by Nisa Islam Muhammad and Charlene Muhammad
President Donald Trump is making good on many of his campaign promises, however, while the shock and awe of his first few weeks in office has paralyzed some with fear it has moved others to resist.
Recently, Bakersfield, California, experienced a significant decrease in field worker attendance after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a sweep of the area in January. Agents arrested people they suspected of being undocumented agricultural laborers.
The fear of being apprehended left vast orange groves unharvested at the peak of the season, with the fruit deteriorating under the intense California heat.
“Last week’s Border Patrol operation in Kern County was a scare tactic to terrorize farm workers and the immigrant community on their way to and from work.
This sudden operation comes at a time when farm workers and immigrant residents are already terrified of the threat of mass deportations promised by the incoming administration,” said Ambar Tovar, United Farm Workers (UFW) Foundation Director of Legal Services in a statement.
“Border Patrol conducted this intensive operation by racially profiling innocent people and processing them more than 300 miles away from their loved ones. Farm workers are the backbone of America’s food supply, and this Border Patrol operation sought to destroy the very fabric that feeds this nation.”
The three-day ICE operation in Kern County targeted people as they went about their daily activities. Some were apprehended while entering or exiting gas stations, purchasing meals, shopping, or traveling between home and work. Others decided to stay home, seeing no other viable alternative.
“We’re in the middle of our citrus harvesting,” Casey Creamer, president of the industry group California Citrus Mutual, told CalMatters. “This sent shockwaves through the entire community. People aren’t going to work, and kids aren’t going to school. Yesterday about 25 percent of the workforce, today 75 percent didn’t show up.”
Approximately 300 students marched from schools to Los Angeles City Hall to protest mass deportations and oppose the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Their demonstration grew to nearly 1,000 people on Feb. 4.
“It wouldn’t be L.A. without Mexicans,” one unidentified Latina student told local news reporters.
Despite 12 arrests and some minor incidents, the event was largely peaceful, according to a lead organizer, Dino Perez of “La Gente (the people) vs. ICE.”
The students marched from City Hall to the ICE building and concluded at Plaza Olvera on Olvera Street. Teenagers wearing backpacks and holding signs made out of cardboard boxes spoke for their parents but also workers who help society every day, said one girl to KTLA News.
“I’m pretty disappointed because many immigrants did so much for us and it’s not right if a lot of people want to take them away from us,” she continued.
It was inspiring to see the children side by side in unity, stated Mr. Perez.
“Most of these kids, their parents are undocumented, and they’re currently living in that fear of not being able to protest because of the fear of being arrested, the fear of ICE showing up. So, the kids’ voices is to come out, protest for them, in their name,” Mr. Perez told The Final Call.
Upcoming protests were planned for Feb. 7 and a citywide action including students and young adults on Feb. 9. The movement encompasses various marginalized groups, not just immigrants, and is a response to broader social and political issues, including federal immigration policies according to Mr. Perez.
On Feb. 3, thousands of protestors went viral after shutting down major freeways, particularly the 101 and 110 downtown for hours and gridlocked through-streets. This was part of “A Day Without Immigrants” national protests calling for no work, no school and no spending.
The national movement, actually named “The Great American Boycott: Day Without an Immigrant: El Gran Paro Estadounidense,” was first held on May 1, 2006, when Mexicans held a one-day boycott of U.S. schools and businesses to highlight their contributions and oppose anti-immigrant policies.
Photojournalist Nasir Baker of A Million Hits media channel told The Final Call he saw different flags waving in the air from El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, and more, during the students’ protest. “Their stance is that they built this country along with the African Americans, … that they’re not immigrants,” said Mr. Baker.
The next step is sustained perseverance, said Mr. Perez. “We’re not just fighting for immigrants. We’re fighting for everything that’s going on with the current situation.
Yes, at the end of the day, it does all lead to Trump and the executive orders that he’s trying to push, but just because they’re targeting so many people, there’s not really a demographic,” he added.
The day before “A Day Without Immigrants” marches “A weekend of resistance,” demonstrations also took place in several cities including New York, Phoenix, Atlanta, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and others.