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ICE can’t help but make a spectacle of their buffoonish tactics, and if you know anything about L.A., it’s that we can’t look away from a car accident.
ICE’s recklessness, aggression, and use of vehicles as assault weapons is nothing new. We’ve seen them ram into vehicles intentionally, sending people to the hospital, and using their vehicles as battering rams over and over.
Over the past ten days, ICE went into overdrive, driving around the Southland like it was the agency's own personal demolition derby.
On August 25, the community watch teams We Keep Us Safe in the Inland Empire shared a vehicular collision on social media that occurred in Riverside between ICE and a small pickup truck. We haven’t been able to confirm if this was part of an immigration enforcement operation.
On Saturday, August 29, at approximately 1:30 p.m., at least four ICE vehicles were present as four ICE agents chased a man down Van Nuys Boulevard by Sylvan Avenue near the courthouse and jail. A grey Dodge Durango and a black Ford F-150 attempted to cut the man off, but he cut across Van Nuys Boulevard to avoid the vehicles.
In a video shared with L.A. TACO, you can see the black Ford truck back into a sedan, crashing into her as she pulled up to the red light. As the sedan reversed and tried to pull away, the Ford truck kept pushing the car back before stopping and pulling away. Eventually, two other SUVs cut off the man running down the four-lane boulevard; one of the SUVs pointed in the opposite direction, unmarked, and posing another hazard to oncoming traffic.
In other video footage that surfaced on August 31, masked ICE agents were documented colliding with an older woman’s vehicle in Orange County, causing injuries to both her and a third party. They were both transported to a nearby hospital. We spoke with the Orange County Fire Authority, who confirmed the accident and verified that two people involved were indeed transported to a hospital.
Earlier that same day, the City of Anaheim shared that two people were taken near the Anaheim Canyon after a vehicular collision.
Thanks to community watchers, we know that there are currently seven damaged ICE vehicles sitting in a lot near the Santa Ana ICE field office on 34 Civic Center Plaza. These are your tax dollars needlessly getting wrecked.
Remember to stay safe and stay vigilant, especially from ICE’s reckless driving.
ICE WATCH
Last week, the siege continued. At the very minimum, 34 people were taken by ICE/ERO between August 23 and August 29 across the Southern California region, according to community watch teams and rapid responders.
Targeted cities include Fontana, Burbank, Riverside, San Diego, La Habra, Chino, Lynwood, Santa Paula, San Bernardino, Irvine, Escondido, Vista, Colton, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo.
Last week, L.A. TACO reached out to ICE for comment regarding the documented detainments, as well as an incident that occurred in San Diego. We have received no response.
TALES OF THE SIEGE
A gentleman by the name of Carlos came up to me during the last No Kings protest wearing an old striped shirt, a backpack, and a worn look on his face. I was with the NDLON folks, by their music truck, alongside a couple of community leaders. Carlos really wanted to share his story, and well, here is what he told us:
He survived detention at Adelanto but wasn’t sure how to survive after release. Before detention, he was a day laborer looking for work at a Home Depot parking lot in San Bernardino when Border Patrol rushed him and took him away. His truck and about $5,000 worth of tools were abandoned and now gone.
While in detention, he was bullied by the few criminals ICE does arrest. He pulled back his sleeves and showed us scars on his arm from defending himself from a makeshift blade.
“They tried to rape me,” he tells us. “They would beat me up for my food, take my clothes, and the people around me were too afraid to defend me.”
His voice cracked, and he looked away in shame, as his lip quivered.
He was eventually let out on bond, but he had nothing anymore. He had been evicted. All his belongings were gone. No truck or tools to work. He was asking for help. I shared his GoFundMe and wanted to give him a full interview. But the speed of ICE’s actions kept me going forward, and I lament leaving his story behind. So, I’ll share it here for awareness while I try to find him again.
FEATURED STORIES THIS WEEK ON L.A. TACO:
- Our Playbook Against ICE Burnout
- Update: Adelanto Detainees Sign Letter Demanding Authorities Investigate Processing Center’s Water Quality Issues
- Cockroach Found in Adelanto ICE Detention Cell
IN OTHER ICE-RELATED NEWS
- The DHS has reported its 53rd death in ICE custody since the start of Trump’s second term.
- The Guardian’s View on Trump’s Immigration Crackdown: who will have fewer rights next? ~ The Guardian
- House passes funding bill to avoid shutdown before midterms ~ The Guardian
- Memphis ICE Raid: Everything We Know As Group Says More Than 100 Detained ~ Newsweek
- ICE Wants to Expand Rapid DNA Testing to Verify Relatives ~ Newsweek
- As ICE Custody Deaths Rise, State Bill Would Force Release of 911 Call Data ~ KQED
- Springfield Haitian student takes his own life after being fitted with ICE ankle monitor, advocates say ~ Springfield News-Sun
L.A. TACO’s ICE REPORTING MENTIONED BY OTHERS
- ‘What America Did to Me Is Wrong’: Inside One of the Largest Third-Country Removal Flights So Far
- This Week On ICE: ICE spying in Minnesota, deportee bounty hunters, and a journalist’s 300+ days in detention
- Izzy Ramirez joining MS NOW’s Connect With Jacob Soboroff alongside Eric Balliet to discuss ICE detainments and how only 4%, if that, are of individuals with violent criminal convictions.
- Memo Torres joins MS NOW’S Deadline to discuss the latest record deportation numbers and the arrests of children.
