Migrants without papers: Fear of Trump’s soldiers – Paramount after the uprising

Paramount is located in the greater Los Angeles area, but the dreams produced by Hollywood are not true here. Brüchige streets are lined with simple houses. People have a lot of problems, little money – and often no valid papers.

Fear has been in the predominantly Latin American community since Saturday. Because rumors about a large-scale raid on the Trump government led to an uprising in the heart of Los Angeles, which, as part of the protests in the west coast metropolis, caused a sensation worldwide. A visit.

Suspicious cars in the industrial area

But first a review: On Saturday, many residents have free in Paramount and are devoting themselves to DIY projects. The location of the place is located directly on the Los Angeles River – these days more of a trickle in a highway -wide paved pool. Day laborers who help for cash on all possible work are on a lawn strip near the exit, as can be seen from media and eyewitness reports.

But something is different that day. It is about the industrial area opposite the hardware store, where, among other things, a battery business and shops for dietary supplements are located. On Saturday there are also some US border protection cars on the premises. Unusual for Paramount and the adjacent problem area Compton.

On the Internet, rumors are spreading about a raid at the hardware store – they are reminiscent of the many circulating videos of undercover missions all over the United States. The area is quickly filled with angry demonstrators. Restructures will soon come: A car burns, Molotow cocktails fly, the cars of the alleged officials of the immigration authority ICE are thrown at stones. The police use tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Ministry of Homeland Department later denied that there was no raid. But the violence contributed to the extremely controversial decision to send 4,000 soldiers from the National Guard to Los Angeles – and also to Paramount. For many a provocation and attempt to intimidate.

“People don’t go out of the house”

Today: A few days after the outbreak of violence, the parking lot of the hardware store seems normal, inconspicuous. A young man wears a light blue cap of the local baseball club and a t-shirt of the band Nirvana. He calls himself Joe – but normally nothing is normal here and nobody.

“People don’t go out of the house. They don’t go to work because it is still a tense area. I am sure that here are spy everywhere,” he says, leaning on an old pick-up whose paint has become dull under the scorching sun. Today he seems the only one who is ready to speak openly about the events of the past few days.

And in fact, people look suspiciously and make the visitor as he goes over the site of the hardware store. People are paranoid at the moment, says Joe. He lives in Compton, is himself a Latin American descent, and does not recognize his area these days.

He did not want to defend the violence from the weekend, but people reacted emotionally when they were wrong. The authorities used Gestapo methods and could not be put in the barriers so quickly. “The constitution is real. And if it was written a long time ago, her principles should still apply,” says Joe, and alluding to America’s promise to guarantee everyone’s chances of promotion.

Millions without papers – part of America?

People without valid residence status have mostly lived in the United States for years, often for decades. Many come from Mexico and Central America, but increasingly also from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. They came as migrant workers, refugees or with visas that later emitted. Today around 10 to 11 million people live without papers in the USA – almost a million in Los Angeles alone.

The biggest communities can be found in California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois. They mainly work in sectors such as agriculture, construction, care and gastronomy – often under precarious conditions. Although they usually pay taxes, they are excluded from many state benefits. Politically, they are a game ball between foreclosure and reform promise, but socially part of everyday American life: as parents, neighbors, labor – and in millions of cases: as a silent support of the economy.

What guarded the national guard?

But they do not find out appreciation from President Trump, on the contrary: his government spent the margin of 3,000 arrests of “illegal” every day. Millions, he promised it in the election campaign, would be thrown out of the country – regardless of whether they have children born in the United States, for example, with American citizenship. Trump represents it as a driver of crime – a false claim that was often refuted, but was successful in the election campaign.

Joe can understand the frustration in Paramount and in other parts of the United States. “We are supposedly a free country and have all these rights. But in reality you never know. People feel so helpless,” he says. The sad thing is that an example for dealing with people worldwide is being stated here. He looks at his smartphone, holds the fist: “Okay, get in touch, brother. I have to go.” He has already disappeared in the hardware store.

Just a few steps further, on the other side of the street, the gate to the business park is wide open. In the courtyard, soldiers with rifles are on the stop. They have been at the behest of the President since Sunday morning. According to the media, because of a local operations center for future raids. The reporter is allowed to take photos, says a friendly uniform. But please don’t ask anything that he has to protect something. And what? The soldier smiles and is silent.