Giovanni Garcia pulled up a dusty intersection at the south gate and aimed at the scene. It was quiet, just people came home from get off work, but Garcia was there to attract a few people hoping to witness a federal raid in Los Angeles County in recent days.
Just minutes ago, several Instagram accounts issued alert warnings warnings that white pickup trucks with green U.S. Customs and Border Protection were seen near the intersection.
With friends in his white Cherokee and a large Mexican flag flew out of the skylight, on the sixth day, Garcia, 28, spent up to 10 hours in a heavier immigrant-heavy neighborhood through South La.
He said Garcia’s goal was to capture immigration and customs enforcement or other immigration agents in the act of detaining people on the street, driven by soda and snacks he picked up at Northgate Market.
So far, it has been a fruitless pursuit.
“I've been doing this for six days. It's awful because I got these alerts and went away, but I never did it in time,” said Garcia, a Mexican-American citizen living in the central South.
Monitoring ice activities has become a serious pastime for some Angelenos. Apps specifically for this purpose have popped up, which are combined with Citizens, NextDoor, X and other platforms to create unverified, user-generated information about federal movements and operations.
Try to keep the same fatigue and frustration in real time. The reports are sometimes proven to be false, and immigration enforcement appears to attack and leave with quick precision, which leaves little chance of a public response.
It is impossible to be sure how many people are involved in this Sisic chase. But the response to rapid and violent viral videos has become increasingly popular as anger is angry. Times reporters and photographers crisscross the southern half of Los Angeles County, encountering Garcia and other pursuers who are passionately pursuing federal agents who seem to keep taking a step forward.
Giovanni Garcia, 28, drove through the south gate with the Mexican flag. He spent six days trying to witness an ice raid with little luck.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
A new notice popped up on Garcia's Instagram feed Thursday afternoon: According to the U.S. Census, ice division agents were found in an inconspicuous residential area at South Gate, with about 90,000 people, more than 40% of whom were foreign-born. So Garcia puts the SUV on the gears and accelerates.
He and his crew were late again. Witnesses said migrant agents were wearing green bulletproof vests, wearing green footsteps on their faces, putting on vehicles, handcuffed and taking away a ranch-style house there for years after selling flowers.
“I did this because they messed up with my people,” Garcia said. “It's no longer about immigration. Trump is no longer targeting criminals; he is targeting Hispanics.”
This is one of many of these attacks in South Los Angeles in recent days, from car washes to grocery stores homes, parks and businesses.
People are captured by the events captured in photos and videos shared online by bystanders: There is no obvious reason for a person to pull out of a diverse crowd while walking in South Gate Park. Another handcuffed on the curb outside the Rose Clothing Store in Bell Gardens. Two men from Rosemead snatched them from the parking lot of a bakery.
Workers at Vernon's stylish New Nova clothing warehouse told Times that ice trucks have been found in the area and they heard brokers plan to face-to-face with employees during shift changes.
From older people to children, no one is immune to the safety of federal law enforcement efforts.
Jasmyn Vasillio, 35, said she first started to worry when she saw Ice Agents attacking a car wash in South Gate on social media, and then saw a post about the flower seller’s arrest an hour later.
“I know that flower guy is always there, I live nearby, so I drive there.” She stood around the corner where he was standing 20 minutes ago. “I think they’re just picking people up.”
“I'm just another frustrated person in Los Angeles and want to see that. Not everyone is a criminal,” said Malolo, who runs the candle business in Vernon.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
A 20-year-old Latino man refused to give his name because he feared revenge and said he had been doing his best
“I'm a U.S. citizen, so I'm fine. I'm worried about other people. It's heartbreaking,” he said in a post he saw on Instagram, which broadcasts live from a street in South Gate.
“They work here, tear apart with their families,” he said. “It's sad. They're here for the American dream, and that's what's happening.”
Teens Emmanuel Segura and Jessy Villa said they have spent hours scrolling on social media over the past week and are desperate in seemingly endless videos that are actively detained. They felt helpless in the face of the crackdown, so they planned protests at their community center.
On Thursday, they headed to Atlantic Avenue and Vesseltone Avenue at the South Gate, where Villa waved the flagpole with American and Mexican flags. They joined them along with more than 30 other protesters, chanting slogans and hanging anti-ice posters. Drivers are supported when passing by.
Jessy Villa, 14, protested the recent ice attacks on Atlantic Avenue and Firestone Boulevard.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“It's a little scary. They're going to pick up anyone now. I just saw a car wash on ice and brought two people. These are hard-working people – they're not criminals.” “So we plan to protest to fight against ice, Trump and his administration.”
Villa, 14, who lives in nearby Lynwood, said everyone he knows is scared that they or the person they care about will be the next person to attack on the ice.
“The streets are empty,” Vera said. “They were afraid of going to school in the morning, worried that they would go home and found their parents deported. ”
Manolo stood on the dock of the candle making business he owned on Thursday morning when employees loaded the candles to the back of the black SUV. He said he has been following news and rumors about online attacks, the fear they have created and the devastating impacts on his company and other small businesses.
“Everyone is worried about it,” Manolo said. His company received zero calls Thursday morning, from 50 orders that are usually received per day. If the immigration raids and protests are not over until the end of the month, he said he may have to shut down his business.
Family members of STG Logistics employees wait to hear the whereabouts of their relatives after an ice attack on the company's factory at Compton.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“The whole snatcher in the streets – they put you on the floor and hurt you, why? Of course it makes me nervous,” said Manolo, a U.S. citizen who moved to the U.S. 33 years ago, refusing to give him his last name because of fear that he and his company could be under law enforcement attacks.
“Not only that, it affects businesses, it affects people's lives. It affects the economy, law enforcement. It affects your daily work. When will it end?”
