"Daughter Advocates on Behalf of Silenced: A March to Memorialize a Father"
In the heart of SoCal, Jennifer, a resilient 29-year-old, found herself amongst a overwhelming sea of protesters, participating in a "No Kings" demonstration in El Segundo. Amid the vibrant car honking symphony, her placard read, "I speak for those who can't."
She was there, not merely to voice her own thoughts, but to stand by her father who, due to the ICE crackdown, couldn't weigh in on the recent events himself.
Jennifer isn't just an ordinary protester; she's the daughter of a 55-year-old undocumented man, who, due to the escalating ICE arrests in L.A., couldn't risk joining the rally.
Steve Lopez, a Pulitzer-finalist, four-time award-winning journalist and our long-standing columnist since 2001, is no stranger to immigration issues.
More than a decade ago, Jennifer's story crossed his path. After a tip about a shooting in Inglewood, Mr. Lopez met Ray, an undocumented landscaper who, despite a near-fatal gunshot wound, refused to let his injury sideline him from work.
Fast forward to today, the landscape has drastically changed. Under President Trump's administration, the goal is to deport 3,000 individuals daily. Increased ICE activity has led to clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators and a wave of peaceful protests, like the one Jennifer attended.
Trump routinely portrays undocumented immigrants as criminals, but the reality is more nuanced. In L.A., an overwhelming number of encounters with immigrants involve decent, hardworking individuals like Ray, who contribute significantly to the local economy.
Ray, who attained a permit to work several years ago, is still busy loading tools onto his truck and journeying across L.A. for landscaping, tree-trimming, and irrigation jobs. However, his safety is a growing concern, with reports of ICE agents disregarding documentation and targeting Latinos.
The rise in ICE activity has also left Jennifer, Ray's ex-wife, and their children on edge. The older son, a graphic designer, lives nearby, while the younger son, who is disabled and lives with Ray, is understandably fearful.
In the spring of 2006, Jennifer and her siblings (9, 10, and 11 at the time) greeted Mr. Lopez. Since then, the family has faced many challenges, but they've remained close-knit.
One of the original donors from Mr. Lopez's 2005 story about Ray was a landscaping client named Rohelle Erde. Recently reaching out to update Erde on Ray's situation, Mr. Lopez was reminded of Erde's family's immigrant journey in pursuit of a better life.
As the evening drew near before the El Segundo rally, Jennifer explained her motivations for attending: "To show my face for those who can't speak and to say we're not all criminals, we're all sticking together, we have each other's backs."
Jennifer's son, now 9, echoed her sentiments, voicing his fear that his grandfather might be arrested and deported back to Mexico.
The ensuing protest was a powerful display of solidarity, with Jennifer and her son holding their signs proudly for passing motorists. Her sign read, "Families belong together."
In a touching moment, Jennifer shared that her father still bears the bullet lodged in his chest from that fateful day in 2005. The memory of their resilience, in the face of adversity, resonates strongly in their shared journey.
- Email Steve Lopez at steve.lopez@our website for more insights on immigration issues in Los Angeles.
Read more from Steve Lopez
To dive deeper into the reasons behind the protests, the impact on Los Angeles, and the community's responses, check out these articles:
- Why they protest: Voices from the downtown L.A. ICE demonstrations
- MacArthur Park goes quiet amid ICE sweeps. 'They're targeting people that look like me'
- Graffiti at night. Cleanup in the morning. The night-and-day difference of L.A. protests
- The escalating ICE arrests in Los Angeles have become a significant concern for families like Jennifer's, whose 55-year-old father is undocumented.
- Despite President Trump's portrayal of undocumented immigrants as criminals, an overwhelming number of encounters in L.A. involve decent, hardworking individuals like the undocumented landscaper, Ray, who contributes significantly to the local economy.
- The goal under President Trump's administration is to deport 3,000 individuals daily, leading to increased ICE activity and clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators, such as the one Jennifer attended in El Segundo.
- In her motivation for attending the rally, Jennifer asserted, "To show my face for those who can't speak and to say we're not all criminals, we're all sticking together, we have each other's backs."
