"Federal agents have raided the homes of three southern California immigration activists in what the activists allege is the latest escalation in a Trump administration campaign to harass a volunteer-led advocacy group that organizes neighborhood ICE-watch patrols. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the main investigatory branch of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), executed a pre-dawn raid on 13 May at the home and business of Leonardo Martinez, whose group VC Defensa runs a rapid response hotline and supports immigrant families across Ventura county. The homes of two other current and former VC Defensa volunteers were also targeted. No arrests were made."
"Members of the group were previously arrested in an HSI operation last October in connection with protests over massive immigration raids at cannabis greenhouses last July. VC Defensa alerted the community to the July raids after a government convoy headed to the greenhouses was spotted, rallying large numbers of protesters to the scene. The July raids led to the death of a farm worker and hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, while immigration agents, flanked by the national guard, deployed less-lethal ammunition at demonstrators."
"The group's lawyer, Reem Yassin, described last week's 3am raids as fishing expeditions built on baseless search warrants. These raids are nothing more than an intimidation tactic to suppress free speech, Yassin said during a press conference on Thursday at the federal building in Los Angeles, which houses an HSI office. Yassin said a coalition of lawyers is preparing a civil lawsuit alleging violations of the volunteers' constitutional rights. Supporters chanted, Trump, escucha, estamos en la lucha! (in English, Trump, listen, we're in the fight!)."
Federal agents conducted pre-dawn raids on the home and business of Leonardo Martinez and on two other current and former VC Defensa volunteers in southern California. The raids were carried out by Homeland Security Investigations and occurred on 13 May, with no arrests reported. VC Defensa runs a rapid response hotline and supports immigrant families across Ventura County, and it organizes neighborhood ICE-watch patrols. The group previously faced an HSI operation after protests over immigration raids at cannabis greenhouses in July, which involved large-scale ICE arrests and the use of less-lethal ammunition against demonstrators. VC Defensa alerted the community to the July raids after a government convoy was spotted. The group’s lawyer said the May raids were fishing expeditions based on baseless search warrants and announced a coalition of lawyers would file a civil lawsuit alleging constitutional rights violations.
#immigration-enforcement #homeland-security-investigations #civil-rights #protests-and-activism #ice-watch-patrols
Read at www.theguardian.com
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