Amidst increased ICE activity, parking lots and sidewalks that were once gathering places for day laborers across OC have largely become ghost towns.
Only a scattered few laborers keep showing up, motivated by providing for their families and mounting financial troubles amid the recent immigration raids.
Immigration enforcement swept through Santa Ana and Fountain Valley locations this month.
Almost no reliable public information on local immigration enforcement operations exists in Orange County alerting the community of arrests, with the exception of social media posts by residents or organizations like the OC Rapid Response Network.
[Read: Santana: What Happens to Orange County’s Disappeared?]
“Pretty much all the Home Depot’s I have been to are all empty,” one day laborer said in Spanish in a June 11 interview, declining to be named for fear of retaliation.
“Work is already slow, and now with this we are getting behind on bills,” he said. “My son now has to start working instead of going to college and continuing his education in order to contribute to the house.”
He said he has lived in Orange County for 30 years, working as a day laborer from the same parking lot and hardware store long before it was a Home Depot.
“My family is scared to leave the house, because they don’t know if they will be able to come back,” he said, noting that he does not have U.S. citizenship.
A security guard, who patrols the Home Depot parking lot for homeless encampments and drug use – who asked to remain anonymous – provided a Spanish translation.
“I think of my parents who came from Mexico,” said the security guard, who stated that he stopped to warn the laborer about possible raids in the area.
“I feel a lot for these people out here actually working hard. I’ve always been for anybody who wants to come to this country and do good,” he said. “I see what they are doing as inhumane. Picking up people that are trying to work here, actually doing good for us. It’s very unfair and seems unconstitutional.”
Within discussions about recent protests at the Santa Ana City Council meeting, council members noted how ICE raids are impacting local families.
“Families I’ve spoken to, the main breadwinner has been taken from their household,” said Councilmember Jesse Lopez at the June 17 meeting, who asked about opportunities to financially support families directly
“They are grabbing our most vulnerable members of our community and they are inciting fear in the largest community in Orange County,” said Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez at the June 17 meeting, noting that ICE raids are “terrorizing” local communities.
“It’s empty because no one wants to get taken,” said another day laborer in Spanish at another OC Home Depot.
“I may be undocumented but I’m not afraid.”
He shared that he has lived in the U.S. for 28 years.
Others shared that they’re picking up more work as less laborers currently wait outside of Home Depots.
When asked if he had been hired more, one day worker said, “Yes. Because look at this place, there’s nobody. They don’t come to Home Depot like before. They don’t come over here because they think the place is scary because they are taking all the Latinos.”
He immigrated legally in 1986 and carries papers proving his U.S. citizenship. Despite having more work, he expressed sadness for his coworkers.
“I feel so sad because right now with the immigration people don’t come to work.
They don’t come because they know they fear the immigration officers.”
Erika Taylor is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and photojournalist. Contact her at etaylor@voiceofoc.org or @camerakeepsrolling.
Josiah Mendoza is a Chapman University Scott Marshutz Fellow. Contact him at josimendoza@chapman.edu
Civic Editor Spencer Custodio contributed to this article.
Julie Leopo, the Voice of OC’s Director of Photography, contributed reporting and provided translation for this story.
