Sergio Jimenez was driving in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles on Monday morning, just after news struck that the Supreme Court cleared the way for U.S. agents to continue sweeping immigration operations in L.A., and noted how “almost the entire area could be vulnerable to these raids.”
“It’s predominantly Latino,” said Jimenez with Community Power Collective, which organizes tenants, street vendors and transit riders in Los Angeles.
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to lift a temporary restraining order barring federal immigration officials from conducting “roving patrols” and profiling people based on their appearance in L.A. and Southern California.
In a 31-page ruling, the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 majority, agreed with the Trump administration that federal immigration officers can briefly detain and interrogate individuals about whether they are lawfully in the United States and that they can rely on a “totality of circumstances” standard for reasonable suspicion. That means everything the officer knew and observed at the time of the stop.
Community groups shift into rapid response
For the Community Power Collective, Jimenez said it will be crucial to not only speak about the legal rights of immigrants in the workplace and elsewhere, but also about what happens after someone gets detained. That includes guiding people on how to access information once their loved ones are taken to ICE processing centers in downtown L.A. or in Adelanto. Information in this area has been lacking, he said.
Also vital will be connecting more street vendors to rapid response networks and mutual aid organizations that are helping with food and rent assistance, Jimenez said.
Previously, the organization had largely focused on issues such as street vending legislation. Now, Jimenez said, “We have to add a lot more to the immigration component.”
That includes, “How they can continue being vigilant, more united and organized, so that they themselves can start watching out for raids,” he said.
Churches offer sanctuary and solidarity
At Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights, Father Brendan Busse said the church “will continue to do what we’ve always done.”
Since the raids, Dolores Mission has held “Know Your Rights” workshops in partnership with elected leaders and local legal organizations. It has helped coordinate food deliveries to those scared of leaving their homes and provided red cards detailing the legal rights of immigrants. The parish has also hosted Unión del Barrio and the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network to help residents join neighborhood patrols.
“What we’re doing is modeling what it really means to be a neighbor to someone, what it really means to be a faithful citizen.”
Sunday worship at Dolores Mission dwindled immediately after the raids, but Busse said that changed after the community showed up to protect immigrants. He noted a delegation of Jewish volunteers that offered to stand near the church “to keep an eye out so people didn’t have to look over their shoulders while they came to Mass.”
“That was a really powerful weekend,” Busse said, adding that Mass participation has been largely unaffected for the rest of the summer.
“I’m afraid, surely, that this might change again as people feel pressure and threats again, but we continue to do what we need to do in making this place as safe as we can, and also reaching out to people in their homes,” Busse said.
Organizers call for unity and resilience
Raquel Roman, executive director of Proyecto Pastoral, which operates the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, has a clear message for residents: “[We can’t] let our guard down.”
“What I’ve seen even in the last month … people are saying, ‘Oh, things are slowing down. Things are going back to normal,’” Roman said. “The reality is that [immigration agents] have still been present everywhere.”
“The longevity and sustainability of not letting your guard down requires a lot of different things,” she said. “Being mindful of how we continue to keep guard and how we continue to show up for our community.”
Roman said the network will be holding an upcoming rapid response training and will continue to conduct patrols and “safety checks” near schools for immigration activity.
“This is an attack. It’s almost like a declaration of war,” Roman said of the Supreme Court decision. “They’re terrorizing our community, and not normalizing this is important.”
For Jimenez of Community Power Collective, thinking of the thousands of people who live in East L.A. and Boyle Heights, it’s time to “start dismantling this lack of knowing who your neighbor is.”
“Even though we all might fit a certain profile, we do have the capacity to support each other, be each other’s eyes and shoulders, but also be each other’s hope,” Jimenez said. “The system is really meant for you to be isolated and scared and panic. Well, we have communities that are challenging that. … We’re not alone.”