Martir Garcia-Banegas and son were detained by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Roybal Federal Building.
Here’s one for you—a 4th grader from Torrance Elementary School, 9 years old, in Southern California is on track to be deported along with his father. Martir Garcia Lara accompanied his dad, Martir Garcia-Banegas to an immigration hearing in downtown Los Angeles for a hearing on Garcia-Benegas’ immigration status.
There was no update on immigration status—instead, father and son were detained by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The latest report on June 6th is that they are being held in an immigration facility in Texas awaiting deportation to Honduras. Congressman Ted Lieu is involved in trying to track down their condition and status.
Pointing out the obvious—the father was at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building for a hearing on his immigration status. In other words—he was complying with the law.
So much for that, evidently.
And let’s see—here’s another one —on June 5th at the same location, up to 200 asylum seekers who showed up for routine hearings were taken into ICE custody and are evidently being stowed in the basement for the nonce. Children were also swept up and in the words of Representative Jimmy Gomez are “Law-abiding asylum seekers – many with kids – are being detained after showing up for routine ICE check-ins. No food. No water. Locked in holding rooms for over 12 to 24 hours.”
LULAC has called for an investigation; no updates as of this writing.
There are daily reports of ICE rousting day laborers waiting for work in local Home Depot parking lots.
There are daily reports of ICE rousting day laborers waiting for work in local Home Depot parking lots—just today the agency “raided” a corner in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, near downtown.
It’s not just California, of course—in Tallahassee, FLA . ICE swept up 100 construction workers who have been scattered to various locations, some in Florida, some in Texas and some have been deported. Information is scanty for frantic families trying to track down their whereabouts.
Where is ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, getting all this new mojo so it can be everywhere it wants?
The answer is in two parts—let’s start with money.
The Federation for American Immigration—FAIR (founded by a white nationalist with the intention of keeping America white) is not an—ahem—ally, but does stay on the case on funding for ICE and provides this handy summary of ICE budget increases passed in March of this year—all good with FAIR as it help’s with “removal efforts”:
“One of the most positive changes in H.R. 1968 is the funding increase for ICE. The new CR allocates over $9.9 billion to ICE—$485 million more than the FY 2024 total. These additional funds will be critical in addressing ICE’s budget shortfall and helping to carry out the Trump administration’s removal efforts.”
So that gave ICE the muscle and budget to ramp up and suit up and terrify people at construction sites and Home Depot and in immigration courts and other things that obviously keep us safe.
Just to repeat—ICE budget: $9.9 billion for this year.
Where’s DOGE when you need them!?
ICE also got a free pass into previously protected sensitive locations such as schools, medical facilities and places of worship.
ICE also got a free pass into previously protected sensitive locations such as schools, medical facilities and places of worship. In January, the Administration ended a policy that previously protected students, patients and worshipers from immigration agents’ intrusion.
Now as the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic outside Chicago explains it, you have to be on your game if ICE shows up at any of those locations: make sure if you’re accosted that ICE officers present a valid warrant signed by a judge and your full name and address. There’s more here.
The Administration is pushing for 3,000 ICE arrests a day at the urging of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
ICE enthusiasm for picking up brown people has led to concern among Navajo people living in urban areas who are getting stopped and questioned. One person was detained for nine hours and Navajo leaders are advising Dine to carry state-issued identification, such as a driver’s license or other picture identification if available. state ID is crucial, and those who have a CIB (Certificate of Indian Blood), should also carry it.
We’ll pause for a minute here to absorb the irony of the migra hassling Native people and pressing them to show papers to prove they belong here in the USA.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles is on the case providing information to the immigrant community about protecting their rights,
It’s important to note here that the immigration system that has been in place for decades, which has formed the present scaffolding always been, to say the least, variable and quite a crap shoot to navigate. The rules are different for each nationality and change on a dime. If you’re from one given country, you may have a smooth, understandable process towards legal resident status and perhaps, citizenship; from another, you may have to apply for Temporary Protective Status; for people from other countries, you can’t do that.
People born in the USA probably have no idea. Some of us beef about the red tape at the Department of Motor Vehicles or applying for Social Security and, yeah, the immigration process is kind of like that and has been for a long while.
Now the immigration system has been hijacked and weaponized by the Trump Administration in order to boost his poll numbers; immigration crackdown has been his strongest suit.
But the community pushback against these policies is alive. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (offices also in San Diego and San Francisco) is on the case providing information to the immigrant community about protecting their rights, accessible on line. The Saturday after the ICE actions at the LA downtown federal building, CHIRLA was on the street demonstrating and doing community outreach and information. The mission of their march: a demand to stop deportations and calling for a clear path to citizenship for those who have been struggling with the byzantine system for years in order to complete the process.
The courts are still pushing back. Even the Supreme Court, which lists toward the conservative with three Trump appointees added to Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, has thwarted three of the Administration’s initiatives and district judges have also blocked his deportation antics.
And local people who are outraged are showing up to interfere with ICE activities. Here are some people chasing ICE agents at an Italian restaurant in San Diego.
That’s going on all over the country. People kicked up a ruckus in Chicago, where 10 immigrants were taken into custody.
You probably have local groups doing pushback—and maybe you’re participating already. The National Day Laborers Association has local chapters and could probably use a little help with the ICE daily threat to the people waiting outside the hard ware store hoping for a job that will help make the rent. Call your local American Civil Liberties office and see what’s up there. They have been putting up a good fight and may need volunteers to help with phones and research.
Of course, you’ll run into lots of connected people at the No Kings Day protests on June 14th. You know how to do this.
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Copyright 2025 by Bobbi Murray. Resist graphic and children in school copyrighted by Barrio Dog Productions Inc. CHIRLA logo used under fair use proviso of the copyright law. All other images are in the public domain.