Long-time street vendor organizer Emma de Paz, a 58-year-old food vendor in the Hollywood area, said that nothing has ever stopped her from lending a hand to someone in need. Not even now, as she sits in the Adelanto Detention Center, her future is in limbo.
“Dios me a dado ese corazón de ayudar a las personas,” she told L.A. TACO over the phone. “God has given me the heart to help others, and in here, there are many people who have not been able to communicate with their families.”
On Thursday, June 19, De Paz was getting started with her day as a food vendor outside the Home Depot on Sunset Boulevard, where she worked serving breakfast to day laborers, when she and others were ambushed and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.