Pasadena Community Defense Corners Greet ICE

A Community Defense Corner (Photo – Melissa Michelson)

Pasadena resident Daniela N. had been up since 7:00 am Sunday morning doing ICE patrols in her community. Jesus S. had been up since 5:00 am. They don’t know each other, but they are part of a growing network of volunteer community members protecting one of Pasadena’s predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods from ICE raids.

By Melissa Michelson

This story starts with individuals like Daniela and Jesus, but it doesn’t stop here. Countless others are coming together in this northwest area of Pasadena and starting Community Defense Corners to protect the most vulnerable of Pasadena residents, its immigrants.

As I approached the apartment complex on Marengo, one of the sites of last weekend’s ICE raid, a red pop-up tent stood out, and a dozen neighbors were standing about or sitting on folding chairs in the shade. Mariachi music blared from down the block. It would have felt like a typical weekend morning in this neighborhood were it not for the bright orange whistles hanging around necks, the assortment of bullhorns on a table under the tent, and vigilance and unrest in the eyes of the neighbors as they looked up and down the street. They had just spent their morning warding off a potential ICE raid.

Meanwhile, a 6-minute drive away , hundreds of Pasadenans, unaware of the pending ICE raids happening two miles east, were enjoying Pasadena’s 139^th birthday celebration with free popcorn and birthday cake, face painting for the kids, and open tours of a historic mansion-museum.

Several cities in the area have cancelled Fourth of July events out of fear and caution for their residents, but Pasadena has not. Meanwhile, gardeners, housekeepers and construction workers haven’t been reporting to work in case ICE is waiting for them. Home Depots across the southland are risky pick-up points for day laborers and ice-cream carts are left unattended because their owners get taken. Social Media posts report small children sent to do the shopping and looking lost in El Super supermarket aisles because their parents are afraid to leave their homes. A few days ago, para-military agents blasted their way into a house in Huntington Park looking for a protestor because of a fender bender with their vehicle; all residents in the home were American citizens.  “This is the Los Angeles we live in these days,” one resident said.

Pasadena itself has been seeing more regular ICE raids. On Saturday, June 21, ICE agents detained someone at the Marengo apartments; his truck was left in the driveway. The same day, ICE targeted Villa Park around the corner, taking five people. The week before, six people were taken in front of the Winchell’s Donuts a few blocks away on Los Robles, sparking a street-protest a few hours later. On June 23,  in front of an outraged audience, the Pasadena City Council issued a statement against the raids, but less than a week later on June 28, close to Caltech, a woman was taken while her children tried to protect her. And on June 29, the Marengo apartments were targeted again.

But this time residents and community members were waiting.

“We are the front line for the most vulnerable in the community,” Jesus S. (Photo – Melissa Michelson)

Community Care through Community Defense

One resident (who wished to remain anonymous to protect a family member) said, “We are remaining vigilant. Our hearts and souls are set up to fight this battle.”

Residents and community members have started setting up Community Defense Corners, receiving donated food, water, bullhorns, whistles, and pop-up tents from supporters in the area.  There is a tent on Orange Grove, one at the Marengo apartments and another at Vallarta Supermarket, all within a few blocks of each other and the sites of the recent raids.

At the look-out location in front of the apartments, Daniela shared video footage with arriving neighbors, footage she had received from other ICE patrollers who had recorded an alleged ICE agent driving away from a jeering crowd less than an hour earlier.

“We want to show continuous pressure and that we are not afraid of them, that we are here for each other and there are others advocating for the neighborhood,” said Daniela explaining her involvement.

A few blocks away, Dayena C. was stationed at the Orange Grove Community Defense tent.  She joined the community protection effort because she wanted to maintain a physical presence against ICE, not just an online one. Coming from the Hastings Ranch neighborhood, or “the east side,” as she and the volunteers joked, she considers their role as the eyes and ears for the community: “We document what we see and put it on social media.”

At physical locations, volunteers can provide information to residents one on one about their civil rights, and give them whistles to use if they see ICE agents; the physical presence of the volunteers seems to put the neighborhood at ease. “Residents call the restaurants or laundromat ahead of time to find out if we are on site before they come.”

Jesus lives nearby and has relatives throughout the neighborhood. He stationed himself at the tent on Orange Grove, checking in with scouts who came back from patrolling the area. “We are the front line for the most vulnerable in the community,” he explained animatedly.

“We want to make it harder for ICE to do its job, but also combat fear in the community by establishing our presence.”

When they hear of ICE activity, the volunteers confront the agents and quite literally drive them out past Pasadena’s borders, Jesus said. The volunteers follow ICE in their own cars, alerting the neighbors with the bullhorns and whistles that ICE is around.

Jesus regularly makes the rounds, checking in on the local vendors and shops. Dayena had “Stop! This is a Private Space” posters made, while Jesus put them up in the local businesses. Red and white “I.C.E. Off My Property. Get a Warrant!” signs are prominently posted around the neighborhood.

Communities often come together in times of upheaval and conflict. For L.A. now, it is the ICE raids.

A community Defense Corner (Photo – Melissa Michelson)