Things in Los Angeles were fine until Friday, June 6. That was the day Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents disrupted the peace of the city. In the Trump administration’s endeavors to rid the country of “crime,” ICE agents dropped in on the criminal headquarters that are Los Angeles middle school graduations, clothing warehouses, and Home Depot parking lots. 

Once there, they began nabbing brown people, er, criminals, and taking them away. Children who were walking stages were suddenly left without parents. Workers were pulled out of their jobs where they were earning a living and paying taxes. And people hoping to get a construction gig that could last a week or just a day, were hauled off. This is the criminal element the Trump administration is so intent on capturing and ejecting. 

Of course, in a city that remembers not only its Mexican past but its original Tongva origins, this would not stand. People took to the streets and overwhelmed the ICE agents who invaded our peace, banding together to expel the problem that had come to our city. 

Donald Trump and his supporters jumped on this opportunity to twist the events. They immediately called out the people as terrorists and vowed to continue ICE raids to rid the nation of dissent. The immediate push back on the raids turned to a citywide protest. People from all parts of the city, ethnic and social backgrounds came out in support of hardworking immigrants who sustain not only the city or state, but the entire nation. 

Monday, on the second-to-last day of the school year, ICE agents continued doing their thing. They posted up outside of my daughter’s school once it was already in session. They did not try to enter the school and did not stay long so this was most likely the spot they chose to coordinate the rest of the day. 

Throughout the day they were spotted outside the neighborhood high school, grocery store, and even the Echo Park lake. Once again, are these supposed to be the hotbeds of crime? Of course not! 

But what you will find in all these places is vendors, most of them immigrants: paleteros, tamaleros, señoras selling clothing, etc. As the day went on, people on social media sounded the alarm in Boyle Heights and other nearby neighborhoods. 

I only recall raids at this level in the late 80s, when I would see news reports daily of immigration raids at factories in downtown Los Angeles. Protests continued Monday and today (Tuesday), with moments of chanting, dancing, and orderly protest. Networks now are no longer showing the live protests but instead replay the moments of chaos from Sunday. I suppose when it’s peaceful, it’s not newsworthy. 

So where do we go from here? Will protests continue all week and into the weekend? Will raids continue? From what I understand, Los Angeles was slated for 30 days of mass raids. This is not the time to be silent. I do believe the people of Los Angeles will remain loud and vigilant.