They came to MacArthur Park on horseback and in riot gear, their faces covered and their weapons out. They were part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) and the California National Guard.
They came with more than a dozen military vehicles, as helicopters swarmed overhead. They came heavily armed with rifles and other weapons. They came, clearly, ready to rumble, armed to excess. Why?
“The [ICE] armed raid of MacArther Park, which yielded not a single arrest, was nothing more than intimidation.”
Local Angelenos, who might ordinarily be hanging out, selling food and toys, or simply enjoying the day, were warned that immigration might be out. Many are too fearful to go out, but a summer day camp for children was operational.
Many of the young people attending the camp had parents who were working – camp was summer childcare. Camp counselors took the children inside to shield them from the chaos. Still, many of the children were frightened.
LA Mayor Karen Bass described the military action as “outrageous and un-American”.
It doesn’t matter whether residents are legal (which most are) or not. These Gestapo-like “law enforcement” officers can stop anyone who they suspect of being illegal.
If the person is not carrying the appropriate identification, they may be taken to a temporary holding facility. You might be fingerprinted, interviewed, or detained. Your belongings (including your telephone) may be confiscated. You will be forced to prove that you are legal – guilty until proven innocent.
This is fearful for both legal and illegal migrants, but it ought to be an occasion of fear for all of us. Lots of Black people could be mistaken as Latino and held. Who really carries their passport with them? (I just put a picture of mine on my phone. One can never be too careful).
What is most outrageous is the differential application of law, and the uneven compassion that is offered to victims of this nonsense. More than a hundred people are dead, and another 160, at least, missing, including girls and their counselors who attended “Camp Mystic at the Guadalupe River.