Roving immigration raids continue in places like San Bernardino despite court order
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Immigrant rights advocates say federal immigration agents violated a court order last week when they detained day laborers outside a San Bernardino Home Depot.
According to the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, about a dozen workers were taken into custody by Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents near Highland Avenue, a popular meeting spot for day laborers seeking work.
Alexis Teodoro, an organizer with the center, said agents in tactical gear indiscriminately targeted Latino day laborers, violating a temporary restraining order (TRO) that bars “roving” immigration stops without judicial warrants.
“This was an indiscriminate raid because it was racial profiling,” Teodoro said. “The temporary restraining order is very specific and they violated several parts of the temporary restraining order.”
Teodoro added that his organization has submitted hundreds of emails to the San Bernardino City Council and other local lawmakers to urge them to protect day laborers from harassment. He says they’re specifically calling for the city to establish a day labor center and pass an ordinance against wage theft.
“You can’t judge someone by their skin color or how they look. You can’t racial profile. You cannot use location of work as a reason to target someone,” Teodoro said. “Looking for work is like freedom of speech, and unfortunately, that’s being stepped on. Day laborers are some of the most vulnerable workers. People need to pay more attention because next it could be Amazon workers, hotel workers and so on.”
The Department of Homeland Security defended the action, calling it a targeted enforcement effort.
“Border Patrol conducted [a] targeted immigration raid in San Bernardino at a Home Depot that resulted in the arrest of eight illegal aliens including Hermilo Roman Martinez. He was previously convicted of child abuse,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—not their skin color, race, or ethnicity.”
The arrests come as the Trump administration asks the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the TRO issued by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong in the Central District of California. The order, covering Los Angeles and eight other counties, prohibits immigration agents from using race, ethnicity, language or location of work as the basis for stops.
The case is the latest flashpoint in a summer of high-profile raids at Home Depots, car washes and Latino markets. News outlets CalMatters and Bellingcat have documented more than 100 raid sites in Los Angeles alone.
Kevin R. Johnson, director of the Aoki Center at UC Davis, told CalMatters that the tactics are “terrifying communities.”
“It’s going to have an impact on whether people take their kids to school or to the doctor,” Johnson said.
Anthony Victoria is a reporter for KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino. He is also the founder of independent news outlet, The Frontline Observer
Wendy Fry, Sergio Olmos