ICE raids in Los Angeles leave immigrants afraid to report discrimination
The Los Angeles Civil Rights Department said hate discrimination claims have dropped by nearly a third since the raids began - not because harassment has stopped, but because fear is keeping people from reporting. Advocates warned the chilling effect is silencing some of LA’s most vulnerable residents, even as civil rights groups band together to help.
The Civil Rights Department, founded in 2020, enforces the city’s Civil and Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination in private sector areas such as commerce, education, employment and housing. While it doesn’t provide individual legal representation, the department investigates complaints and can hold businesses and landlords accountable for civil rights violations.
Complaints had been surging before the raids but dropped sharply once enforcement ramped up in early June, said Capri Maddox, the department’s founding executive director.
“Our claims have been on the rise, but now that ICE is actively working our city, our claims are going down,” she said. “People are afraid.” Maddox estimated complaints have fallen by “probably close to one-third,” in just one week.
“When they come for one of us, they are coming for all of us, We want the immigrant community to feel empowered to speak up and to know the LA Civil Rights Department is still here to fight with and for them, regardless of their immigration status.”
Entire article is available at LA Daily News