ICE raids leave people ‘scared to leave the house’ in South Bay town

The truck carrying two men suspected of living in the country illegally was pinned between a white rusty fence and two border patrol vehicles near a busy intersection in Hawthorne.

Standing by the passenger door, two federal agents were handcuffing a pregnant woman, a U.S. citizen, angering the crowd that had gathered there and prompting masked agents to stand guard with less-lethal weapons and batons.

“Let her go, she’s pregnant,” a woman screamed out. “That girl is pregnant, let her go!”

“Get back!” yelled an agent with a steel baton.

“We are back!” a man responded loudly.

The sweep near 120th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard this month was one of several that took place in this working-class city; all part of an immigration enforcement blitz in Southern California that has mostly affected workers living in the country illegally — similar to those that President Trump has employed in the past.

The incident, which was captured on video and shared on social media along with subsequent raids in South Bay suburb, has sparked outrage, fear and anxiety in a town where half the population is Latino. At least 30% of the total population is also foreign born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Some businesses said the raids have had an impact on them as well.

Hawthorne is most famous as the birthplace of the Beach Boys, whose songs came to symbolize post-war Southern California beach culture. Decades later, it has become a bustling, diverse suburb which is home to Elon Musk’s Space X.

Recently elected Mayor Alex Vargas has not spoken about the immigration issues his city is facing. He did not respond to requests for comment.

A demonstrator waves American and Mexican flags during the “No Kings” demonstration in Los Angeles on Saturday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

But two days after the incident at the intersection, a small group of young people gathered to protest the immigration raids. They waved American and Mexican flags as dozens of cars honked in support.

The pregnant woman, Cary López Alvarado, told NBC Los Angeles that the agents had been tailing her husband and co-worker when they pulled into the parking lot of a building where they were doing maintenance. She said she opened the gate for her husband to drive in when the agents pulled up. She said she refused to let the agents into the property.

In a video she recorded and shared with the news station, Alvarado tells the agents to leave and that they were on private property. She said the agents then took her into custody for obstruction but later released her. Soon after that, she began experiencing pain in her belly and went to the hospital.

Alvarado could not be reached for comment. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the operation.

The white Toyota Tundra that had been stopped that day remains in the small parking lot of the building that is home to a Live Scan business. The driver side window was broken and shattered glass lay nearby.

Over the last 50 years, the city of nearly 90,000 has become much more diverse, with a sizable Latino immigrant community.

California National Guard troops stand outside the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles recently.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Standing outside her apartment complex at the corner of Acacia Avenue and 120th Street, just across from where the truck had been stopped, Maria Perez, 68, a Cuban and American citizen, smoked a cigarette with a neighbor. She expressed anger over the incident and the raids that have been taking place in the city and Greater Los Angeles.

“I cried when I saw what happened here,” she said. “I was hurting like everybody else and now there’s fear not just here but all over the city.”

Her neighbor Ruben Esquivel, 43, said the raids have caused some people to go into hiding.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said. “People who are trying to make a living are scared to leave the house. It’s horrible.”

Jimmy Butler, 59, was home when he started to hear honking. By the time he traced the noise to the intersection, he saw Border Patrol agents taking the two men into custody as well as the pregnant woman.

“I was upset about what happened that day,” he said. “How do you take someone who hasn’t committed a crime?”

Since then he said he has been more alert in an effort to protect his neighborhood, a street lined with apartment buildings where Samoans, Africans, Latinos and Black Americans live.

When he heard honking again recently, he feared federal agents had returned but he was relieved when he learned it was related to the group of young demonstrators.

“People are living in anxiety,” he said.

At the corner of 119th Street and Acacia Avenue, where Spanish Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church can pull in about 1,000 parishioners, Father Arturo Velascos said it was unclear what effect the June 1 incident, and other immigration raids, will have on attendance.

“The fact that they were here has us asking ourselves: How is this Sunday going to be?” he said. “I know people are scared. Anyone who is undocumented has that basic fear that if they go to church or leave their home they’ll be captured by ICE and get deported.”

Velascos said the church has told people to remain vigilant and has held know-your-rights workshops to inform parishioners and the community. He said some people have expressed to him that they’re afraid that immigration agents will enter the church to grab people.

“If they ever tried to come into our church packed with parishioners it will go bad for them because people will not tolerate that,” he said. “You don’t want 1,000 people angry at you.”

Elsewhere in the city, the raids seem to be keeping people away. On Hawthorne Boulevard, some businesses said there are fewer shoppers.

At 132nd Street, Gilberto Alvarez, 32, general manager at Denny’s, said he was expecting a boost in sales recently after another diner in the area burned down.

“Right away we saw a bump in sales,” he said.

But after Sunday’s incident, he saw the number dip again.

“I was expecting to have $13,000 in sales instead I got $9,000,” he said.

He said daily sales have also decreased from 500 to about 300.

Business owners in the area said they too have noticed a decline in sales. They said workers have called in sick, fearing they will be detained by federal agents. However, some smaller stores said they haven’t noticed a difference yet.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Sergio Hernandez, 49, stood at the mouth of his driveway, contemplating life.

For more than 30 years, Hernandez has been living illegally in the country. But now, amid the immigration raids, he’s considering self-deporting to Mexico.

He said the raids have left him in a constant state of fear and anxiety. They’ve also placed an economic burden on him.

Four years ago, he said, he suffered a stroke and lost the movement of his right arm and therefore his job as a polisher at a metal shop. Since then, he’s been selling used items at a local swap meet.

But the presence of Border Patrol vehicles has forced him to stay home. They’ve scared customers away as well and the few times he’s taken the risk to sell items at the swap meet, he’s noticed half the stalls are empty.

Unable to work, he’s had to dip into his savings and is afraid he’ll run out of money soon. He said if he’s unable to pay the $1,300 in rent and bills, he’ll return home.

Hernandez paused for a moment, spotting a white Chevy Escalade with tinted windows at the intersection nearby.

“See, that’s the second time that vehicle has passed by here, it’s immigration, you can see the lights,” he said.

He said it’s moments like those that cause him to be on high alert whenever he has to go to the store.

“Before you could go out and be out and about, you know — living life,” he said. “But now people are always telling you when they spot immigration and whether it’s true or not, you’d rather not find out.”

Hernandez said he doesn’t know when he’ll return to Mexico. What’s delaying his decision is the simple fact that he’s become accustomed to living his life in the U.S.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “There are people living in the streets, getting drugged up and I’m here trying to work. Why are they coming after me?”