Refusing to Drive, or Even go to the Mall

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Until June of this year, Carlos felt free and didn’t think twice about getting in his car and driving from the San Fernando Valley to his job at an auto paint supply company in Culver City. His only worry was the horrific traffic on the 405 freeway.

But those worries now include the fear of a stop by deportation agents.

The father of two U.S.-born children, one of whom currently attends college in San Diego, can’t even fathom going to visit his son there, preferring instead to pay for the son’s bus trip home whenever possible.

Carlos (who asked not to reveal his last name) is practically in hiding.

He refuses to leave his home for any reason other than to go to work. But he won’t even drive there anymore. His wife, who does have legal documentation, takes him there and picks him up—a situation which complicates their daily life.

“He won’t even go to the mall. He’s so afraid,” says his wife, a Guatemalan who also asked not to reveal his name. “I invite him to go here, go there, where we think he might be safe, but he doesn’t even want to go to the market.”

Carlos has lived in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s when he came from his native El Salvador in search of a better future. He tried to “fix his papers” with the help of a notary, who only took his money but didn’t help him. His asylum petition was denied and since then he’s spent thousands of dollars with the hope of legalizing his status to no avail. His case is stuck in a legal limbo.

Carlos is not alone in his fears of being caught at the wrong place by immigration agents who are still deployed throughout the Los Angeles area.

A federal appeals court recently upheld restrictions on immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles, specifically targeting the use of factors like race, language, and occupation as the sole basis for suspicion. This decision stems from a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in Southern California. The court found that the administration’s reliance on these factors did not satisfy the constitutional requirement of reasonable suspicion for detaining individuals.

Despite this ruling, there are still reports of “la migra” sightings everywhere, which creates unease among the immigrant population.

CHURCH DISPENSATIONS

Such fear has even spilled into places of worship, which have seen a drop in parishioners.

It even led to a rare move by the Diocese of San Bernardino, which announced in July that immigrants who had a “genuine fear” about getting caught in immigration raids were dispensed from the weekly obligation of Sunday Mass.

The diocese of Nashville, Tennessee also issued a similar dispensation.

“We have seen a change and an increase in immigration enforcement in our region and specifically in our diocese. Authorities are now seizing brothers and sisters indiscriminately, without respect for their right to due process and their dignity as children of God,” wrote Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Diocese of San Bernardino in a message to the faithful.

“In issuing this decree, I’m guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted under my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship,” wrote the Bishop in announcing the special dispensation for the approximately 1 million Catholics who are part of the sixth-largest diocese in the U.S.

Parishioners are encouraged instead to pray, read scripture or watch mass remotely.