Are Day Laborers Safe? No, and Reality Shows It

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When Los Angeles was going through one of the worst tragedies in recent history, day laborers were there, on the front lines. Day laborers were to this crisis what medical teams were during the Covid pandemic.

Images showed these workers clearing fallen trees, brush, and the devastation left by the fires in Pacific Palisades and Eaton. They didn’t get paid, but their integrity was worth more than that. That’s why they came to this country — to contribute to its needs.

After the cleanup, many offered their services to help rebuild homes, streets, and private residences — without having dollar signs in their eyes.

Such generosity should be met with equal generosity. That’s why it’s terrible what they’re going through now — a time of fear and terror. Immigration authorities detained 12 day laborers in Pomona recently, sending a warning message to all of these workers. ICE is coming after them, just as they’re doing with students, teachers, homemakers, and immigrants as a whole.

After ICE took the 12 jornaleros, warning messages exploded on social media, alerting people about suspicious vehicles outside Home Depot stores — traditional spots where these workers offer their services.

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) has raised the alarm and called for a mobilization to pressure political representatives to investigate where the 12 detained immigrants are being held and demand their return. They are also working to provide legal support for their cases.

The truth is, under the Trump Administration’s immigration neurosis, any undocumented immigrant is at risk of deportation. Not a single act of compassion has been shown. Whether they’re children, immigrants who have lived in this country for decades, or legal residents, authorities have applied a senseless heavy hand. Venezuelan deportees, along with others of different nationalities, are being sent to El Salvador — where President Nayib Bukele has built the most impunity-driven prison system in the world.

Many immigrants have heard that California is a sanctuary state for undocumented people — as is Los Angeles. And yes, it is — but nothing can be done when it’s a federal operation led by ICE. Day laborers need to be fully aware of this and prepare for the worst when they leave home. Until this intimidating policy from Trump is stopped, we’ll have to continue living in this senseless reality.