A Family Strives for Normalcy Amid the Uncertainty of Immigration Raids

Names have been changed or omitted in this story to protect identities due to immigration status.  

An eerie stillness hangs in the air when Louie takes his daily bike rides. The streets of El Monte, where he usually sees people going about their day – gardening outside, kids playing, service workers mowing a lawn – seem far emptier. 

It started last week, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) first hit their neighborhood with a caravan of unmarked vehicles flying down their streets. 

“[Afterwards] there was absolutely nothing,” said Louie. “Everything was dead.”

His parents, who are undocumented, reacted like many others are right now. They are in hiding – at home, afraid to leave because of the increased presence of ICE agents in their neighborhood. President Donald Trump administration’s mass deportation policies have unleashed federal authorities on Los Angeles with numerous raids across the county.

“I’ve never seen them [my family] this freaked out,” Louie said. “They look really concerned and scared.”  

Louie’s mother first emigrated to the United States from Mexico over 20 years ago – a single mother escaping a cartel member who was angered by her rejection of his advances. It was here in LA that she met Louie’s stepfather, who, like many before him, left Mexico in search of economic opportunities and a better life. 

Louie and his sister soon followed – he was 6 years old and she was only 4. The two are now Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, a policy that grants temporary protections from deportation and a work permit for those brought to the U.S. as children.

“I haven’t felt like this in 25 years,” Louie’s stepfather told him, recalling the immigration raids that took place in the late 1990s.

Those raids followed the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which increased penalties for immigrants who had violated U.S. law, whether they were unauthorized or legal immigrants. The law also made a pathway to citizenship more difficult, even for law-abiding immigrants, like Louie’s parents. 

His stepfather described the raids of the past as targeted, with officials going after criminals – which Louie’s parents are not. What is happening now is different, “it’s very indiscriminate,” said Louie. 

“The fact that [ICE agents] are just showing up all over the place, it just freaks [my parents] out,” said Louie. “There’s a tiny little hole in the wall [restaurant] around the corner from where we live, and they took everybody out there just the other day. Or the fact that they show up at the grocery store, you know. There’s just a ton of activity. It’s completely random. It doesn’t feel targeted [for criminals] … It’s anyone and everyone.” 

Last week, federal agents were stationed outside Louie and his parents’ workplace in South El Monte. To date, he said, they know around 50 people who have been arrested or detained by ICE. 

“The numbers are stacking up, and that scares my parents because it’s friends, it’s families, it’s the friend of a friend,” he said. “Psychologically for them, it’s a lot.” 

Lately, his dad has been glued to community apps where people report sightings of immigration authorities. Sometimes, Louie said, he seems excited when alerting the rest of the family. 

“I think that’s his way of processing. In the same way that some people laugh through pain,” said Louie while chuckling. 

Even the little things cause panic. His mom went outside to garden with her two dogs. When she spotted a young man with a clipboard walking around the neighborhood taking notes about every address, she ran back inside. Although he could have been completely unrelated to immigration enforcement, just his presence alone, the possibility of what could happen, scared her. 

Last week was his mother’s 49th birthday. It was also the day when ICE was most active in their neighborhood, detaining people just one street over.  

“It was super gloomy, so it was up to me to go and find a way to liven it up a little bit,” said Louie. 

He went out and bought a cake, picked up his mom’s current favorite food – the shrimp burrito from Taco Nazo – and called his sister to come over and watch a movie with them. 

“I feel like it changed her day,” he said proudly. 

Although Louie does not have the same fears about being outside due to his DACA status, his mother is fearful whenever he leaves the house, citing how immigration authorities have even been reported to have detained legal citizens. 

Recently, Louie has found himself concerned with putting his parents at ease and shouldering all the little errands that his family would normally run. 

His parents will ask him, “Can you go buy the groceries?” or “Hey, I was gonna drop this off at your grandma’s, can you go do it?” And while he’s at the market, he often receives more messages of, “Can you get more for your aunt?” or “The neighbor needs avocados.”

“There’s a certain understanding within Latino families that if I can’t do this, it’s your turn to do it. You take the mantle,” explained Louie. “So, I guess it’s my turn to step up to the plate.” 

But he can only do so much, especially when his aunts, uncles, grandma and neighbors also need the same assistance with daily tasks. Louie has been trying to connect his community to groups and organizations in the area that help with grocery hauls on behalf of families. 

He noted that one group helping patrol and protect the community nearby has been the people at the local equestrian center. 

“A lot of them are citizens, and they feel empowered to speak out or to push back,” said Louie. “But outside of that little pocket of four or five blocks, there’s none of that for anybody.” 

Louie is prepared to help his family stay safe at home for the next month if need be, but if the situation continues indefinitely, he’s not sure what will happen. 

For the first time in years, his parents have started conversations about potentially moving back to Mexico – a place they haven’t been back to since they left. The only time Louie heard them talk about this as a possibility was during the recession, when they were concerned about their financial situation. 

“Well, if I can’t work, then what do I do?” his dad asks, once again concerned about the financial implications of their current situation. 

“If I get up and leave, I can take all my things with me,” his mom will say to him, “but if they snatch me off the street, I can’t do that for myself.” 

Louie tries to reassure his parents that it hasn’t come to that point yet, to quell their fears and change their mindset, but that can be difficult when, in their mind, detainment and deportation are a very real possibility. 

He can “convince them for a second that it’s gonna be okay, and then one of your uncles, or a neighbor, will tell you the most horrific story. Then they’re right back at square one.”

While some elected officials may be “saying the right things” by denouncing ICE’s presence and proclaiming their support for LA’s diverse immigrant communities, Louie said he doesn’t see any changes in the situation for his community from politicians’ actions.

At the national level, he said, it’s difficult to see a pathway to citizenship for him or his family. It’s been almost 40 years since the last comprehensive immigration reform was enacted in the U.S. 

At times, DACA seems to be “a political token” on a long list of issues politicians are facing and being lobbied to prioritize over immigration, he said. 

“It’s kind of like being in a state of limbo,” proclaimed Louie, who has had DACA for 11 years. “It doesn’t feel like you’re actually going to have deferred action.” 

Louie is a positive person, constantly trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He remains hopeful that these dark times will pass, that his community will cease to be terrorized, that his parents will feel comfortable leaving the confines of their home, and that life will go back to some sense of normalcy. But as weeks go by, the uncertainty of their future looms over him. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “To a certain degree, I feel safe, but I can only imagine how my parents feel, you know, like they have nothing [protecting them].”