ICE raids have day laborers on edge across Southern California
By Brenda Gazzar, Los Angeles Daily News
POSTED: 02/18/17, 7:38 PM PST | UPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO
In between offering their services to motorists, Sadot Garnica and another man marveled at how few day laborers like themselves were soliciting work at a Home Depot parking lot in Van Nuys one recent morning.
Garnica, a U.S. citizen who lives out of an old van, and Saul, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, agreed that some workers were probably staying away from the site after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 161 people in a Southern California operation earlier this month, sparking fear among many who do not have legal status.
“Yes, I’m afraid, but I need to work,” said Saul, who is 28 and declined to give his last name. “I need money to pay my bills.”
Day laborers, who offer their services as painters, roofers, builders, tile workers and movers near home improvement stores and intersections across the region, are some of the most visible immigrants in society. Because many are undocumented, activists say that makes them an “easy target” for federal immigration officers, particularly under the administration of President Donald Trump, who has vowed to deport millions living in the country illegally.
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