LEIMERT PARK – As more Latino residents in the Los Angeles area are rounded up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, concern is mounting for the city’s immigrants from African, Asian and Caribbean countries.
“When they come for one of us, they’re coming for all of us,” said Capri Maddox, executive director of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Department.
Maddox joined at least 15 community organizations on June 11 in Leimert Park for a press conference to express support and offer services to families affected by recent raids conducted by ICE.
The federal agency’s detainment of undocumented immigrants, most of them Latino, ignited protests in downtown Los Angeles to express opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The protests led Trump to call in the National Guard and the U.S. military, including a division of about 700 Marines.
A White House spokesperson confirmed June 11 that as many as 330 immigrants in the Los Angeles area have been detained by ICE since the order was given June 7 by the Trump administration to pursue individuals believed to be living in the U.S. illegally.
There are fears that ICE could expand its campaign to target immigrants in African, Asian and Caribbean communities in Los Angeles.
Robert Sausedo, president and CEO of Community Build, a nonprofit based in Leimert Park, said he saw ICE vehicles June 9 cruising through Leimert Park on 43rd Street.
ICE officers did not stop to detain or question anyone, but the sight of the caravan in a prominent South L.A. community sent a chilling message.
“It tells us that they’re going everywhere to wreak havoc and chaos,” Sausedo said of the ICE campaign. “People have seen ICE vehicles camped out at Exposition Park, which is not far from here. It’s not just Latino and Hispanic people they’re going after. We have to make sure that we as a community are the eyes and ears of what’s going on.”
The Leimert Park area is home to several Jamaican restaurants and businesses, as well as stores and boutiques operated by African immigrants. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has often referred to the city as a “city of immigrants.” For decades, Leimert Park has been a community where the contributions of immigrants have been celebrated and promoted.
One of the tactics used by ICE to locate suspected undocumented Latinos is showing up at their place of employment or businesses where they shop. Community leaders are worried that ICE could use a similar approach in communities frequented by immigrants from African, Asian and Caribbean countries.
“I have a colleague who’s an ally of the African immigrant community who told me she has started to carry her passport with her whenever she goes in that area,” Maddox said. “We’re at a point where even some African-Americans feel they might have to prove their citizenship because they’re always around an African business.”
Maddox and Sausedo acknowledged that constitutional and civil rights are being violated by ICE’s actions. And more detainments could be coming. Trump has indicated that he will continue deportation efforts in the Los Angeles area.
The press conference was part of a unified effort to show support for families who have been separated by the detainments, or have had family members taken away without knowledge of their location.
So far, immigrants in African, Asian and Caribbean countries have mostly been spared of that heartache. Sausedo’s organization provides services to immigrants in these communities. He has an ominous message for them.
“They’re on alert too,” Sausedo said of some of the people served by Community Build. “We talk to them about how to protect your rights, and how it might not be in their best interest to be on the streets the way they’ve been.”
Ray Richardson is a contributing writer for The Wave. He can be reached at rayrich55@gmail.com.
