Downey Reverend describes how ICE targeted her church

Reverend Tanya Lopez recalls the moment masked men entered her church’s parking lot.

She ran out of her office. The masked men were detaining a man without asking for identification.

On Wednesday, June 11, masked ICE officials raided Downey Memorial Christian Church in Downey, California.

“My husband saw something happening. [There were] three unmarked vehicles with foreign license plates; foreign in the sense [that] they were not from California. [The license plates were from] Texas and Arizona,” said Rev. Lopez, senior pastor at the church, “People in just plain clothing with vests over them. I don’t know if they were bulletproof, [but] they were armed and had patches over the vests that [said] police.”

Rev. Lopez repeatedly requested the masked men to show proof of identification, but they refused and continued to tell her to step away from them.

“They just kept pointing to their patch, [saying] ‘we’re the police’, I said, ‘police [officers need] to have an identification number. Otherwise how would we know that you’re not impersonating a police [officer]?”’ said Rev. Lopez.

As the masked men tried to intimidate Rev. Lopez by invading her personal space, she continued recording the incident and called out to the detained man, asking for his information, reassuring him that he was not alone.

“I couldn’t get a good look at him [the detainee]. I kept shouting over them, [asking] him ‘What’s your name and your date of birth?’” said Rev. Lopez. “I kept shouting in Spanish, ‘Is there anyone that I can call? Just shout out the phone number, I’ll call somebody’.”

The ICE raids in Los Angeles are expanding to target locations like schools and churches that are traditionally seen as sanctuary environments for the community.

Though not being able to deny access to those seeking to harm the community, Rev. Lopez said she will continue to protect and advocate for the vulnerable by designating private spaces like offices, workspaces and children’s classrooms, ensuring these places are securely locked and only accessible with a signed warrant.

“We cannot keep anybody from coming into our sanctuary because as someone who serves a God that loves all people, I cannot keep people from coming [because] this [place] is supposed to be for everyone,” said Rev. Lopez. “I just pray that they will be respectful and show restraint when they are within sacred space.”

Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) along with Downey Councilmembers Horacio Ortiz (D-1) and Mario Trujillo (D-5), provided the press with their perspectives on the ICE raids and the urgent need for action to prevent further arrests in Downey and across California.

“I think what’s happening right now is horrific and I think it just makes me both incredibly upset and really sad,” said Congressman Garcia. “I’m an immigrant myself, so I see a lot of my community in this.”

Despite numerous social media rumors claiming that many ICE raids are false, Congressman Garcia confirmed that the ICE raids are real and occurring in local communities made up of hard working individuals who do not deserve to be targeted.

“They’re lying and saying that [it’s] not happening. It’s happening! [In] a carwash, a local business. [It’s] causing a lot of harm in the community and it is not acceptable,” said Congressman Garcia. 

In hopes of change, Congressman Garcia and Councilmembers Ortiz and Trujillo took it upon themselves to host a press conference near Porto’s Bakery on Friday, June 13, demanding the city to provide “know your rights” letters to those who may not know that the Constitution of the United States provides rights to everyone who is residing in the country.

“I just flew in from Washington last night and this [press conference] is the first stop I’ve come to,” said Congressman Garcia. “We’re going to continue to be out here trying to get cities to take action, trying to protect people. We’re going to fight in Congress and try to hold Secretary Kristi Noem and Donald Trump accountable.”

In the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment states that people are protected from searches and seizures by the government unless there’s a valid reason and a warrant that states what can be searched or taken. However, ICE’s General Authority to Arrest and Detain allows agents to detain undocumented individuals who they believe are a threat and must be immediately taken before obtaining a warrant. 

But the methods used by ICE agents are seen as widely disturbing and unethical as they continue to detain individuals who are not engaged in any wrongdoing. Not only are they falsely stereotyping and detaining individuals who are American citizens but have given some the advantage of posing as ICE agents without being obligated to show any proof of identification. In February, an LAUSD superintendent warned the community about an incident that involved an individual posing as an ICE agent, flashing a badge, asking a school bus driver to pull over. Fortunately, the bus driver was alone and followed the protocol of closing the doors and driving away.

“I think the federal government needs to do their job correctly. We all have jobs to do. My job is to protect the public. Their job is also to protect the public,” said Councilmember Trujillo. “These agents should be correctly identifying themselves, letting people know who they are, so we can verify that these are actual federal agents. I’m in a position right now where I cannot assure my community that these are not illegal abductions.”

As ICE raids continue to escalate, leaders and advocates suggest for many undocumented individuals to stay at home. 

“We [learned] from the pandemic [on] how to stay home and survive. We can at least do it for one month. Let’s support the undocumented workers who cannot go to work [and] should not go to work. Let’s help them stay home,” said Councilmember Trujillo. “Let’s call out teenagers who are home for the summer to pick up temporary jobs in these car washes, Mexican restaurants, swap meets. Perhaps providing some day labor services, making some money while we stick together and make it through the storm.”