Comment: “I speak for those who can't”: A daughter parades in memory of her father

She participated in the first protest and was driven with thousands of others in a “King Without” demonstration in El Segundo on Saturday morning, eager to make a statement.

But she was there for her father, too.

When the car horn was supported, she held up her sign high and said, “I speak for those who can’t.”

Jennifer told me that her dad wanted to join her. But her 55-year-old undocumented dad is powerless to take risks as the ice attacks in Los Angeles and has been arrested in recent days.

Jennifer is 29 years old. I've seen her in nearly 20 years when I wrote about her father and her father Visited her home $2,000 is offered in Inglewood, donated by readers who read stories.

Here is the backstory:

In December 2005, I had a tip about shooting in the front yard of the Inglewood home. Two people approach the gardener and ask for money. He resisted, and the subsequent quarrel broke out and fired.

The medical staff drove the man to the UCLA emergency room, where the doctors determined that the bullet had just missed his heart and were placed on his chest. Although the doctor advised him to be seen overnight at least, he insisted that he felt good and needed to go back to work.

The gardener I called Ray insisted on leaving immediately. As he later explained to me, Inglewood's job was to give a client who hired him to reoccupate the yard as a Christmas gift for his wife.

Lei was shot dead on December 23.

Demonstrators at the “No Kings” event on Main Street and Imperial Highway in El Segundo on Saturday.

(Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times)

He finished his work before Christmas.

I have been thinking about Ray since ICE agents began suppressing President Trump’s order, whose administration says its goal is to deport 3,000 people a day. Hundreds of people were arrested in fashion districts, car washes and building supplier stores in Los Angeles.

This has led to clashes between law enforcement officers and demonstrators, as well as peaceful protests Saturday on the Imperial Highway and Street in El Segundo.

I think of Ray because Trump usually calls undocumented immigrants monsters, without a doubt, there are criminals in it.

But almost all my encounters over the years have been like Ray and others, who are an important part of the workforce.

Yes, the costs associated with undocumented immigration, but there are benefits – they have been an important part of the California economy for years. Among those who are eager to hire them – in the fields, in the hospitality industry, in the slaughterhouses, in health care, are all avid Trump supporters.

On Friday, I called Lei to see what happened to him.

“I’m worried about that,” he said, despite some protection.

Demonstrators at the “King No” event held by El Segundo raised their signs, including those who “real men don't need to march.”

(Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times)

A few years ago, an immigration lawyer helped him get a work permit, but the Trump administration has vowed to terminate temporary protection of legal status for certain immigrant groups.

“I saw and heard a lot of situations where they disrespect the documents. People looked like Latino, and they were arrested,” Ray said.

Ray is still loading tools on his truck and driving around Los Angeles to landscaping, irrigation and irrigation work just as he has done for over 30 years. But he said he should be extra careful.

A protester at the “No King” event in El Segundo prepared a sign on Saturday.

(Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times)

“You know, like being alert everywhere, check my phone to see where the checkpoint is located,” he said.

Ray's ex-wife has legal status, and their three children were born here and are American citizens. The marriage was over and Lei had remarried, but he was still close to my three children in the spring of 2006, 9, 10 and 11 years old.

The disabled young son lives with Lei. His eldest son is a graphic designer who lives nearby. Recruiter Jennifer lives next door and has been on the edge in recent days.

“Even if he has permission to be here…it's horrible, I didn't even let him go to work,” Jennifer said. “On Monday, I started showering and heard him loading the truck.”

She ran outside to stop him, but he was gone, so she called him and said, “Oh my goodness, you shouldn't go to work now. It's not safe.”

“No Kings” was the theme of a demonstration held in El Segundo on Saturday.

(Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times)

Jennifer worked from home but couldn't concentrate that day. She used an app to track her father’s location and checked the latest information about the ice attack. Ray has been home safely every day so far, although Jennifer wants him to slow down for a while.

Twenty years ago, when I wrote about Ray's shot and he insisted on going to work immediately, one of the readers who donated $1,000 was one of his beautification clients, Rohelle Erde. When I signed in with her this week about Ray’s situation update, she said her entire family came to the United States to immigrate hard and build a better life, and so did Ray.

“He has been working, making money, and helping people beautify their homes and create beauty and order, which must be so painful,” Elder said. “Ugly and chaos are exactly what he represents.”

Jennifer told me the night before the rally on Saturday why she was going to demonstrate:

“Show my face to those who can't speak, saying we're not all criminals, we're sticking with each other, we support each other,” she said. “The girl who cared for my kids had no documents and she was afraid to leave the house. I had a lot of friends and family on the same boat.”

Jennifer attended with her son at 9 and told me he was worried his grandfather would be arrested and sent back to Mexico.

Jennifer said of his son: “He is my age.”

She attracted the crowd and said she saw such a large and diverse person stand up and in a peaceful protest against authoritarianism and the militarization of the state.

The mother and son stood together, flashing signs for the deceased motorist.

“Family belongs to being together,” he said.

Jennifer told me that her father still put the bullet on his chest.

steve.lopez@latimes.com