Trump-Pence Regime’s ICE Pigs Raid and Terrorize Immigrants in Southern California—Hundreds Mobilize to Protest
February 10, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
From a reader:
On Thursday February 9, the fascist Trump-Pence regime unleashed federal immigration police—”ICE,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement—in the Los Angeles area, rounding up at least 100 people, including 60 Mexicans. Beyond targeting these individuals, this raid was meant to terrorize the over 1 million immigrants living without papers in Los Angeles and Orange counties and at least 10 million more across the U.S who are undocumented who are in the crosshairs of this regime which is moving quickly to bolt down and implement their fascist agenda.
In the February 9 raids, ICE grabbed people out of homes and work places in Santa Paula, Oxnard, Van Nuys, Downey and San Bernardino. Immigration rights organizations said those detained were either people facing deportation orders but with no criminal background or family members of those being sought by ICE who were home during the raids and told officials they lacked documentation.
The Immigrant rights group CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights in LA) received many calls from people as the raids were occurring and called a press conference to denounce what ICE was doing. Faith-based organizations such as CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), several student groups, legal organizations such as the National Lawyers Guild and political organizations including Refuse Fascism LA and the ANSWER coalition quickly contacted their members and supporters. A couple of hundred people raced down to the Federal Building (where there is an ICE “Processing Center”) to rally and block the driveway that ICE buses use to go in and out. The protest grew in size, and then people marched to and blocked the nearby entrance to the 101 Freeway. “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA!” and “Shut Down ICE” were some of the chants. There was live coverage of the protest in both Spanish and English media.
The Southern California ICE raids are part of a bigger fascist offensive. On the same day, a mother of two, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, who has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, was deported from Arizona to Mexico, despite protests from her community and pleas from her children. (See “First Deportation Under Trump’s Fascist Order on Immigrants: We’re living in a new era now, an era of war on immigrants.’”) On Friday, February 10, the Washington Post reported that ICE also carried out raids in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago; North Carolina; South Carolina; and New York, “netting hundreds of people.”
It is very important that people and organizations quickly stepped out to oppose these ICE raids under the fascist Trump-Pence regime. It is horrific to contemplate the damage already being done to human beings with families being torn apart and under siege—and all that Trump-Pence and their regime have planned, now and soon, for millions of other immigrants, undocumented and documented. Many, many more people must step forward now to oppose these outrages, hit the streets, and put their bodies on the line in the name of humanity.
All of this greatly underscores the urgency, right now, to bring forward and unleash millions and tens of millions of people in an urgent fight to drive this illegitimate and fascist regime from power.
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