It’s 7 a.m. on a Friday morning and Carolina Avelar is behind the wheel of her Chevy Volt, squinting through the glare of early light.
Avelar, 27, is on lookout in Richmond’s busiest commercial streets for signs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. She’s done the weekday morning shift for months.
Driving down 23rd Street, Avelar sees a handful of street vendors selling food. There are day laborers huddling on a corner, their breath visible in the chilly autumn air. She looks for vehicles that seem out of place and might hold immigration agents staking out targets…