As residents honored 818 Day throughout the San Fernando Valley, a group of pro-immigrant advocacy organizations gathered outside Van Nuys City Hall to call for an end to federal immigration enforcement actions in the 818 area.
The "All Eyes on the Valley" event held on August 18 highlighted the Latino populations in the area who have faced fear and intimidation from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Nothing brings me more joy on 818 Day than being right here in these streets," said Carla Orendorff, a coordinator with Aetna Street Solidarity and the San Fernando Valley Homeless Union. "We have so much to fight for, so much to cherish, and our resistance is what keeps us going.
After the Trump administration decided to focus on Los Angeles in early June, the area has experienced a rise in cases involving unidentified masked individuals who have been detaining people from the streets without a federal warrant.
In reality, from June 6 to July 20, Panorama City was the primary location where the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) LA Rapid Response Network received reports.
Numerous individuals being held are street vendors and day laborers, as federal immigration officials focus on locations where they operate, particularly near home improvement stores. Dozens have been arrested during immigration enforcement actions outside Home Depot branches in San Fernando, North Hollywood, and Van Nuys.
Megan Ortiz serves as the executive director of the Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), a non-profit entity that manages five of the seven day laborer centers in Los Angeles. Three of these centers are located alongside Home Depot stores.
Those day labor centers have been raided 12 times," Ortiz stated. "Out of the 12 raids, six took place at the Home Depot locations that are co-located with day labor centers, specifically at the Van Nuys Home Depot.
These detentions can frequently involve violence and pose significant risks. In Pacoima, a tamales seller experienced a heart attack after Border Patrol officers seized her from behind; in San Fernando, a day laborer fractured his leg while trying to escape from ICE agents; and in Van Nuys, CBP officers shattered windows and pulled workers out of their cars.
Last week in Monrovia, Roberto Carlos Montoya passed away while escaping from ICE officers. The day laborer was restrained with handcuffs when he was struck by a vehicle..
Two federal judges have stated that this is unlawful," said Cal Soto, director of workers' rights at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). "Today, they still unlawfully detain individuals on street corners based on their skin color, the language they speak, and the kind of work they are looking for. Shame!
Operations continue to occur even though a temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued by a federal district judge and approved by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
I'm a lawyer. We're handling this case in court," Soto stated. "However, I can tell you one thing: the lawyers and judges won't be the ones upholding our human rights. It's the people in the streets who will ensure it.
Ortiz asked why the city hasn't taken more steps to safeguard the day laborer centers, considering these are areas supported by the city.
"I want to find out from the city attorney's office if I can get a protective order against my day labor centers," said Ortiz.
Each year, you make us explain how we assist thousands of day laborers in finding jobs throughout the city. You have us complete a thousand reports detailing all the money that day laborers contribute to the city's economy," she continued. "Yet you are allowing, on a daily basis, these workers to vanish and be taken from our neighborhoods, from their families.
Immigration officials have also focused on individuals who are recording and observing the operations.
During a raid near the Lowes store in Pacoima, a U.S. citizen was forcefully removed from his car and taken into custody by federal agents while he was recording the event. He remained in the care of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for several hours before being set free. A few days later, he still showed signs of bruising on his wrists from the handcuffs.
At the Van Nuys Home Depot, a staff member from the day laborers center and three volunteers who were recording the raid were taken into custody by federal agents and detained for 50 hours at the Metropolitan Detention Center before being set free.
The immigration operations in the region have now reached students and educational institutions.
Last week, near Arleta High School, about a dozen masked Border Patrol officers detained, cuffed, and eventually let go a 15-year-old student from San Fernando High School who has mental disabilities and was in a car with his grandmother.
A spokesperson from CBP stated that their focus was not on the school, but rather on an operation targeting a "criminal illegal alien," which they mistakenly identified as the child.
In Van Nuys, an 18-year-old student who is about to be a senior at Reseda Charter High School was taken into custody while walking his pet. He remains in detention pending deportation.
"He is similar to many students who arrive here with the aspiration to improve. He should be beginning his senior high school year at this time, yet he is in detention, where he feels scared," said Lizette Becerra, an educator with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and former teacher of the teenager.
This isn't something students should be concerned with. Every student, every child, no matter their immigration status, deserves access to a free and equitable education," she added. "As educators, we have both a moral and legal duty to safeguard our students. We would go through anything for them. We will shield them from ICE.
Protesters demanded the release of workers who were unlawfully held and an end to the separation of families; urged Mayor Karen Bass to act in safeguarding immigrant residents; called for the protection of day laborers; a halt to the targeting of immigrant rights groups; a prohibition on ICE presence at schools; and the cancellation of rent and mortgage payments for those impacted by the raids.
We will organize, stand up for ourselves, and retaliate," stated Orendorff. "We will not tolerate any more abductions or kidnappings. No more deaths among our people.
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