The calls reporting immigration enforcement began in the early morning: first at 5:30 a.m. and 6:40 in Indio, then 6:51 a.m. in Coachella and later across the Coachella Valley, from Cathedral City to Palm Springs.
That was on Tuesday, May 12. And by Wednesday, May 13, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice advocacy group said it had independently confirmed 19 operations by federal immigration agents this week across the Coachella Valley, including at least 10 that day, according to Tamara Marquez, the coalition’s communications director.
That figure, however, is likely an undercount because not every arrest is reported through its hotline, but photos and videos from community members help the organization identify whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the arrests.
One incident that drew the coalition’s attention was captured in a video circulating online, which showed several agents stopping a man in a white van in the Coachella Valley and attempting to remove him from his vehicle as he asked in Spanish if he could show his driver’s license, Marquez said.
The agents left after he showed proof of his identification, she said. The man’s wife later posted a photo showing his hand bruised and bleeding from the exchange.
“And so this and other incidents that we’ve heard of show that this is racial profiling because of who they’re going after, right? Gardeners, people with a pickup truck, with a van,” Marquez said. “They don’t care if they have papers, and they don’t care to know or don’t know if they have papers.”
The increase in reports within the span of two days prompted the coalition to publicly address the surge Wednesday alongside Palm Springs Mayor Naomi Soto, Palm Springs City Councilmember Grace Garner and Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Pérez.
When someone contacts the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice’s hotline, dispatchers collect the location, time, whether anyone was taken, as well as how many agents and vehicles were present. They then alert trained volunteers and staff who can respond to the area, check whether agents are still there and speak with nearby businesses or community members.
The coalition also has an organizer in the Coachella Valley working directly with residents and local businesses to explain what to do if immigration agents approach them, offer trainings and provide businesses with posters stating that private property is off-limits to ICE.
“We’re not trying to create panic,” Marquez said. “We’re trying to keep people educated and informed on how to identify an agent.”
If someone is detained, the coalition helps their family find out where they were taken and connects them with legal support. They also have two members who are accredited by the US Department of Justice and regularly visit and provide consultations at Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where people detained in the Coachella Valley are most likely to be taken.
The recent arrests have affected local high school students whose parents are detained, leaving some without a caregiver at home and struggling to return to school while trying to navigate their parents’ detention.
“It’s really hard,” Marquez said. “And now they have to figure out how to survive.”
On Wednesday, Cathedral City High School, as required by a new state law, the SAFE Act, notified families and staff that immigration enforcement activity had been confirmed near campus.
In the message, the school said classes continued as normal and reminded families that immigration agents are prohibited from entering campus without judicial authorization, “which has not been presented at this time.”
Coachella Valley Unified School District also seems to have addressed the heightened immigration enforcement Tuesday on social media, encouraging families to keep important documents and “Know Your Rights” sheets, or “red cards,” readily available. Those cards, which the district has distributed, help people assert their constitutional rights during interactions with ICE agents, including the right to remain silent and not open the door unless agents have a judicial search or arrest warrant.
The timing and the volume of the reports received in the last two days has also stood out to the inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice because they typically slow by midafternoon.
“Because of how early they’re happening and also who they’re targeting, obviously there’s no warrant for them to arrest anyone,” Marquez said. “They’re just doing it on the streets or outside of the high school. It’s just very out of the blue.”
Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: ICE, Border Patrol operations surge across Coachella Valley
Reporting by Jennifer Cortez, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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