A sense of apprehension hung over Los Angeles this week in the wake of a supreme court ruling that paved the way for federal agents to conduct warrantless raids and target people based on their skin color, accent or job.
Immigrant communities have been on edge for months amid sweeping raids that have rounded up thousands of people. In July, a judge issued a temporary restraining order that barred agents from racially profiling people in southern and central California – slowing the raids but not stopping them.
Then on Monday, the supreme court ruling tossed that order aside, setting the stage for emboldened action as the Department of Homeland Security vowed to “flood the zone in Los Angeles”.
Fear and fatigue are palpable in immigrant neighborhoods where many must choose between going to work and risking deportation, or staying home and falling behind on rent. Organizers and volunteers, meanwhile, are doubling down on efforts to keep people safe.
On Wednesday morning, two days after the supreme court ruling, Carlos Mandonado, 49, gathered with a dozen other men in the shade of a flowering tree outside a Home Depot. It’s a popular spot in the largely immigrant Westlake neighborhood for day laborers to find construction work. But it’s also the target of raids.
Mandonado, who is from Guatemala and is undocumented, stood in an open area where he had options to escape. “I’m always alert. I have eyes in the front and back of my head,” he said in Spanish. Suddenly, a yellow Penske truck rolled into the parking lot, sending a chill through the group. Several men backed away, laughing nervously. But Mandonado recognized the driver. It wasn’t la migra – this time.
In August, Mandonado narrowly escaped when Border Patrol agents used a similar Penske truck as a trojan horse to draw in day laborers looking for work. Agents burst out of the truck and chased them, arresting 16. Mandonado managed to walk away; running would only attract their attention.
Mandonado said immigration agents are supposed to follow the law, but instead they target people based on skin color. “They’re being racist,” he said.
[Workers] are scared that their landlords are going to kick them out if they don’t pay their rent
Carlos Mandonado
Immigrant workers like him are bracing for a new wave of raids. But the threat feels different this time. The green light from the highest court comes as immigrants face mounting economic pressure to return to workplaces targeted by Ice.
A report released this month by the Rent Brigade surveyed immigrants in Los Angeles and found that their earnings had dropped by 62% as they stayed home to avoid the raids. They fell behind on rent, placing them at risk of eviction. As a result, the report found 71% of immigrant renters have since returned to work out of fear of eviction – despite the risk of deportation.
Bills, rent, car payments and groceries mean Mandonado and other day laborers can’t simply stay home. “They’re scared that their landlords are going to kick them out if they don’t pay their rent,” Mandonado said.
Mandonado has lived in the US for more than 30 years. If he is detained or deported, he would be separated from his mom and his three adult children who also live in the US.
Day laborers are aware of the risk. “We must have courage,” he said.
Volunteer groups stepping up
On the sidewalk near the Westlake Home Depot, two volunteers set up a sunshade and table. They are with the Los Angeles Community Self-Defense Coalition, which has deployed volunteers to vulnerable workplaces since mid-June. Jocelyn Hernandez, a regular volunteer, watched for Ice activity and handed out flyers explaining rental protections and how to identify Ice vehicles.
“I grew up in this area,” she said. “Seeing my community being ripped apart, that was my motivation for being one of the founding members of this space.”
She opposes the raids, especially in a community that is largely from Central America, where a history of US intervention fueled violence that forced people to flee their countries. Her parents are from Mexico and El Salvador. “The reason we immigrated here is because of a civil war that was founded by the United States,” Hernandez said.
“We do expect this to get significantly worse,” she said in response to the court ruling.
On Tuesday, 800 people including Hernandez joined an emergency virtual meeting hosted by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center, which connects day laborers with work, opened the meeting with a breathing exercise to calm anyone who felt anxious.
After the meeting, Madera explained over the phone that day laborers had hoped the courts would uphold their constitutional rights so they could safely return to work, school and church. “The sad reality that we’re living in is that the legal system is failing all of us,” he said.
Organizers are asking volunteers to “adopt” public spaces where immigrants work. Their presence can act as a deterrent against raids. They can also gather video evidence of unlawful acts that can be used in court, and help to shift public opinion. “Even though all these levels of government are failing us, we can’t fail each other,” Madera said.
Madera believes Los Angeles is setting the tone for other cities, like Chicago, now under attack from the Trump administration. “That’s something that Los Angeles is very proud of – that we’re showing other cities how to protect themselves.”
Helping the city protect itself is also top of mind for Ron Gochez, founder of Union del Barrio’s LA chapter that sends trained volunteers to patrol neighborhoods looking out for Ice.
On Tuesday, Gochez hosted a community training to teach volunteers to document Ice activity. After a lull in raids thanks to the July court order, he fears another wave will push immigrant communities into an even more precarious position.
“We feel that [the raids] are going to potentially put a lot of people out on the street,” Gochez said. “People are jeopardizing their freedom by going to work knowing that any single minute they can be abducted.”
Immigrants across the city have been calling Union del Barrio to ask for help with grocery deliveries or going to hospital, he said. The group received a call from a day laborer who needed work because he was months behind on his rent, but was too afraid to go to Home Depot. The group passed his name along to a job center. “But he’s just one of literally thousands of people in the same position,” Gochez said.
Back at the Home Depot in Westlake, Mandonado said he plans to return to Guatemala after his 72-year-old mother recovers from eye surgery. He hopes that his adult children, who are citizens, can help him return to the US through legal immigration pathways. He said he owns a piece of land back home with a waterfall and fruit trees. He imagined sitting by the waterfall with a cup of coffee while talking to the plants.
He wants to return home freely, at a time that he chooses, not through the harsh system of detention and deportation. “I wouldn’t want to leave like that,” he said.
