“They look like bandits,” I’ve often thought to myself, seeing federal agents drive by in unmarked SUVs. Their side windows are nearly solid black with tint, but I get a momentary glimpse of them through the windshield — sometimes uniformed, sometimes not; almost always wearing reflective sunglasses and dark-colored ski masks in the middle of July. More than once they’ve taken photos of me with their phones. Some of them wave gleefully; others flip me off as they go by. They know they’re being watched, and I suspect they don’t like it.
Most people in Los Angeles are probably familiar with the sight of these heavily armed prowlers. Since June 6, they’ve been fixtures on the local news, on social media, and in our streets — tackling street vendors, chasing down jornaleros and looming behind walls of tear gas. I usually see them early in the morning, when they are just starting their day.
Last month, my wife and I helped to organize the Harbor Peace Patrols, a community group advocating on behalf of those targeted by federal immigration raids. We are residents of San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, and other communities of the Harbor Area who routinely drive around our neighborhoods looking for agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol or other federal agencies participating in the mass abductions taking place around Southern California. We are teachers, writers, pastors, artists, social workers and retirees…