This week, the Trump administration requested a pause on a federal court ruling that limited the scope of immigration raids across Southern California.
Since early June, nearly 3,000 individuals have been apprehended in the region, according to data from the Deportation Data Project.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents District 1, which encompasses MacArthur Park and the greater Westlake neighborhood, has been vocal about the impact of these federal immigration sweeps.
In a recent interview with KCRW’s Morning Edition, Hernandez expressed her concerns about the raids, noting the LAPD’s role in this context and warning that LA might serve as a test ground for future federal immigration actions.
While Hernandez does not have an exact tally of the number of raids in her district, she is aware of incidents at several Home Depot locations and day labor centers.
She emphasized that grassroots networks have become critical for gathering information about these raids.
“They’re not giving information to the city, so we don’t know where they’re going to be,” Hernandez stated.
Hernandez explained that the only way they have been informed about federal immigration enforcement activities is through the rapid response network organized by groups like CHIRLA, making it difficult to cover all areas since LA spans over 500 square miles.
Currently, Hernandez mentioned that the City of LA is exploring legal options to oppose the federal government’s actions.
“There is no playbook that we can work off of when something like this is happening in a city, in a state, and in the country of the United States.
There are other playbooks on what to do when there’s authoritarianism taking over.
But we have been having to figure out the pathways that we can take to protect our communities,” she said.
In addition to combating federal measures, Hernandez highlighted the need to support local Angelenos affected by the raids.
This includes facilitating community defense, rights education, and hosting food distribution drives.
She expressed concern that fear from the raids could lead to hunger and housing insecurity, as many residents hesitate to leave their homes.
“[Some are] not able to go out and work because they’re terrified. Because — literally — people are being picked up at their locations of work.
People are afraid to go grocery shopping. We’ve had to alter the way that we do our food distribution,” she said.
Hernandez stressed, “We’re trying to take all the appropriate steps we can to feed people, to keep people in their housing, and to make sure that we don’t enable further federal takeover of our city.”
Adding to her concerns, the LAPD is currently investigating over 80 cases of alleged misconduct that occurred during protests against the immigration raids, with accusations of excessive force against police officers.
In late June, Hernandez introduced motions at the City Council aimed at increasing accountability during protests.
This includes implementing rules governing the police response when federal immigration enforcement is involved.
“What we saw in these protests is new, and we want to ensure that there are accountability measures so that those types of escalations and those tactics are not used, and if they are, that there’s a higher level of approval,” Hernandez noted.
She reflected on the heavy-handed police tactics she witnessed, stating, “Seeing police officers on horses with batons, smacking and stomping on people takes us back to an era of Jim Crow that no one wants to see happening here in our city.”
Looking at the broader implications, Hernandez expressed concern that many outside of LA may not fully grasp the severity of the situation in the city.
She remarked that there are funds being allocated for federal immigration efforts that could extend beyond LA.
Hernandez emphasized, “What I want to emphasize to them is that what’s happening here is not going to stay here.
What’s happening here is being funded to happen in other places and on your doorstep.
This whole country runs off the labor of our immigrant communities.”
image source from：kcrw
