This article was originally published by Los Angeles Public Press.
As thousands of Los Angeles residents protest daily against increasing ICE raids, immigrant rights groups in the Inland Empire, a sprawling region east of Los Angeles, are briefing communities about their legal rights and shoring up rapid response networks in case ICE raids target them next.
Yazmin Mercado, a legal advocate with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ), has been watching the LA protests with a heavy heart. She knows the fear that people are experiencing, especially when families are attending school graduations and starting summer vacation.
“It’s heartbreaking to see your own government destroying communities and destroying people’s lives,” Mercado told the LA Public Press.
But people aren’t stuck in despair, Mercado said. They’re rallying neighbors and loved ones to form support networks in case federal agencies launch immigration raids across their region.
“We expected this to happen, so that’s why we’re prepared,” Mercado said. “We have this rapid response hotline, and we’re prepared to help out the community as much as we can.”
About 50 volunteers operate the rapid response hotline (909) 361-4588, either answering calls, connecting people with legal aid or other resources, and going out to confirm reports of federal immigration law enforcement activity, Mercado said.
Since January, the hotline has received about 950 calls and has investigated 250 reported sightings of ICE or other federal immigration agencies in the Inland Empire, according to Mercado.
As protests ramp up across LA County, the coalition — which includes more than 35 organizations engaging in policy advocacy, community organizing, education, and response to ICE activity — is watching closely and building its response capabilities to protect undocumented immigrants in the region.
Living in the 100-mile border zone
The mountain- and desert-bound Inland Empire (IE) comprises San Bernardino and Riverside counties and is home to at least 4.6 million people in cities like Fontana, Ontario, and Redlands. One in five residents is an immigrant, and about 260,000 are undocumented.
The region also hosts the world’s largest U.S. Marine Corps training base, located in the city of Twentynine Palms. The base is the staging ground for 700 Marines deployed by President Donald Trump this week to protect federal buildings in LA.
People in the region also frequently encounter the U.S. Border Patrol because the region falls within the so-called 100-mile border zone, said Luis Nolasco, a policy advocate with the ACLU of Southern California.
“Our region does have a history [of] dealing with Border Patrol which, historically has been far more abusive than ICE in the way that they conduct their operations,” Nolasco said.
Immigrants rights advocates are closely monitoring ICE operations in LA and learning from the experience of allies who are working to support families affected by arrests while also maintaining support networks, Nolasco said.
“It’s helpful to know what’s happening in LA and how ICE and other agencies are conducting themselves because it’s likely that operations in the IE will take shape in a similar way,” Nolasco said. “
While any ICE activity in the IE will likely be at a smaller scale than in LA, fear is still spreading, Nolasco said. Swap meets and other commercial spaces frequented by immigrants have seen a drop in foot traffic, he said. “That all sort of correlates with this fear going around.”
Immigrants in the IE also live in close proximity to one of the largest detention centers on the West Coast.
The Adelanto and Desert View Annex detention facilities, both in San Bernardino County, can hold close to 3,000 people combined. The privately-run ICE facilities are where people arrested in federal immigration operations in LA County have been detained and processed for deportation.
Adelanto also houses a federal immigration court, but the government isn’t processing people fast enough to give them access to legal support, Mercado said.
“They’re not letting attorneys be [detainees’] legal representatives, and that’s a huge problem because people need access to that to fight their case[s],” Mercado said.
The ACLU has launched advocacy campaigns to try to compel the closure of the ICE facilities. According to the ACLU, detainees have faced retaliation for participating in hunger strikes and gone without critical health care. Federal authorities have also allegedly released people who contracted COVID-19 days before their death in order to obscure data on deaths at the facility.
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu recently attempted to inspect Adelanto and was denied entry, according to a video posted June 8 by the ACLU.
“We have the right to conduct oversight of this detention facility,” Chu, who represents California’s 28th District, said in the video. “But as soon as we drove up, they put this lock on this gate, and on that lock, so we could not even get in and exercise our lawful duty. That’s not right.”
In an email to LA Public Press on Thursday, Chu’s press secretary Claire Berry said that Chu hadn’t attempted to re-enter the facility since she was denied entry and the office had not heard back from ICE.
Will ICE target the crucial warehouse sector?
Protests in LA were largely sparked by ICE raids June 8, including at the Ambiance Apparel warehouse in downtown. In the IE, warehouses are a vital part of the economy. ICE did not respond to a request for comment about the raids or planned operations in the IE.
The IE was once home to flourishing lemon and orange groves. But where agriculture once dominated, more than 4,000 warehouses are now the major driver of the local economy, adding more trucks to the roads and increasing pollution levels.
The IE’s vast warehouse and logistics industry is a critical link in the commercial supply chain for California and the nation. The warehouses are a key stop in shipping all types of products, from medicine to apparel to food.
One in five jobs in the IE are tied to the warehouse industry, and non-supervisory workers make on average $20 per hour.
In a June 8 statement, the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, which organizes warehouse workers and helps them understand their legal rights, condemned the ICE raids that fueled protests across LA.
“No one should be targeted at work — that is disgraceful, violent and unacceptable,” the statement said. “Together we are stronger and the discriminatory and violent conduct and practices of ICE will not prevail in the face of a strong and united community.”
A spokesperson for the center couldn’t be reached for comment.
Unique risks for agricultural workers
Agricultural workers statewide were rattled Wednesday when ICE agents targeted produce farm workers in early morning operations in Ventura County, about an hour north of LA.
Luz Gallegos, director of the IE-based TODEC (Training Occupational Development Educating Communities) Legal Center, told LA Public Press that news of the raids alarmed farmworkers in the area but didn’t stop them from going to work in the fields, out of necessity.
“The workers say, ‘We just want to work, we haven’t come to do anything bad. We just want to make money to pay rent, we’re not criminals, we just want to provide for our families,’” Gallegos said. “Their wellbeing is very impacted right now.”
Farmworkers call the rapid response hotline each morning to check whether ICE has been spotted on roads they take to get to work, Gallegos said.
“Their wives and kids are just holding their breath to see if they’re going to see their parents when they get back from work,” Gallegos said. “Our hearts are broken for these families who say, ‘They should be thanking us, not penalizing us for working and harvesting the food.’”
Before warehouses dominated the IE’s landscape, agriculture was a major industry for the region. Farmworkers say the industry is just now recovering from the physical and emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and Tropical Storm Hillary, which washed away homes and fields.
On farms across the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley this week, Gallegos spoke to farmworkers about their legal rights in case of ICE raids. She also encourages them to access the resources TODEC provides, especially mental health care.
But it’s not easy for people to miss a day of work, even with ICE raids looming, she said.
“[Farmworkers] told me, ‘If we don’t work, we don’t eat,’” Gallegos said. “So they work while watching their backs. These communities are also thinking of survival.”
Mercado said that experiencing fear in this moment is a reality for many immigrants across the IE. But, she said, it’s vital for people to keep supporting each other.
“It’s important for people to continue living their lives,” Mercado said. “Community is a big thing because we can help each other out, but also I think people have the right to live their life freely without fear.”
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