Voices from the raids: How families are coping with the sudden apprehension of loved ones
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The last words Inglewood resident Noemi Ciau heard from her husband Sunday were a simple request.
“If you need money or anything else, call me,” she recalls him telling her.
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Within hours, 52-year-old Jesus Cruz was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Westchester Hand Wash where he worked as a cleaner.
For Saraí Ortiz, her father Jose saw his 18-year tenure at downtown L.A.’s Ambiance Apparel, where he was a floor manager, end June 6. That day, ICE agents raided the fast-fashion warehouse and took around 40 immigrant workers.
Stories, video footage and personal testimonies have highlighted the harsh reality and sense of fear for immigrants and their families during ICE raids throughout Southern California over the last two weeks.
Several Times reporters have documented these events and given voice to families who feel afraid and powerless.
Here’s a few of those stories.
Car wash raid takes father away from graduating daughter
Colleague Suhauna Hussain spoke with Ciau this week about the Westchester car wash raid.
She visited her husband Sunday at his work to drop off lunch. She was taking her daughter, graduating from eighth grade later that week, dress shopping.
The couple had modified their work schedules around their children, with Ciau working mornings at LAX and Cruz driving them around.
“He was my backbone,” she told The Times. “Who’s going to pick up my kids. Who’s going to take them to music class?”
“Now her father can’t even be there for her graduation,” Ciau said.
The business was at least one of nine car washes in Los Angeles and Orange counties targeted by ICE last week. The figure was provided by the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a labor advocacy nonprofit that has been able to verify these raids through community reports and footage on social media.
CLEAN said at least 26 workers were taken from five locations.
Mehmet Aydogan, owner of Westchester Hand Wash, said in an interview that he told the agents he could answer any of their questions and that he had documents for his workers, but they were uninterested.
The raids caused Westchester Hand Wash to close, after being hit two days in a row. The business could not find 14 workers, with six taken and others afraid to be in public.
Garment district raids result in family strain
For Saraí Ortiz, of the Ambiance Apparel raid, she watched as her father was dragged away.
“You know this is a possibility all your life, but then when it happens, it plays out differently than what you think,” she told my colleagues Brittny Mejia and Anita Chabria on Monday, standing in front of the wrought-iron fencing of Ambiance’s parking lot.
Ortiz was joined at a protest by other families of those detained, making a public plea for help and due process.
Many of the wives and children of the men taken by ICE have had little or no contact with their loved ones. Even lawyers have been denied access, they said Monday.
Montserrat Arrazola’s father, Jorge, is another of those workers detained the previous Friday. She said her father is the family’s breadwinner, and without his paycheck, there are “hard times coming” for her and her three brothers.
But not being able to contact those detained is stressful, said Carlos Gonzalez. His older brother Jose was also taken by ICE, and like others at the protest, Gonzalez called for due process rights.
Gonzalez and his brother had gone camping at Sandy Flat in Sequoia National Forest just the weekend before the raid. Carlos said he received a call from a cousin Friday and went to Ambiance, but couldn’t reach his brother in the chaos.
“I want people to know that this was inhumane,” Gonzalez said. “They were just working.”
The week’s biggest stories
‘No Kings’ rallies break out across SoCal and the U.S.
- Thousands of protesters flooded downtown to protest Trump
- As the curfew approaches, LAPD used flash-bangs, pepper balls, rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
- No, all of L.A. is not a ‘war zone.’ Here are the facts versus the fictions.
- Follow along for live coverage.
Tracking, responding and motivations for ICE raids
- Chasing ICE: The mad scramble to track immigration raids across L.A. County.
- Video shows immigration agents interrogating a Latino U.S. citizen: ‘I’m American, bro!’
- How did a rumor about an ICE raid on a homeless shelter escalate to Mayor Bass?
- ‘We need to find these people’: L.A. immigration raids a sign of what’s to come, officials say.
Fear descends upon Los Angeles due to immigration raids
- After Ambiance Apparel raid, Fashion District businesses, workers wait in fear.
- The ‘Mexican Beverly Hills’ reels from Trump immigration raids, forcing some to carry passports.
- MacArthur Park goes quiet amid ICE sweeps. ‘They’re targeting people that look like me.’
- Grand Central Market, an embodiment of immigrant L.A., confronts new climate of fear.
- On the eve of anti-Trump protests, downtown L.A. curfew turns nightlife hub into ghost town.
Crime, courts and policing
- Former Cedars-Sinai OB-GYN surrenders license after sexual abuse complaints.
- Hancock Park homicide leads police to arrest couple in Palmdale.
- Chilean foursome arrested in $3-million Simi Valley jewelry heist. Here’s what police recovered.
- Former celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti gets nearly eight more years in prison at resentencing.
California’s 101 best restaurants
- These are the 101 best restaurants in California.
- Why we are celebrating California’s greatness in 101 restaurants right now.
More big stories
- ‘Tehran will burn,’ Israel warns as Iran fires missiles in response to deadly strikes.
- Immigration ‘notario’ scams coming back under Trump’s crackdown, authorities warn.
- FIFA Club World Cup: Everything you need to know about all 32 teams.
- Scott Wolf and wife Kelley are getting divorced after 3 children and 2 decades of marriage.
- Anne Wojcicki’s nonprofit wins bid for genetic testing company 23andMe.
This week’s must reads
An effort to return 73 square miles of forests to California’s Yurok Tribe has been completed. Organizers say the deal will help restore and protect vital habitat for salmon in Blue Creek.
More great reads
- Is it too late to reverse Hollywood’s runaway production? Writers on the ‘stark’ reality.
- Hit men on motorbikes, wearing clown masks: Armenian gang war roils San Fernando Valley.
- Opinion: Five months after wildfires, it’s still PTSD for animals: Pets trying to shake depression.
- Opinion: Cowardly Dodgers remain silent as ICE raids terrorize their fans.
For your weekend
The multifaceted entertainer’s perfect Sunday in L.A. includes getting breakfast in Santa Monica, the movies in Century City and hosting a free dance class.
Going out
- Sunday Funday: Multifaceted performer and dance guru Debbie Allen shares her Sunday Funday, starting with breakfast at Marmalade.
- Celebrate Pride: There are still several Pride Month events. Here are 11 fantastic ways to celebrate your creative L.A. spirit.
- Film Review: ‘Prime Minister’ brings the stirring run of New Zealand’s progressive leader Jacinda Ardern to life.
- Film Review: ‘Materialists,’ staring Dakota Johnson, is a smart and funny all-star love triangle with its own commitment issues
Staying in
- Book Review: Female Hotshot firefighter brings California mega blazes to life in moving memoir.
- Sunday Night Baseball: The first season series between the archrival San Francisco Giants versus the Dodgers caps on ESPN at 4 p.m.
- 🧑🍳 We’ve got the perfect recipe for lovers of hearty, thick Greek taverna-style gigantes.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
I felt weird talking to people about my engagement. I had never been happier, but I still housed the fear that getting married was an uncool thing to do.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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