From MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, the Freedom Trucks were launched, three vehicles from which a group of volunteers will travel to the places in Los Angeles County where immigration raids are carried out to record, document and inform the country about the behavior of federal immigration agents and other law enforcement officers.

“This material will be uploaded in real time to social media and other media channels,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, leader of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, an organization that participates in the Save America Movement, which launched Operation Freedom.

“Now we are in the training phase for volunteers because we do not want to give cause, motive or reason for federal authorities to accuse us of interfering with immigration law enforcement,” he said.

He specified that one of the three Freedom Vans will be sent to Oxnard in Ventura County so that it can be used by the rapid response organization VC Defense, which patrols the streets of that city and county to report immigration raids.

“More Freedom Vans will be purchased as needed.”

He added that the units are equipped with video cameras and antennas, but also with volunteers among them. that there are faith leaders who will provide emotional and spiritual support, lawyers and activists who will offer legal assistance, and some members of the military who have expressed solidarity with the cause.

During the launch of Operation Freedom, Mayor Karen Bass said that we are not going to allow the Federal Administration to divide us.

“Today I opened the newspaper and saw that 400 people were arrested in Chicago. This started here. They used us as a testing ground to sow chaos throughout the country, so that the American people would normalize the militarization of our cities, but we will not accept that.”

She emphasized that we are a city of immigrants,and they won't let them destroy us.

“The rest of the country is watching the Save America movement. Sadly, the Supreme Court has given the green light to the persecution of Latinos in Los Angeles and Haitians in Miami. But we're going to fight those decisions every step of the way, because if we look at the history of the United States, there are many occasions when the Supreme Court issued rulings that kept people enslaved and discriminated against.”

He said that with this new movement, they're going to document what's happening because they want the world to see what's happening in this city and in our country.

“Los Angeles will be united until this stage of our history is over.”

Fabian Nunez, former speaker of the California Assembly, said they have launched the Save America Movement, with the Freedom Trucks, which are taking to the streets today with drivers, cameramen, lawyers and veterans to document ICE raids, film the cruelty and show the truth to the nation and the world.

“In Trump’s America, immigrants, even children, are treated as enemies.”

He said we know something is wrong when those children are afraid to go to school and families are persecuted in their own neighborhoods, and when the Supreme Court says that if you are Latino, if you speak with an accent, constitutional protections don’t apply to you.

“We know something is seriously wrong in the United States when people die from the cruelty of ICE like Silverio Villegas, Jaime Alanis and Carlos Roberto Montoya who had in common coming to work in the United States to support their families, to live with dignity, and their lives were cut short by ICE agents.”

Operation Freedom represents the first national initiative of its kind, with Los Angeles as the launch city.

Participating organizations include the National Daily Worker Network (NDLON), the Immigrant Rights Coalition, the Southeast Leadership Network, VC Defensa, Pueblo y Salud, the Honduran Alliance of Los Angeles, the National Mexican Brotherhood, and many others.

Day laborer Pedro Vazquez said he came to this country looking for work and security, and an opportunity to support his family through honesty and hard work.

“What happened to me in June in Pasadena changed my life forever. I was simply at a bus stop, waiting to go to work like every day. Suddenly, several unmarked cars arrived. Several men got out and, as if we were criminals and worthless, took me and other colleagues,” he said.

“They didn’t tell us who they were, and they didn’t explain why they kidnapped us.They chained us and put us in a small room with 52 other people, with no bathroom, no hygiene. Just filth and fear.”

Pedro said that because he is diabetic, he needs medication and a special diet to live.

“What they gave us to eat was inhumane, nothing a sick person should have to receive. My blood sugar went out of control and I developed an eye infection during detention, and I asked for help, but I never received medical attention.”

He noted that he was locked up for 13 weeks, which he described as weeks of fear, pain, and humiliation.

“They granted me a bond that allowed me to get out, but the trauma hasn’t gone away. I don’t leave my house unless necessary. I’m afraid that simply by being outside, they’ll take me again.”

He said he was targeted for ICE detention because he is a day laborer and Latino.

“This is happening to a lot of people. We deserve respect. Not persecution and detention. I'm telling my story because it's bigger than fear; and no one should be ripped off the streets like I was. No one should have to live in fear just for making an honest living.”

He stated that in times when judges rule and cruelty becomes the law, only the people can save the people.

Neftali Herrera, 15, said his father was one of the workers at a car wash in Pasadena who was detained by ICE.

“My father was everything to us. He was our provider, our joy, and our strength. He always made sure there was food on the table and always showed us his love in small gestures.”

She said his absence has changed their lives in ways they never imagined.

“That's why I'm asking our community to help us.” We need to expand programs that protect families and workers.”

She said that when their loved ones are taken away, it takes away their power to overcome these tragedies and support each other.

Allison Velasquez, 17, said that when she learned her father had been arrested by immigration at the car wash in Pasadena, her heart broke.

“My biological father passed away when I was only three years old, but my stepfather raised me like I was his own daughter. He never made me feel like I was less than his. Losing him has been devastating for me and my family.”

She emphasized that five other families are suffering. “They were fathers, brothers, sons, and uncles. No family should have to go through this, and that’s why we’re here: not only to share the pain, but to demand change. No child should have to say goodbye to a father in the morning, only to find out that was the last time they saw him.”