ICE is Here!
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4th of July Street Fair handout.
During the 4th of July Street Fair, I was handed a 4x6 sheet of paper. Across the top was written in large black print, “Who are You? Am I being arrested or kidnapped?”
Over the last few weeks people with a Hispanic appearance, be they in the California legally, or illegally, are not showing up for work. They are not attending food sharing events such as the Wednesday Pantry in Santa Paula. They are not going to clinics or doctors for medical care. They are simply staying hidden, afraid to be in public spaces.
These occurrences continues throughout the Ventura and Los Angeles region.
An article in the Los Angeles Times dated July 7, told about ICE agents wearing neck gaiters covering their faces and jumping out of unmarked vans and snatching people off the streets. That same day agents descended on MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. They had armored vehicles, a horse patrol and were in their combat gear complete with weapons, masks and no identification.
The MacArthur Park incident had been planed and announced earlier. It was not so much about capturing illegals, but a show. A planned and announced intimidation exercise.
On July 12, Yesenia Duran’s uncle died as a result of injuries during the ICE raid on the Glass House Farms near Camarillo on July 10.
On July 12 Reuters ran a story about the Glass House Farms raid in Camarillo, California, where they arrested hundreds of workers at the cannabis nursery. The ICE agents closed an access road to the Glass House Farms facility. A yellow crime scene tape crossed Laguna Road, ICE agents on one side, about 100 protestors on the other. The protestors shouted at the agents. The agents fired rubber projectiles into the crowd, and threw gas canisters into the protestor’s ranks.
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff statement
The ICE agents did provide search warrants for the Glass House Farms raid.
ICE agents have been increasing their activity. The result is people are petrified. Increasing the fear has been the acknowledgement by the President’s border czar, Tom Homan. He asserted that ICE agents do not need “probable cause” but can detain individuals based on “personal appearance.” This is known as racial profiling.
Meanwhile ICE agents continue to spread fear and uncertainty, clad in their tactical body armor with faces hidden and no identification visible. The LA Times quotes that they argue that the masking is necessary because of the “supercharged public rhetoric,” “facial recognition technology,” and “increased personal threats,” are making their jobs in the field more dangerous.
Regular police officers do not have their faces covered, their badge numbers are visible and “it is not considered unsafe for their identities to be available to the public,” according to the LA Times.
The approach which the ICE agents have taken to perform their work is part of the problem. When fear is a function of the approach, all it does is make people apprehensive, afraid and easily leads to violent encounters. Perhaps this is what they want?
On June 26th, following over four hours of debate from over 100 participants, the San Buenaventura City Council approved the Community Autonomy Rights and Equality Policy (CARE) by a 6-1 vote. The policy designates the City of San Buenaventura as a safe community for immigrants and LGBTQ+ residents and individuals seeking reproductive health care. The policy was introduced by council members Liz Campos and Ryyn Schumacher.