“Waking up and seeing ICE in your front yard is tough,' said Downey resident Victor Correa.
"Waking up and seeing ICE in your front yard is tough," said Downey resident Victor Correa. On Saturday around 10 a.m., at the cross street of Benares and Ryerson, Correa witnessed border patrol agents attempting to detain two local landscapers.
Correa immediately sprang into action without interfering. "I wanted to make sure to make as much noise as possible to bring attention to the situation," said Correa. Cell phone video from the scene showed neighbors gathering, recording the encounter and urging agents to leave the landscapers alone. Residents can be heard questioning the agents and expressing concern, but neighbors say they did not physically interfere with the encounter.Videos of similar stops have surfaced across the country, many shared on social media, raising questions about civil rights and the limits of federal enforcement authority. Supreme Court rulings have granted U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authority to stop and question people under certain circumstances, as long as those encounters remain constitutional and do not involve excessive force. Civil rights attorney James DeSimone says how agents conduct those encounters matters. "If they engage in tactics such as tackling people before speaking to them, that’s a violation of the United States Constitution," DeSimone said.DeSimone advises U.S. citizens who are stopped to clearly state their citizenship and repeat it if necessary, without answering additional questions. He says non-citizens should carry documentation. He also noted that even naturalized citizens and people with accents can feel vulnerable during such encounters.Correa said agents never asked the landscapers for documentation and instead tried to place them in their vehicles. Neighbors said one landscaper reportedly has a green card, while the other has a valid work permit. Authorities have not publicly confirmed the men’s immigration status. Correa and other residents believe the community’s presence and documentation of the encounter played a role in the men being allowed to leave.The two landscapers have since returned to work and say they are grateful for the support they received from the neighborhood. "I just get a lot of people telling me that they’re proud of me," Correa said. "But I didn’t do anything that my parents didn’t teach me to do. I’m just proud of my community for coming together." Correa add that the experience reinforced the importance of knowing your rights. "The best thing you can do is be a good witness," he said. "Record what you see, speak up, but don’t interfere."
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