Community and immigrant advocacy groups in Southern California have pledged to disrupt federal immigration enforcement operations, vowing to mobilize in defense of those targeted for deportation.
The coalition, comprised of more than 60 organizations, calls itself the "Community Self-Defense Coalition." It announced plans to counter enforcement efforts and organize training sessions to teach its members community tactics to defend their neighbors.
"If it's an apartment, a church, or a building—whatever it may be—we will call people to surround the place and stop them," said Ron Gochez, a spokesperson for Union del Barrio, a key member of the coalition to the LA Times. "We are putting them on alert. They are not the only ones working right now. We are working our community for self-defense."
"Community Self-Defense Coalition", which includes organizations like the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, Centro CSO and the Association of La Raza Educators, has begun patrolling immigrant neighborhoods, tracking federal agents, and using bullhorns to alert communities about potential enforcement activities.
Parallel to these efforts, the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network (LARRN), a separate coalition of immigrant rights, labor, and religious groups, has launched a hotline to report ICE activity and connect individuals with legal aid.
Leaked documents provided to the LA Times last week indicated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning "large-scale" operations in the Los Angeles area before the end of February. These actions would target individuals without legal status or those with pending removal orders. Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), have reportedly been enlisted to assist.
Border czar, Tom Homan, joined DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in pointing toward the FBI over leaks regarding the planned raid. "Some of the information we've been receiving tends to lead toward the FBI," Homan said in an interview with Fox News. "I've talked to the Deputy Attorney General this weekend, they've opened up a criminal investigation and promised this person will not only lose her job or pension, they will go to jail," the official added.
It is not the first such leak in the context of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. ICE postponed in late January a raid in Aurora, Colorado, after media reported about the operation, claiming it was putting agents' security at risk.
Homan said he is moving toward finding the person responsible for the latest leak and will make sure criminal charges are pressed. "We're sending a strong message. It's not just giving the bad guys a heads up so they can escape apprehension, giving gangs a heads up so we can't arrest them. You're also putting officers lives at risk. It's only a matter of time before we walk into a place where a bad guy doesn't care and ambush them," he said.
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