Volunteers use bullhorns and sirens to warn immigrants when ICE is in
their area
[March 01, 2025]
By DORANY PINEDA and ELLIOT SPAGAT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just before dawn, 10 people met at a parking lot
shared by a laundromat and coffee shop in South Central Los Angeles on
what has become a daily mission: Look for immigration officers and warn
people of their presence to try to prevent arrests. Bullhorns and sirens
are ready for use.
“There’s raza that’s been detained,” Ron Gochez, founder of Union del
Barrio's Los Angeles chapter, said before they split up in five cars.
“It seems like there’s more activity now. Let’s keep a close eye out.”
Working with other similar-size groups and using walkie-talkies, the
Community Self-Defense Coalition, made up of more than 60 organizations,
found nothing Thursday but appeared to have disrupted U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement operations earlier in the week. In Los Angeles
and across the country, these tactics have been a thorn in ICE's side as
it tries to carry out President Donald Trump's promise of mass
deportations.
“Positive spotting right now of ICE agents at the Target in Alhambra,”
Lupe Carrasco Cardona said in a live Instagram report Sunday from the
Los Angeles suburb over a blaring siren to draw attention. She said at
least six government vehicles were identified in the ICE operation.
Counter-ICE operations have had “a huge impact,” said John Fabbricatore,
a former head of ICE's enforcement and removal division in Denver.
“It's dangerous for the officers because they are trying to get into a
situation, maybe undercover, trying to make an arrest without alarming
the neighborhood, and then these guys come out here with these bullhorns
and they start yelling and screaming,” Fabbricatore said.
Advocates “go right to the edge” of a law against impeding federal law
enforcement to avoid criminal prosecution, he said.
Advocates say they are exercising free speech and reminding people of
their rights. ICE officers cannot forcibly enter a home without a
judicial warrant, which they rarely have. Sophisticated “know-your-
rights” campaigns urge people to stay inside and not open the door.
For years, including during Trump’s first administration, ICE has
contended with advocates who rely on blast text messages, social media
and bullhorns to spread the word.
Trump's border czar Tom Homan was visibly angry after joining ICE
officers who were met at apartments in the Denver area by activists who
insulted them and used bullhorns to alert residents. He insisted word of
the operation was leaked.
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Ron Gochez, a teacher volunteering with Union del Barrio, an
organization advocating for immigrant rights, carries a megaphone
while speaking with other volunteers before searching for ICE
activity in Los Angeles Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C.
Hong)
“The less people know about these operations, the better,” Homan
said outside the White House after the Denver operation resulted in
fewer arrests than expected.
ICE referred questions to the Homeland Security Department, which
did not respond to questions about the advocates' tactics and any
activities in Los Angeles this week. The agency stopped releasing
daily arrest figures, but Homan said last week that it made about
21,000 arrests. That's an average of more than 600 a day, roughly
double what President Joe Biden's administration did in a 12-month
period ending Sept. 30.
In the Los Angeles area, about 150 volunteers fanned out Sunday in
response to rumors of ICE operations. Organizers said they spotted
ICE in Alhambra and San Fernando, preventing arrests.
Volunteers meet before dawn, as many workers are heading to their
jobs and when advocates believe ICE is most likely to move in. They
zigzag through quiet residential streets and sleepy intersections,
looking for double-parked vehicles, tinted windows and newer cars
parked in red zones.
If they spot ICE officers, they hit record on their phones. They
blare sirens. And through a megaphone, they announce that ICE is in
the neighborhood. "They’re here."
“We don’t use violence. We don’t break any laws. But we will do
anything legally possible to defend our community," Gochez said.
Back at the parking lot about two hours after Thursday's mission
started, the city was waking up. On the corner, a street vendor had
set up her tamales stand.
“We just got a report right now that all of our patrols happening in
San Diego, Escondido, California; Los Angeles, California; South
Gate and Alhambra, everything is all clear right now,” said Gochez,
before heading to his day job as a high school history teacher.
___
Spagat reported from San Diego.
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