Laborer Organizing Network is building a network of volunteers who regularly show up to a location where day laborers gather. These volunteers will provide people with 'Know Your Rights' information, document any immigration enforcement activity and ultimately build relationships with their community members. You can register a 'corner' and submit it to the organization online. Community Self Defense Coalition LA — The coalition is made up of more than 80 organizations throughout Los Angeles County with upward of 1,000 members. Subgroups of the coalition conduct patrols for immigration enforcement activities and provide 'Know Your Rights' education sessions. You can sign up to be a volunteer online. Unión del Barrio — Unión del Barrio conducts in-person and virtual training sessions that are geared toward specific neighborhoods, communities and topics. Some topics include community patrol training, how educators can protect students from immigration enforcement operations and 'Know Your Rights' education sessions. For more information on training sessions, follow Unión del Barrio on Instagram or Facebook, or email the group at comitecentral@ IDEPSCA — The nonprofit is accepting volunteers to assist in community patrols, observing and documenting immigration enforcement operations and verifying enforcement operations. To become a volunteer, send a direct message to the nonprofit's Instagram. CHIRLA — CHIRLA's rapid response network supports community members after an immigration raid or arrest. Volunteers help connect affected families with supportive services that include food and legal referrals. To become a trained member of the rapid response network, fill out the group's online form and email questions to Ingrid Olvera at ivolvera@ Órale — Órale, an immigrant rights advocacy group focused on Long Beach, is looking for volunteers to join its rapid response network to respond to immigration enforcement activities. Interested volunteers should fill out the organization's online form.
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Advocates for day laborers arrested in California after tire spikes found at immigration raid, authorities say
LOS ANGELES - U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested four men on Tuesday on suspicion of interfering with immigration enforcement operations and placing homemade tire spikes allegedly intended to disable law enforcement vehicles, federal authorities said. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory K. Bovino identified the men as Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43; Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allard, 28; Sadot Jarnica, 54; and Daniel Montenegro 30, in a statement on X. The case has been referred to the U.S. attorney's office for filing consideration, he said. Nonprofit organization Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur De California (IDEPSCA) identified Ayala and Allard as day laborer advocates. The group said the two men were arrested in a Home Depot parking lot in Van Nuys around 10 a.m. Tuesday while exercising their legal right to observe and document the immigration raid. IDEPSCA operates a day labor center out of a building in the parking lot, which the group says has been targeted several times in the last week. Ayala is a U.S. citizen and works as an outreach coordinator at the Van Nuys Day Labor Center, helping connect migrant workers to resources and jobs, Meagean Ortiz, executive director of IDEPSCA, told The Times. "I have not seen any evidence of what the federal government is accusing my staff of doing, but I do have evidence of masked federal agents tackling not just my staff member, but other volunteers who were recording," she said. Immigrant rights group Unión del Barrio posted Instagram video of people being tackled by federal agents during the operation. IDEPSCA and a coalition of community advocates held a news conference outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. on Tuesday evening to demand the release of Ayala, Allard and all the workers detained in the raid. "Ernesto was arrested, in our eyes, unconstitutionally in the course of an unconstitutional raid meant to attack our communities and pick up people based on the color of their skin and where they're standing looking for work," said Cal Soto, an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "It is not a crime to be looking for work to support your families, and it's not a crime to be brown, Latino and looking for work," he continued. "It is also not a crime to observe and record law enforcement when they are enacting these kinds of raids." Soto said he attempted to enter the facility to provide Ayala and Allard with legal representation but was told that they were still being processed and that he was not allowed to see them. In addition to demanding the release of those arrested Monday, representatives for IDEPSCA and Unión del Barrio said they were demanding an end to "federal intimidation tactics" targeting community worker centers and Home Depot parking lots. "We will continue to fight for Ernesto, for Jude and for all the workers who continue to be kidnapped and terrorized in these lots, in these communities and in these streets that are our streets," said a representative for Unión del Barrio. "No amount of tackling people in a Home Depot parking lot is going to silence day laborer organizations." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The long history behind Los Angeles protestors' Mexican flags
President Donald Trump and his most loyal allies have seized on images of Mexican flags being waved at the protests in Los Angeles against his mass deportation regime. 'Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers,' Vice President JD Vance posted Saturday on X. 'Foreign flags flying in American cities to defend the invasion and defy federal law,' White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller tweeted that very same day. Displaying flags from Mexico, Central America or other Latin American countries is nothing new at these demonstrations. As Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano said in a recent video, those of us who have covered immigration issues for years frequently run into this 'undue obsession with a piece of cloth.' Once again, immigration enforcement is being reduced to a culture war spectacle, pitting Americans against Americans over who and what gets to define what it means to be American. This is not a new tactic for Trump and his ilk — but Los Angeles is not just another city facing this fight. 'We have to resist this, because in Los Angeles, we clearly understand what's happening,' high school history teacher and Unión del Barrio community organizer Ron Gochez told Democracy Now! over the weekend. 'The Trump administration is trying to make an example of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the heart of the Mexican and Central American community here in the United States. And so, they think that if they can break us, they can break anyone in the country.' In a region that is nearly 50% Latino, Los Angeles has long been a stage for what happens when marginalized communities push back. That resistance has often come with a price, from the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943, when young Mexican American men were beaten and arrested by servicemen and police, to the 1970 Chicano Moratorium, when the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department killed three individuals, including journalist Rubén Salazar, during a protest against the Vietnam War. In 1994, the city was the center of the fight against Proposition 187, California's attempt to deny public services to undocumented immigrants. Those in power condemned each of those movements at the time, but all of them have since become part of a broader American story of civil rights. The Trump administration and its supporters haven't read that story though. 'This is a calculated and strategic decision by the Trump administration to turn LA into a test case for quashing political dissent,' journalist Tina Vásquez wrote earlier this week. It is easier to attack a symbol like a flag, which is ironically woven into U.S. history through the land-grabbing legacy of the Mexican-American War, than to confront what it represents in the hands of someone born here, raised here and determined to stay. Americans also forget how, during the time of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century, the United States intervened militarily multiple times, occupying border towns and launching cross-border raids. The line between what is 'American' and what is 'Mexican' has never been clear-cut, no matter how much political leaders insist it is. Still, the images of the Mexican flag align with a narrative Trump and his allies have been promoting for years, a way to reduce a protest about policy and due process to a spectacle about patriotism and identity. Instead of discussing due process violations, courthouse arrests or policy abuses, they want to pivot the conversation to patriotism and symbols. They want a debate over whether people have the right to wave any flag at all, not why they're waving it in the first place. 'These idiots waving Mexican flags during the LA riots just gave Donald Trump the greatest political gift,' Republican strategist Matt Wylie told Newsweek. 'It will be 'Exhibit A' as proof of an invasion. Those images have done more in the last few days to strengthen his ability to crackdown on illegal immigration than weeks of messaging ever could.' But as Vásquez wrote, 'like many audacious, power-hungry leaders before him, Trump has vastly underestimated his adversaries.' That's what is missing from much of the current political spin. Yes, Trump and his allies are trying to paint Los Angeles as an anti-American symbol of insurrection, but the MAGA crowd overlooks that previous protests, such as the Prop 187 ones or the massive immigration rallies of 2006, were about the same issues we are all witnessing now. Angelenos have seen it all before: vilification, fearmongering and false claims about un-American activities. All this anti-immigrant strategy has accomplished is to mobilize states like California to produce new leaders and justice movements that place immigrants first. A CBS News poll released just before the demonstrations found that Americans only support deportations if they believe ICE is targeting 'dangerous criminals.' That support drops fast if they believe people are being denied hearings or due process. While 55% support the president's deportation 'goals,' that flips to 56% opposing his 'approach' to deportations. And a YouGov survey taken amid the demonstrations finds just 39% approve of Trump's handling of deportations, while 50% disapprove. Trump's bet on making foreign flags the story follows a predictable script. The difference is that those waving the flags know the ending. They have lived it before and they're still here, protesting with pride in where they come from and ensuring that their voices will not be erased. They sense that they are on the right side of American history. And they understand that these protests are not about loyalty to another country, but about claiming space in this one. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In Southern California, volunteers patrol neighborhood streets in search of ICE
Driving north on Griffith Avenue in South Los Angeles on Monday morning, Azusena Favela and Adalberto Ríos kept an eye out for unmarked American-brand vehicles with dark tinted windows and government license plates, anything that may point to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Favela turned left on 23rd Street, she noticed a white truck with yellow flashing lights stopped near an intersection in the distance. 'Do you see it?' she said. '¿Las luces?' Ríos said. 'Yeah,' she muttered. Ríos grabbed a two-way radio he had in hand and spoke into it: 'What's your location, Lupe?' '27th and San Pedro [streets],' she said, amid the static noise. 'We see some lights,' he said. 'We're going to check it out, will let you know if we see anything.' Across the country, community groups and immigrant rights advocates began preparing for President Trump's mass deportations by organizing know-your-rights workshops, street demonstrations and legal representation for people facing deportations. In Southern California, many groups banded together to patrol neighborhoods to alert residents of immigration sweeps and inform them of their constitutional rights. At the forefront of this effort is Unión del Barrio, an independent political organization advocating for immigrant rights and social justice. The organization, which is based in San Diego, has helped organize the launch of the Community Self-Defense Coalition, a network of more than 80 community groups. Unión del Barrio says it has helped train coalition members on how to spot federal immigration agents by zeroing in on the vehicles they use before following them and using social media to alert residents in the area. When they are able to trail agents during immigration sweeps, the coalition members keep at a distance but use megahorns to inform residents about their rights. The patrols, organizers say, also help curb misinformation shared on social media. They say residents, who are already on heightened alert and afraid, will sometimes make false reports or mistake a civilian vehicle for ICE. 'We're not violent, we're not trying to break any laws, but we're doing everything within our legal means to protect the community," said Ron Gochez, a member of Unión del Barrio. For years, Gochez said, the organization has been conducting community patrols. They were pivotal during immigration enforcement crackdowns in the 1990s as well as those under the Obama and first Trump administrations. Nearly a month ago, Favela said they came across ICE agents who had detained a man who was preparing to drive to work. She said the agent had a folder with a photo of a person who they believed to be the driver. She said the driver told the agent that he was not the person in the photo and refused to exit the car. "The agents saw that we were there and that we were filming and so they left," Favela said. Gochez said the patrols helped disrupt at least two operations on Sunday, amid rumors that federal law enforcement agents planned to carry out large-scale immigration enforcement action in the Los Angeles region. He said more than 150 coalition members were on the lookout. It was one of those patrols that stumbled upon an operation in Alhambra. The coalition members followed ICE agents from a staging point at a Target store to an apartment complex. A video posted on Instagram shows members standing at a distance from federal agents while using a bullhorn to communicate with residents inside the building. 'They can have their own warrants that are not signed by a judge, they are not valid,' a man is heard saying with a megaphone in the video before it ends. The Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles — a lockup run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons — had been asked to prepare for an influx of up to 120 new bookings from expected immigration raids, but by the end of Sunday officials had dropped off about a dozen people for processing, a source familiar with the situation told The Times. Richard Beam, a spokesman for ICE, did not respond to requests for comment. Favela and Ríos kept driving toward the truck with lights. At least five other volunteers had joined them, including members from the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice and Association of Raza Educators. Before the patrols, Ríos had placed magnetic car banners on some of the vehicles. The red and black banners show an image of a shield with the words 'Community Patrols.' Next to it, are the words: "Protecting communities from ICE and police terror.' Terror is not a word used loosely by the coalition members. They point to a long history of police abuses and discriminatory laws that have targeted Chinese, Japanese and Mexican immigrants and their descendants. Ríos said the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which is primarily focused on Latino communities, has caused so much fear that some people rush in and out of stores. People have even confused a Los Angeles city landscaping truck for ICE. 'The truck was white and it had a green stripe,' Ríos said. 'I think what you hear from folks is that they're afraid to go to work but they don't have a choice,' Favela said, adding that they've received requests from residents about patrolling their streets. 'There's a lot of fear and that for me is terror. We shouldn't have to wake up every morning and wonder if that is the last time we'll see our family.' Ríos echoed that sentiment. 'We're just trying to help the community protect itself.' Residents in the area said they were grateful for the patrols and for the volunteers helping inform residents about their rights. Along Central Avenue and 20th Street, Juan Gonzales, 65, said he was in the area when volunteers stopped and distributed red cards that list constitutional rights under the 4th and 5th Amendments. 'The cards give people an advantage,' he said. 'They tell you how to respond in a situation with ICE because these enforcements can happen just about anywhere.' Farther up the street, Ricky Lewis, 69, said he opposed any immigration enforcement that separated families. He said community patrols were a good thing. 'I think informing people helps them know what their rights are,' he said, adding that it helps people make informed decisions. Favela and Ríos said it's a good day when there are no ICE sightings. As they approached the white truck, the pair looked at the truck as they slowly moved past it. After a glimpse at the vehicle, the pair concluded that it belonged to someone in the neighborhood, not ICE. Relieved, they continued with their patrols. It would be one of those good days. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
In Southern California, volunteers patrol neighborhood streets in search of ICE
Driving north on Griffith Avenue in South Los Angeles on Monday morning, Azusena Favela and Adalberto Ríos kept an eye out for unmarked American-brand vehicles with dark tinted windows and government license plates, anything that may point to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Favela turned left on 23rd Street, she noticed a white truck with yellow flashing lights stopped near an intersection in the distance. 'Do you see it?' she said. '¿Las luces?' Ríos said. 'Yeah,' she muttered. Ríos grabbed a two-way radio he had in hand and spoke into it: 'What's your location, Lupe?' '27th and San Pedro [streets],' she said, amid the static noise. 'We see some lights,' he said. 'We're going to check it out, will let you know if we see anything.' Across the country, community groups and immigrant rights advocates began preparing for President Trump's mass deportations by organizing know-your-rights workshops, street demonstrations and legal representation for people facing deportations. In Southern California, many groups banded together to patrol neighborhoods to alert residents of immigration sweeps and inform them of their constitutional rights. At the forefront of this effort is Unión del Barrio, an independent political organization advocating for immigrant rights and social justice. The organization, which is based in San Diego, has helped organize the launch of the Community Self-Defense Coalition, a network of more than 80 community groups. Unión del Barrio says it has helped train coalition members on how to spot federal immigration agents by zeroing in on the vehicles they use before following them and using social media to alert residents in the area. When they are able to trail agents during immigration sweeps, the coalition members keep at a distance but use megahorns to inform residents about their rights. The patrols, organizers say, also help curb misinformation shared on social media. They say residents, who are already on heightened alert and afraid, will sometimes make false reports or mistake a civilian vehicle for ICE. 'We're not violent, we're not trying to break any laws, but we're doing everything within our legal means to protect the community,' said Ron Gochez, a member of Unión del Barrio. For years, Gochez said, the organization has been conducting community patrols. They were pivotal during immigration enforcement crackdowns in the 1990s as well as those under the Obama and first Trump administrations. Nearly a month ago, Favela said they came across ICE agents who had detained a man who was preparing to drive to work. She said the agent had a folder with a photo of a person who they believed to be the driver. She said the driver told the agent that he was not the person in the photo and refused to exit the car. 'The agents saw that we were there and that we were filming and so they left,' Favela said. Gochez said the patrols helped disrupt at least two operations on Sunday, amid rumors that federal law enforcement agents planned to carry out large-scale immigration enforcement action in the Los Angeles region. He said more than 150 coalition members were on the lookout. It was one of those patrols that stumbled upon an operation in Alhambra. The coalition members followed ICE agents from a staging point at a Target store to an apartment complex. A video posted on Instagram shows members standing at a distance from federal agents while using a bullhorn to communicate with residents inside the building. 'They can have their own warrants that are not signed by a judge, they are not valid,' a man is heard saying with a megaphone in the video before it ends. The Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles — a lockup run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons — had been asked to prepare for an influx of up to 120 new bookings from expected immigration raids, but by the end of Sunday officials had dropped off about a dozen people for processing, a source familiar with the situation told The Times. Richard Beam, a spokesman for ICE, did not respond to requests for comment. Favela and Ríos kept driving toward the truck with lights. At least five other volunteers had joined them, including members from the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice and Association of Raza Educators. Before the patrols, Ríos had placed magnetic car banners on some of the vehicles. The red and black banners show an image of a shield with the words 'Community Patrols.' Next to it, are the words: 'Protecting communities from ICE and police terror.' Terror is not a word used loosely by the coalition members. They point to a long history of police abuses and discriminatory laws that have targeted Chinese, Japanese and Mexican immigrants and their descendants. Ríos said the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which is primarily focused on Latino communities, has caused so much fear that some people rush in and out of stores. People have even confused a Los Angeles city landscaping truck for ICE. 'The truck was white and it had a green stripe,' Ríos said. 'I think what you hear from folks is that they're afraid to go to work but they don't have a choice,' Favela said, adding that they've received requests from residents about patrolling their streets. 'There's a lot of fear and that for me is terror. We shouldn't have to wake up every morning and wonder if that is the last time we'll see our family.' Ríos echoed that sentiment. 'We're just trying to help the community protect itself.' Residents in the area said they were grateful for the patrols and for the volunteers helping inform residents about their rights. Along Central Avenue and 20th Street, Juan Gonzales, 65, said he was in the area when volunteers stopped and distributed red cards that list constitutional rights under the 4th and 5th Amendments. 'The cards give people an advantage,' he said. 'They tell you how to respond in a situation with ICE because these enforcements can happen just about anywhere.' Farther up the street, Ricky Lewis, 69, said he opposed any immigration enforcement that separated families. He said community patrols were a good thing. 'I think informing people helps them know what their rights are,' he said, adding that it helps people make informed decisions. Favela and Ríos said it's a good day when there are no ICE sightings. As they approached the white truck, the pair looked at the truck as they slowly moved past it. After a glimpse at the vehicle, the pair concluded that it belonged to someone in the neighborhood, not ICE. Relieved, they continued with their patrols. It would be one of those good days.
