LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Hundreds of people gathered at MacArthur Park Saturday for the launch of a community initiative to monitor federal enforcement of suspected illegal immigration.
The Save America Movement is described as “a rapid-response and civic empowerment initiative to ensure the American people have a clear understanding of the actions and impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in our communities while providing support to impacted communities.”
Organizers plan to have trained camera crews and volunteers help capture ICE operations as they’re happening. The group unveiled three specially outfitted vans Saturday, dubbed Liberty Van One, Two, and Three, which will be staffed by trained volunteers, including lawyers, clergy, veterans and videographers.
“Los Angeles will always stand with families under threat,” Mayor Karen Bass said. “Angelenos are showing the country that when our communities are targeted, we respond with solidarity, with resources, and with an unbreakable commitment to justice.”
In the coming weeks, organizers will be recruiting and training volunteers to staff the vehicles, to be deployed in early October.
More information can be found at thesaveamericamovement.org.
A couple hours later Saturday, Bass joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in downtown Los Angeles, where Newsom signed a package of five bills aimed at restricting the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.
The bills include SB627, a ban on law enforcement agents wearing masks, SB805, a requirement that they visibly display identification, and a prohibition against bail fugitive recovery agents from using their position for immigration enforcement.
Two of the bills specifically focused on public schools, including a requirement that K-12 schools and higher education institutions notify parents, students and staff when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus, and that they obtain a valid judicial warrant and meet other requirements before entering a school or facility.
