Letters to the Editor: L.A. must invest in mental healthcare in the face of ICE’s ‘psychological assault’

To the editor: Ana Ibarra’s vital article captures only a sliver of the horror many Latinos are living through (“‘Can I just be a kid?’ Students shaken by immigration raids seek help from school counselors,” Oct. 5). What’s happening to our community today is nothing short of psychological warfare — humiliation and fear imposed because of the color of our brown skin and speaking Spanish.

These Immigration and Customs Enforcement roundups are not hidden. They unfold in broad daylight — at schools, in churches and outside Home Depots, where people gather to find work — [and are] meant to terrorize. Armed, masked ICE agents in unmarked vehicles now destroy daily life across Los Angeles — a city where we make up the largest ethnic group.

As a father of two Latino Gen Z college students, I know the raw pain millions of Latino families are feeling, wondering if their loved ones will make it home. These are conversations no parent should have: what to do if someone is taken in an ICE raid, how to stay safe and how to hold onto hope while living in constant fear of being hunted down.

What we’re witnessing are tactics that echo darker times, where fear itself becomes a weapon. No family in America should live under the shadow of government-sanctioned terror. We deserve better than to watch our children inherit that fear.

To counter this ongoing psychological assault, Los Angeles must invest in culturally grounded mental healthcare that helps families process trauma and rebuild lives. Healing must begin where fear has taken root so our communities can rise again.

Luis Alfredo Vasquez-Ajmac, Redondo Beach