ICE raids quiet SoCal's Asian hubs

Immigration raids are causing widespread alarm in Southern California’s Asian ethnic hubs, with businesses and popular gathering spots seeing less foot traffic as people avoid potential run-ins with federal agents.

Advocates with the South Asian Network, a non-profit based in Artesia, say the city’s Little India district is getting noticeably fewer visitors, as are local temples.

Community organizer Tonya Somesh says even immigrants with legal status are wary of going out given the arrest of U.S. citizens during raids.

“Folks are just staying indoors,” Somesh said. “They're avoiding public places. They're avoiding their ethnic grocery store because they're aware that, ‘Hey, you know, it's an ethnic spot.’”

High-stakes hurdle

Advocates estimate about 15% of California’s Asian population are undocumented immigrants. Many are not proficient in English, which civil rights lawyers worry will make it even more difficult for them to navigate an increasingly turbulent immigration system.

Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California, says on top of due process violations, Asian clients are kept in the dark because of language barriers.

“In general, ICE and federal agents don't speak API languages, and they're not being held accountable or responsible to make sure they can communicate with API immigrants,” Joe said.

Joe reports AAAJ clients in detention are not told in their language what is happening to them or even where they are. She pointed to a video circulating online of a Mandarin-speaking man being detained in downtown Los Angeles by a group of masked men and women.

“What happens to him [in detention] if he doesn't speak a lick of English and they don't speak a lick of Mandarin,” Joe asked. “What's going to happen in terms of his rights being communicated with any sort of level of transparency and clarity?”

Advocates are urging immigrants to carry “Know Your Rights” cards in their language.

The South Asian Network has created cards in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Nepali and Bangla for citizens and non-citizens alike.

English statements on the card to show federal agents include “I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.”

Opening up the conversation 

It is unclear how many Asian immigrants have been swept up in the raids. Somesh said that families of those detained may not want to publicize the information.

“Within the South Asian community and the broader Asian community, we have a tendency to sweep things under the rug, and we want to avoid having uncomfortable conversations,” Somesh said. “Our people, our community, are also being affected. It's not just others, right?”

Joe agrees that many in the Asian American community, like much of the general public, have been slow to recognize that “immigration is our issue as well.”

She noted that while President Trump was campaigning for his second term, his immigration rhetoric was focused on booting violent criminals.

“And so there was this thinking within the API community – and I think this is true for some other communities of color – that ‘I'm the good immigrant. I came to this country the right way,” Joe said.

But recent raids have swept up people with no criminal records. A recent CNN report found that a small fraction of those detained actually had criminal convictions.

For Asian Americans upset about the raids, Joe said now was the time for them to demand accountability from lawmakers and to donate to legal services.

“Obviously, the Latinx community is being harmed, but APIs need to think about how this is an API issue and what we can do for our community,” Joe said.