In response to growing concerns about ICE raids in immigrant communities, a coalition of community leaders, advocacy groups, and community members held a press conference outside the immigration building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 12th, to announce a unified effort to protect vulnerable individuals. Union de Barrio organized the event, along with Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, Centro CSO, and many others.
The Community Self-Defense Coalition comprises various grassroots organizations in Los Angeles. Their mission is to provide support and advocacy to ensure the safety and rights of all immigrants, regardless of their status.
“We are right here in Los Angeles, where we’ve seen hundreds of our youth walk out of school to stand up for immigrant rights,” said Gabriel Quiroz Jr. with Centro CSO.
More than 50 organizations have joined the call to join this coalition, making it one of Southern California's largest immigrant rights coalitions. The group aims to extend from the San Fernando Valley to the U.S./Mexico border. The coalition is organizing training sessions to prepare its members for community tactics to defend their neighbors from ICE raids and deportations, which are currently terrorizing people across the country.
The Trump administration wasted no time in implementing its plan for massive deportations nationwide. Trump has ordered ICE to meet a quota of 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day. Consequently, we are witnessing raids throughout Los Angeles County.
“Karen Bass and the Democrats have done nothing to stop the raids in L.A.,” said Ron Gochez, an organizer with Union de Barrio. Speakers emphasized how the Bass administration misled the public regarding the city’s sanctuary status and had to prepare the paperwork to make it happen hurriedly.
Trump intends to impose punitive measures on any city that adopts sanctuary status, including withholding federal funding. These jurisdictions have stated that their local police and other institutions will not assist ICE in deporting community members.
The administration has instructed federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice to investigate and bring criminal charges against any city or state that refuses to collaborate with ICE.
No place seems safe for our migrant community, as raids are occurring at hospitals, schools, and workplaces. As a result, we’ve seen a week of student walkouts across Los Angeles.
“I walked out to speak up for the people in our community who are scared. I walked out to protect our family and community from being kidnapped. I walked out because it is the right thing to do,” said Jade, a 9th grader who participated in the student walkout protest last week.
The press conference also shed light on how Black migrants are under attack by ICE.
“We recognize that the war on immigrants is part of the same system that wages war on Black communities globally. From the streets of Los Angeles to the borders and detention centers in Haiti and Guantánamo Bay,” said Carlos Sirah, an organizer with the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP).
Carlos also highlighted the horrifying images from the Biden administration when Haitians were chased down at the Texas border by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback.
“Decades of sanctions and colonialism have forced Haitians to migrate here, only to be met with racism and brutality,” Carlos added.
The press conference concluded with a collective commitment to defending the rights and dignity of all migrants, regardless of their origin or legal status. The participants informed the public that they were patrolling their neighborhoods early in the morning to look for ICE vehicles. If any were spotted, a message was sent to the community urging them to come out and prevent anyone from being taken. The press conference cited a recent incident where an ICE raid was leaked in advance in Aurora, Colorado, as an example of community power. The leak is believed to have frustrated President Trump's cabinet.
The coalition called for people to get involved and join forces. It also pledged to remain vigilant and proactive in ensuring justice and safety for immigrant communities. They created their account on Instagram just today to provide all of their resources in one place and are planning a protest taking place to take place on Monday.
“We will continue to support our undocumented community against Trump’s racist policies,” said Quiroz Jr.
