Tensions around immigration continue to rise amongst communities around the nation, with Los Angeles being one of the epicenters of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s community raids.
Recently, Los Angeles rapper Ice Cube shared his reaction to seeing ICE officers tear families apart during an appearance on 92.3’s “The Cruz Show.”
“It hurts because it’s all kinds of different situations that [have] been going around, as far as immigration,” he told the radio show hosts. “But to see people disrespected like that, and the federal government just being too heavy-handed and going to churches and weddings and grabbing people out of schools. It’s like, come on man, y’all just overdoing it.”
“It’s sad. I can’t wait til this period is over. I don’t know how we’re going to get to the end, but … It’s crazy to see people dragged out of their spots of refuge,” continued Ice Cube, who said in March that President Trump was “shaking things up pretty good.”
As ICE agents began targeting immigrant communities, raiding residential neighborhoods, workplaces, etc, protests began to erupt in Los Angeles and other cities around the nation in June. Since then, communities have continued to fight for immigrant rights, especially in the Los Angeles area.
In July, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong blocked ICE raids targeting areas like bus stops, Home Depot parking lots, and more due to the broad criteria agents used to arrest people. According to Frimpong, ICE agents’ reliance on things like limited English proficiency and employment to determine an individual’s legal status “fell short of a constitutional basis for ICE to have reasonable suspicion to make immigration arrests,” per Politico.
After Frimpong emphasized that agents would also need evidence of a person’s illegal status and accused the White House of issuing an order to arrest 3,000 immigrants per day, the Trump administration filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which was ultimately denied.
This week, the administration has filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court claiming that Frimpong’s ruling is a “straitjacket” for law enforcement.
