This is a collaborative work of journalists Peter Schurmann, Nicolás Díaz Magaloni and Manuel Ortiz Escámez, from Península 360 Press and Ethnic Media Services.
From one day to the next, some agricultural farms in California's Central Valley are empty. Many of the hands that work these fields are undocumented immigrants who, now, for fear of being arrested and deported in ICE raids, have found themselves forced to not go to work, a situation that not only affects their pockets, but also a vital sector for the state.
“Farmers in the area are very scared, they were taken by surprise (by these raids). Most of these people are not going to work, so if the farmers stop, the California countryside stops. The Central Valley is an agricultural region and it is one of the most important in the world, that is to say, these farmers not only work to feed us in the United States but in a large part of the world and these are the devastating and terrible consequences of the raids.”
This is what Manuel Ortiz said during the radio program of Península 360 Press on the program Made in California with Marcos Gutiérrez, where he introduced Mari Pérez Ruíz, executive director of the Alliance for the Empowerment of the Central Valley, who highlighted the impact of the raids in Tulare County by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Our rural communities here in Tulare County have been impacted by ICE immigration raids. Some of the most affected communities were the indigenous communities in the states of Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca, and it has also created a lot of concern in our agricultural community, which is also made up of the Filipino community as well as the Mexicans,” said Perez Ruiz.
The activist pointed out that, since the day the raids began, it was known that these agents went to gas stations, supermarkets, food stores and the countryside, places where immigrants do their daily tasks, claiming that they are looking for people who have some legal problem or who have committed some crime. However, the organization has confirmed that this narrative is false.
“There has been a narrative that they are going after people who have criminal records or pending legal action, but what we have seen in the community is that it is not true, there is nothing that has corroborated that narrative that has been told, ICE comes to communities where people are doing daily things like going to buy food for the family, going to work, going to put gas in their car for the work day, that is what we are seeing,” he stressed.
She also said that families have documented that they are afraid of their families being detained and need resources and information, which has not arrived quickly and consistently in the affected areas.
In this regard, Mari Pérez Ruíz explained that the organization she leads is working with organizations such as Public Advocates from Sacramento and with the Union of Peasants (UFW), which seeks to provide workshops to immigrants so they can learn about their rights, and thus be able to advocate for themselves and their loved ones, and even prevent detention or deportation.
In response to this, Pérez Ruíz said that they have a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), named Mayra, who is willing to receive direct calls from the community to take their information and review their cases and resources to help them in the event of a possible deportation. Her phone number is (213) 977-52-91, providing services in Tulare and Kern counties.
She also said that the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance (CVEA) is also seeking to meet the families impacted by these raids in order to understand their needs.
“We as an organization want to know who these impacted families are, because maybe they have children, families, who are going to be defenseless, who are not going to have resources, and we want to connect with who they are in order to help with rental assistance, provide food, legal resources, and be able to give them the information they need, because they have many questions and there is no constant information,” she said.
Mari Perez Ruiz also provided her phone number for those who are being affected by the raids, especially in Tulare County, but they also serve Madera, Fresno, Kern and Kings counties. Those interested can contact her at (916) 396-99-44.
“Our intent is not to provide services, although we are doing that, but to create the leadership to be able to change our communities so that there is more equity and racial and social justice,” she said.
On the other hand, he recalled that in counties such as Tulare and Kern there is a high rate of people who are in line with Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric, from ranch owners to authorities such as Police and Sheriff Departments.
He added that although the agricultural sector in the state has a lot to lose from these raids, the owners of these farms and ranches are the first to obtain subsidies and aid for losses in their crops. Many of them believe that it is the immigrants, especially the undocumented ones, who receive the most help in times of crisis like these, however, the truth is different.
Arturo Rodríguez, also from CVEA, said that children are already beginning to show fear in the face of raids, wondering if they can go out to play and not be taken away.
“The hardest thing to see was that a girl and a boy, aged four and six, had to ask their mother if they could go out and if it was safe. Some also told me that they haven’t gone to school these past few days. So, think about the terror that can hit our children, our children who shouldn’t be worried about adult things. They should be worried about going to play, going to school, putting on their backpacks, covering their heads because it’s cold, but not afraid to go to the store or to go out in front of their house because they could take their daddy or their mommy, or even themselves.”
Manuel meets with journalists Peter Schumann and Nicolás Díaz Magaloni in the town of Poplar, in Tulare County, a rural area where they are working collaboratively with Peninsula 360 Press and Ethnic Media Services.
There, Manuel said, the three of them have been touring the area and to their surprise, people have told them that they thought the raids were an invention of the press, rumors that had been spread to worry them, but there is still a week to go before Donald Trump is sworn in as the next president of the United States and things are already looking serious, as some interpret these investigations as a message from local authorities, particularly police, to the White House for the new president, "to tell him: we are here, we are with you, at your service."
He explained that they have also heard testimonies that immigration officers are following an ethnic and racial profile, “that is, they are detaining people based on their appearance.”
He added that there is a bill, HR29, which was already approved in the House of Representatives with Democratic and Republican support, and which is now going to the Senate, hoping to be approved before January 20, the day Trump takes power, and it implies that "immigration agents will be able to detain anyone much more easily, they will not necessarily focus on serious crimes, they are already doing it, we are seeing it in the Central Valley, but this law will still make it much easier for them to engage in this type of behavior like the one we are seeing here."
Manuel, Peter and Nicolas continue to seek out farm and ranch owners in the Central Valley to learn their perspective on these raids and how it affects their businesses, however, they said, it is not an easy task.
Manuel Ortiz called for awareness that the raids are real and are happening in different parts of the state.
“What is happening is real, take your precautions, organize and identify the grassroots organizations that are working on these issues in your communities, get closer, take the necessary phones and ask these organizations the questions you need to ask or even go to your consulates, I think it is time for unity,” he said.
“We are a few days away from a change that could be radical in the United States, we don't know, but these raids have begun, this is real, so we have to start preparing and be very united, both community journalists and organizations, very united because I think that unity is what will allow us to get ahead of what is coming to us,” he concluded.
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