Azusena Favela and Adalberto Ríos headed north on Griffith Street in southern Los Angeles on Monday morning, with an eye on unmarked American-branded vehicles with dark tinted windows and government license plates, which could indicate immigration and customs enforcement officers present.
As Favela turned left on 23rd Street, she noticed a white truck with a distant intersection close to a flashing flash.
“Did you see it?” she said.
Azurena Favela drives along her community and heads to Unión del Barrio.
(Carlin Stiehl/Times)
“»Lus Lux?” said Rios.
“Yes,” she murmured.
Ríos grabbed the two-way broadcast on his hand and said, “Your location, Lupe?”
“27th and San Pedro [streets]In the static noise, she said.
The megaphone sat in the car before Unión del Barrio patrolled the streets of Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl/Times)
“We’re seeing some lights,” he said. “We’re going to check it out and let you know if we see anything.”
Nationwide, community groups and immigration rights advocates have begun preparing for President Trump’s massive deportation to organize knowledge-wide workshops, street demonstrations and legal representation for those facing deportation.
In Southern California, many groups gather to patrol the community to remind residents to sweep away and inform them of their constitutional rights.
At the forefront of this effort is Unión del Barrio, an independent political organization that advocates immigration rights and social justice. Located in San Diego, the organization has helped organize the formation of the Community Self-Defense Coalition, a network of more than 80 community groups.
Unión del Barrio said it has helped train alliance members how to discover federal immigration agents by using the vehicles they use and using social media to alert residents in the area. Alliance members keep distance when they are able to delay agents during immigration sweeps, but use Megahorns to inform residents of their rights.
Organizers say the patrol also helps curb misinformation shared on social media. They say residents are already in a situation of high alert and fear, and sometimes make false reports or mistake civilian vehicles for ice.
From left, Francisco Romero, John Parker, Lupe Carrasco Cardona and Adalberto Ríos patrol the patrol.
(Carlin Stiehl/Times)
“We are not violent, we are not going to violate any law, but we do our best to protect the community in legal means.”
Gochez said the organization has been conducting community patrols for years. They were key during the immigration enforcement crackdown in the 1990s and under Obama and the first Trump administration.
About a month ago, Favela said they met a hockey agent who detained someone who was about to drive to work.
She said the agent’s folder and a photo of someone they thought was the driver. She said the driver told agents that he was not the person in the photo and refused to leave the car.
“The agents saw us there, we were filming, so they left,” Favela said.
Gochez said the patrol had at least two operations on Sunday, following rumors that federal law enforcement officers planned large-scale immigration enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area. He said more than 150 members of the alliance were monitoring.
It was one of the patrols that happened to operate in Alhambra. Alliance members follow the stage point from the target store to the Icefield agent in the apartment building.
Video posted on Instagram shows members staying distance from federal agents while using Bullhorn to communicate with residents in the building.
Azurena Favela connects turbans to community members.
(Carlin Stiehl/Times)
“They can have an arrest warrant that the judge has not signed, without a valid order,” a man said with a megaphone before the video ended.
The Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles (a lockdown held by the Federal Bureau of Prisons) is asked to prepare to pour up as many as 120 new bookings from the expected immigration attack, but by the end of Sunday Tell us the situation tHis time.
ICE spokesman Richard Beam did not respond to a request for comment.
The turban is the identifier of the Unión del Barrio car.
(Carlin Stiehl/Times)
Favela and Ríos have been driving towards the truck with lights.
At least five volunteers joined them, including members of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice and the Laza Educators Association.
Before patrol, Ríos placed magnetic car slogans on some vehicles. Red and black slogans show images of shields with the word “community patrol”. Next to it is: “Protect the community from ice and police terror.”
Horror is not a word loosely used by alliance members. They point to the long history of law against police abuse and discrimination targeted Chinese,,,,, Japanese and Mexico Immigration and its descendants.
Rios said the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown focused primarily on the Latino community, which caused so much fear that some people rushed into the stores. People even confuse Los Angeles urban landscaping trucks.
“The truck is white and has green stripes,” Rees said.
“I think what you hear from people is that they are afraid to go to work, but they have no choice,” Favela said, adding that they received requests from residents.
“There are a lot of fears, and it’s horror to me. We don’t have to wake up every morning and wonder if this is the last time we’ve seen our family.”
Ríos responded to this view.
Volunteers sat in a car Unión del Barrio used to patrol the streets of Cape Los for ice.
(Carlin Stiehl/Times)
“We are just trying to help the community protect themselves.”
Residents in the area said they thanked the patrol team and volunteers for helping residents inform them of their rights.
Juan Gonzales, 65, said along Central Avenue and 20th Street that he was in the area when volunteers stopped and distributed red cards that listed constitutional rights under the 4th and 5th Amendments.
“These cards give people an advantage,” he said. “They tell you how to react in the ICE situation because these executions can happen almost anywhere.”
Ricky Lewis, 69, said further down the street that he opposed any immigration enforcement that separates families. He said community patrols are a good thing.
“I think informing people helps them know what their rights are,” he said, adding that it can help people make informed decisions.
Favela and Ríos said it was a wonderful day and no ice was found.
As they approached the white truck, the two looked at the truck as they slowly passed it. After glimpsing the vehicle, the two concluded that it belonged to the people nearby, not the ice.
They breathed a sigh of relief and continued patrol. That would be one of those wonderful days.
