L.A. Self-Defense Groups Hit the Streets to Track Agent Activity And Counter ICE Raids

A large number of organizations and volunteers in Los Angeles have formed self-defense groups to protect and inform migrants about the presence of immigration agents operating out of the city's industrial zone, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement established its base of operations in June of last year, according to a new report.

Members of nearly 80 organizations formed the Community Self-Defense Coalition, but according to an investigation by Milenio, they feel dangerously exposed to immigration agents and bounty hunter-type mercenaries due to their work alerting others on social media about ICE raids.

According to videos obtained by Milenio, Víctor Maldonado and Phoebe Caits, two members of the self-defense groups, have been harassed and threatened by immigration agents. In one recording, three masked officers can be seen exiting a vehicle with rifles and advancing toward the group.

In another video shared with Milenio, Maldonado recorded a vehicle cutting them off and trapping them. As the agent approached, the masked officer pointed a long gun at him.

"They called us by our names, told us to show our hands, and not move," recalled Maldonado, the son of Salvadoran immigrants displaced by the civil war in their country at the end of the last century.

The activists' work focuses on tracking and sharing the whereabouts of immigration agents. That information includes license plates, vehicle models, and tactics used to blend in, such as reusing plates across different vehicles or displaying Mexican flags, as well as using cars with license plates from Mexican border states.

"What we do is verify that ICE is not there and tell the community they can come and shop — we want people to keep living their lives normally," Maldonado said. "If we don't share that information, someone at risk may be too afraid to leave their home."

The Community Self-Defense Coalition includes volunteers between the ages of 20 and 70 who are U.S. citizens. They are organized in large groups, such as the historic Unión del Barrio, local collectives like the Harbor Area Peace Patrols, among others, as well as through individual efforts.

In Caits' case, she told Milenio she joined the group to monitor ICE after seeing the impact raids were having on her students at a school in the San Pedro neighborhood.

As noted by the outlet, teachers have become one of the most active groups within the self-defense movement. In recent months, teacher Ricardo López was dismissed from Synergy Quantum Academy after protecting his students during protests against the raids.

"I grew up in Los Angeles, where we are all part of a community, and what's happening affects us," Caits said.