July 25, 2025 • 25 mins
Candido was working at a car wash when ICE agents pulled up in white vans, blocked all the entrances, and took him and his coworkers. The agents collected their phones but didn’t notice Candido’s Apple Watch right away. He used it to call his family, who otherwise wouldn't have known what happened to him.
We hear his story, and then, Maria Hinojosa speaks with Cal Matters investigative reporter Sergio Olmos about a new tool that exposes ICE’s targeted strategy of terror against Latinos in California.
Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Dear, let you know USA listener.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Before we start, you should know that if you want
to listen to this episode, add free. Just join plus
and you can join for as little as seven dollars
a month. Joining also gets you behind the scenes access
and yes, some cheese may so click the link in
the episode description and after you do that, then click play.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Let's go to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Oh well god. It was a cloudy Monday morning in
June when masked ICE agents pulled up to a car
wash in southern California.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Sur him bad, Jaminet and Ice.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
This is Candido. He's a car was shadow in his
sixties with short silver hair. He has a sort of
gentle look on his face, like someone who would smile
and nod as he passes you by. Ganilo doesn't have
legal status. We are not using his full name or
any identifying information at his request because he fears retaliation
in his case. Moving forward, Ganilo was taken by Ice
(01:17):
about a month ago at his job detailing cars.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
It all happened so fast.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
He says Bennett, In a.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
Matter of minutes.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
He and seven of his coworkers were detained, handcuffed, and
shoved into white vans with out of state plates. He
was worried scared.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Porque gave.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
A video from that incident was posted on TikTok. In it,
you can see ICE agents dressed in what looks like
green army like uniforms.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Most are wearing sunglasses and masks. DA The car wash
has three ways to get.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
In and out, and Gandido says I had blocked all
three openings.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Some markers wanted to run, but there was no.
Speaker 6 (02:05):
Way out Momente Calamos and Cinema.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Ice agents took everyone's cell phones right away. Telephone better,
but the ICE officers didn't notice Gandido's Apple Watch graa.
Speaker 7 (02:26):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
That's the only way he was able to contact his family.
He only had a few numbers memorized, so he called
his niece mussetto whom he lives with.
Speaker 8 (02:38):
He was able to call me, so he's like, oh,
I'm being detained.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
They're here.
Speaker 8 (02:42):
It's like nine or ten of us. They took everything
from us. And I told him, how are you calling me?
Like how is this possible? He's like, my Apple Watch
don't speak loud. I'm like, oh, that's fine. And I
did tell him it doesn't matter how bad they treat you.
What they tell you do not sign anything.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Don't sign anything. Since the increase in ICE raids, immigrant
rights groups have been saying this across the country. People
have been sharing this and WhatsApp groups. Don't sign anything,
don't open the door unless you see a warrant. For
the last few months, Lusetto, her husband and their children
have all been watching out for their Pio Candido.
Speaker 8 (03:23):
So I would always tell him if something ever happens,
like you have rights.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
That cloudy morning in June, Lusetto's phone rang.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
It was her uncle.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
He was calling from his Apple Watch. He had been taken.
Speaker 8 (03:39):
I couldn't believe it. We just talked about it, like
in your detained, Like what am I going to do?
Like how am I going to help you?
Speaker 5 (03:49):
I can't. I don't know how I'm going to.
Speaker 8 (03:52):
But I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
From Fudre Media, it's Latino USA. I'm Maria Josa today
Gandhido's story. What happens after an ICE rate? Later, I
speak to cal Matters reporter said, here almost will update
us on a one of a kind crowdsourcing project revealing
how ICE is specifically targeting Latino and Latina communities.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
But first, here's.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Latino USA producer Monica Moreles Garcia again to continue with
Gandido's story.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Hours had passed since Gandido was taken by Ice. It
was nighttime and he still hadn't had anything to eat
or drink.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Guando mourto at eleven pm, Ice agents gave him a
burrito and that's it.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
At least he thinks it was around eleven PM, because
officers eventually took.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
His watch.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Central Ortlanto. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
The next day, Gannilo was transferred to the notoriously brutal
detention center in the small desert town of Atlanto, California,
about a two hour drive from Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
The perma.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
At the beginning of twenty twenty five, there were only
three detainees at the Adelanto Ice Processing Center.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Yeah. Three.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
That's because advocates and congressional members had been working for
years to close down the privately run facility. Since the
LA raids in June, twelve hundred people have been detained there.
When Gandilo got to the jail like facility, it was
placed in a room with around one hundred other men.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
Louise Tolia, Elia Conditional and them.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
The air conditioner was on full blast and the bright
lights never turned off, they only dimmed slightly at night.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Flora ye.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Gano says it was so cold people got sick. He
felt like he'd been kidnapped. He was at the mercy
of agents who would retaliate against anyone who spoke up. Yeah,
I said, he calls the agents there racist. With ganiito
(06:29):
and detention, Lusetto wasn't wasting one second. She needed her
uncle to be released, so she began researching who did
she need to talk to, and she came across an
organization called Clean car Wash.
Speaker 8 (06:43):
They said that they specialized on helping car washers and
that they were going to try to do everything in
their power to help us out.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Clean car Wash is a worker center based in Los Angeles,
which until recently focused on providing shadows with trade edge
and support and fighting for lost wages.
Speaker 7 (07:03):
With everything you know that has been happening and everything
that started the first weekend of June, we had to
pivot and shift to providing support to car wash workers
and the families of those that have been impacted by
federal agencies going into car washes and kidnapping people from work.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
This is Andrea Gonzalez, Deputy director of Clean car Wash.
Speaker 7 (07:28):
When the raid happened at Gandilo's car wash, you know,
we reached out to the manager and thankfully the manager
provided us information about the workers that had been abducted
that day, and then that's how we got to meet Lusetto.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
The organization took it from there. They got legal representation
for Gandido and as for a bond hearing in front
of an immigration judge.
Speaker 7 (07:54):
Our role was to essentially let them know that they
were not alone because our organization, along with other worker
centers in Los Angeles, mobilized to create a legal fund.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Why are car washers specifically being targeted?
Speaker 7 (08:10):
So we know that over fifty eight car washes were
rated in the last month. We recognize that car wash
workers are vulnerable because they're out in the open air,
and we have also learned that workers themselves can recognize
that they were being surveillance. You know. Also, they're being
targeted because it's a predominantly Latino immigrant workforce, and we
(08:33):
think that they are assuming that all of those workers
don't have legal status because of the color of their skip.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Yeah, Andrea tells me, in most cases, once workers get
taken by ice, they don't make it out.
Speaker 7 (08:50):
Unfortunately, a lot of the workers were deported by the
time we got to them. It was too late. They
didn't make the phone call or they couldn't make a uncle.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Some of Gandhilo's co workers have already been deported to
Watemala and Mexico, he says, and others are still detained waiting.
Out of all the cases, Clean car Wash is supporting
Gandilo is the only one who's been released. He was
let go on bond under strict conditions. I visited Gando
(09:27):
at his home last weekend. He showed me his left inkle.
He had on an inkle monitor.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
In monitors.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
I was kind of shocked. The inkle monitor was bulkier
than I expected and heavier than he thought it would be.
Speaker 7 (09:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Ganido is home with Lucetto. His location is monitored twenty
four seven and he can't go back to work at
the car wash. But at least he's home.
Speaker 8 (10:11):
We're still fighting, we're fighting for legal status. He still
continues having the same support of the lawyer, so she's
working on his case.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
We're hoping for a good outcome. Misolina, my niece did
everything possible. That's why I'm here, he says.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
You could say Gandilo is one of the lucky ones
he had timing on his side. See days after Gannido's
bond went through, the Trump administration declared that immigrants who
arrive in the United States without proper documentation are no
longer eligible for a bond hearing as they fight deportation proceedings.
Speaker 8 (10:54):
So that means millions of people are unlikely to be.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Entitled to bond hearings.
Speaker 9 (10:59):
And then of course that raised his questions the prison
system and the capacity. This is millions of people we're
talking about.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Over the last eight weeks, almost three thousand people have
been arrested for not being US citizens. According to legal experts,
these raids violate the Constitution because, as they explain, human
rights are afforded to people based on their personhood, not
their citizenship.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
That was Latin New USA producer Monica Morales garcim. We're
going to take a quick break, and when we come back,
I'll speak with cal Matter's investigative reporter said here almost
he's going to talk about a new map that exposes
just how racist and targeted these raids are.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Stay with us, don't yes, Hey, we're back.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
And before the break, you heard the story of Gandido,
a man who was taken by ICE while he was
at his car washing job. Now we're going to speak
with friend of the show and cal Matters reporter said
Hiro Ormos, who with the help of Evident Media and
Belling Cat, has mapped out the Department of Homeland Securities
(12:41):
actions since the ICE raids began in California in the spring.
Speaker 10 (12:47):
In total, over one hundred videos have been geolocated and verified,
displaying patterns of where DHS has focused their efforts, including
raids at over fifteen separate home depots.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
This is important because it's the most comprehensive map to
date of the raids. In a video, said he exposes
patterns that show where ICE has focused its actions, how
the agency has been using excessive force, and how agents
have been detaining people on private property without warrants. The
(13:20):
video which we're playing in this conversation also includes an
interview with Greg Bovino. He's an official with the Border
Patrol who's been leading the raids in the area.
Speaker 10 (13:30):
I think the general public does see a difference between
the palato or the silitrus worker and the fentanyl dealer
that they are not both on the same field.
Speaker 9 (13:38):
If they cross the border illegally, then they're coming with us.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
They are under arrest and they're coming with us.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
And they need to lave and they need to leave
right now.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Sed Heo, welcome back to Latin you USA. Thank you
so much for having me, and thank you for this reporting,
because in a moment like this, what you're basically doing
is deconstructing ICE and DHS and their strategies and letting viewers, readers,
listeners see for themselves. Explain to our listeners why is
(14:10):
it important to be doing this kind of data collection
and then putting it all together to be able to
basically say, this is what ICE and Border Patrol are
doing every day.
Speaker 10 (14:20):
If you're in Los Angeles on Instagram, even if you're
not following it, you're seeing videos of people being taken
by Immigration of agents. You know, I think we all
suspect what it looks like. But when you actually see
it on a map and you see fifteen separate home
depots and you see them spread across Los Angeles, you
see the scale of it, but it's been verified by
a team of professionals, then there leaves no doubt it's
happening all over the place and it's not rumors. I mean,
(14:41):
there's very good websites and they try their best to
verify it. But you know, I was even shocked, and
I work on this all day every day. Mass agents
pull up quickly, they jump out of unmarked vans or trucks.
They wear blue jeans or battle fatigues. They approach Latino
men at times yelling and carry assault rifles. When someone runs,
(15:02):
they're taken. When they don't answer a question, they're taken.
When they can't produce papers, they're taken.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
So why is it important to be able to provide
this kind of information to the people out there?
Speaker 10 (15:19):
Because the federal government has been so intentional about carrying
out these operations, with mass on, with not giving out
information when journalists ask for it, with not being transparent,
there's a lot of rumors and there's a lot of
people on the street talking about things that are scary
and not verified. I think outside of Los Angeles, the
news and the understanding of what these raids look like
hasn't really been communicated. Well, if you're in La you
(15:39):
go walk down the street and there was no taco stands,
whether he was there's a lot less people stores. I
just went to a kind city on Saturday and it
had a picture that said, if you're an immigration agent,
you have to have a sign warrant. I mean, I'd
never seen that before. And there's all kinds of these
signs everywhere. It's like this whole city has changed. It's
important for journalists to be able to like put out
information accurate and say, hey, look we kind of got
(16:02):
the breath of this. Here's some perspective. And it's the largest,
first open source examination of the raids in a way
that is not disputable.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Right.
Speaker 10 (16:11):
No one can look at that map and say, hey,
this didn't happen, because every single point on that map
has the video link to it, has been verified, and
we've actually released that map, so anybody in the public
can actually download it, look at it. It's all kind
of show your work. And so again with how scary
this is, with mass men going up to places not
announcing their raids, I think it's important for people to
rely on someone to say, like, this is the current
(16:33):
pace and scale of things.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Right and based on actual fact, So said here, how
did you and your colleagues get the information.
Speaker 10 (16:44):
Yeah, there's a lot of divisional labor here. You know,
evidence makes these documentary journalisms. I'm a reporter, so basically
I just talked to people all day long. Belling Cat
is a investigative collective where they do open source investigations.
All that means is anything that's available in public, any
video on social media, anything that they can get online
they can examine. And what they do. They found videos
(17:05):
online they were viral and some sources passed them to me.
I sent it to them, and they very meticulously made
sure that the video was authentic, for making sure a
lamppost is in the right spot, calling the person and
looking at the metadata. But again, it takes a team
of journalists to do stuff like this.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
And because you're an Angelino, you can kind of tell
us like things have changed. Is it too much to
say that La has changed dramatically over the past several weeks.
Speaker 10 (17:31):
The change is so apparent and visceral. The streets had
a different character during the raids. The conversation all around
the city was about this. And it's quite offensive to
treat the city of Los angelesic and biggest city in America,
as occupied territory and to be treating it like it's
a war zone.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
We'll be right back mont de Boy. Yes, Hey, we're back.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
And here's the rest of my conversation with Cal Matters
reporter Serrie Ormos, who's going to talk about how much
LA has changed since a federal judge put a stop
to the ice raids as they were happening in June.
Speaker 9 (18:20):
This is a significant court victory for the City of
Los Angeles, seven other LA County cities. Immigrant rights groups
and the ACLU argued that Immigration and Customs enforcement has
been engaging in racial profiling.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Can you talk a little bit more about this?
Speaker 10 (18:37):
Injunction, they wanted the judge to issue the stop to
the raids while they litigate the case, and it's kind
of like emergency action, and basically what the plaint is,
what the ACLU was arguing was, Hey, these guys, these
orbital guys are running up to car washes, they're running
up to home depots, and they're just grabbing guys that
look like Latino. Now that we've had this temporary restraining
(18:58):
order by the Central District, LA seems like it's coming
back to life. I was just at a Latino grocery
store that was just absolutely full to the brim and
I was thinking like the last few weeks, I haven't
really seen something like this, Like people have not really
been going out, but now the temporary restraining order has
a real effect. I mean LA feels especially this week
and felt like life was just injected into it again.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
And you have NGOs working together with the cities to
come together in these lawsuits. I mean, this is pretty
it's pretty extraordinary, Am I right?
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Said he absolutely.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
I don't think I've ever seen it.
Speaker 10 (19:32):
Usually it's an advocacy or challenging the city or the county.
You don't see them on the same side. I've never
seen them on the same side. I mean, it was
a pretty incredible and federal court to see the advocates
and all these representatives from the different municipalities. It is
pretty heartwarming to see that the City of Los Angeles,
the county, the neighboring cities are all on the same
page with these you know, the People's Council that ACLU,
(19:52):
this case is brought forth by way, the farm workers,
They're all on the same side arguing against this. It's
so rare to see that who is going against that,
you know, it's the Trump Administration's Department Hold Security.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
So said here.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
When we're covering these stories on the ground, oftentimes there
is you know, a person, a moment, a story that
you kind of hold on to that kind of again
grounds us in why are we doing what we're doing.
Is there a story that you've been holding on to
as you manage a situation in your city that doesn't
seem to be going away anytime soon.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 10 (20:28):
I talked to one guy who was taken at work
and he was deported within the week, and I asked
him why, when he was in attention in Texas, why
he signed the voluntary deportation PAPERORGS. Why didn't he just
kind of stay there try to get a lawyer. And
he said, very simply, well, I have a family. I
need to work. And he's like, I'm not going to
be here for seven months, Like I'm going to go
back to Mexico and I'll try to make it work there,
(20:50):
but I need to provide for my family.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
It's a matter of fact about it.
Speaker 10 (20:53):
And I just thought I want to adopt a little
bit more of that in my life, Like, there's going
to be tough times, but my job is to be
a journalist. I'm not going to be catatonic when something
bad happens. I want to keep, you know, my mind
sharp and work the problem. And there's a resiliency that
I'm seeing and people who are taken deported, and that
resiliency is something that even I just think immigrants have
(21:15):
so much resiliency already, and even when they're deported, like
I'm seeing them not put their heads down. And just
like right now, some of the people who interviewed are
in Chiapas, Mexico City, working like they have not stopped
working since even now that they're in Mexico.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
It leads me to my last question for you said here,
which is actually about you.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
What keeps you optimistic these days?
Speaker 10 (21:40):
If I ever feel down, there's so much stories just
in my history of you know, both my parents grew
up without running water or electricity, and so I'm optimistic
every day about the resiliency by immigrants.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I would say there's a saying in Mexican Spanish Levas
which means this is absolutely gonna backfire on Trump dar
del temprano sooner or later. And I think the pendulum
is going to swing absolutely in another direction in terms
of immigrants.
Speaker 10 (22:08):
The reality is, if you look at the Gallipolo just
came out nearly eighty percent of people support immigration.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
It's highest it's ever recorded.
Speaker 10 (22:15):
And I'm not the only one who's looking at all
this and saying this is not the American way, right.
And I learned that people can go through a lot
of things if they go through it together, you can
bounce back very quickly from really tough times if you're
not the only one going through it. I mean, people
here care. And there was immediately outpoint of people, you know,
(22:35):
thousands of people in the streets of Los Angeles saying
that they do not approve of what's going on. I
think there's a lot of reasons to be optimistic. People
are not indifferent, and that gives me energy.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
That's what makes you a great journalist.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
At you almost thank you so much for joining us
again and being a friend of Latin USA.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
We appreciate it. Thanks for your reporting, and we'll continue
to check in with you.
Speaker 10 (22:58):
I'm so happy to be a friend of Thank you
so much.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
This episode was produced by Monica Morales Garcia and edited
by our managing editor Fernanda Echavari. It was mixed by
Stephane Laboude and J. J. Carubin fat checking for this
episode by Roxana Aguire special thanks to Marta Martinez.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
The Latino USA team.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Also includes Julia Caruso, Jessica Elis, Victoria Strada, Renaldo Leanos Junior,
Andrea Lopez Gruzado, Louis Luna Rori, mad Marquez, Julieta Martinelli
and Nancy Truquillo.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Our intern is Diego.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Perdomo, Benni, Lee Ramirez and I are co executive producers
and I'm your host Mariano Hossak. Latino USA is part
of iHeart Spiku Dura podcast Network. Executive producers that I
heard are Leo Gomez and Arlene Santana. Join us again,
dear listener, on our next episode. In the meantime, I'll
see you on all of our social media and remember
it's so easy. Just join Fudua Plus. You'll listen at
(24:10):
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By joining, you'll support the kind of reporting that makes
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Speaker 3 (24:24):
Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment,
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Dear, let you know USA listener.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Before we start, you should know that if you want
to listen to this episode, add free. Just join plus
and you can join for as little as seven dollars
a month. Joining also gets you behind the scenes access
and yes, some cheese may so click the link in
the episode description and after you do that, then click play.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Let's go to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Oh well god. It was a cloudy Monday morning in
June when masked ICE agents pulled up to a car
wash in southern California.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Sur him bad, Jaminet and Ice.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
This is Candido. He's a car was shadow in his
sixties with short silver hair. He has a sort of
gentle look on his face, like someone who would smile
and nod as he passes you by. Ganilo doesn't have
legal status. We are not using his full name or
any identifying information at his request because he fears retaliation
in his case. Moving forward, Ganilo was taken by Ice
(01:17):
about a month ago at his job detailing cars.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
It all happened so fast.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
He says Bennett, In a.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
Matter of minutes.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
He and seven of his coworkers were detained, handcuffed, and
shoved into white vans with out of state plates. He
was worried scared.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Porque gave.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
A video from that incident was posted on TikTok. In it,
you can see ICE agents dressed in what looks like
green army like uniforms.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Most are wearing sunglasses and masks. DA The car wash
has three ways to get.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
In and out, and Gandido says I had blocked all
three openings.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Some markers wanted to run, but there was no.
Speaker 6 (02:05):
Way out Momente Calamos and Cinema.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Ice agents took everyone's cell phones right away. Telephone better,
but the ICE officers didn't notice Gandido's Apple Watch graa.
Speaker 7 (02:26):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
That's the only way he was able to contact his family.
He only had a few numbers memorized, so he called
his niece mussetto whom he lives with.
Speaker 8 (02:38):
He was able to call me, so he's like, oh,
I'm being detained.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
They're here.
Speaker 8 (02:42):
It's like nine or ten of us. They took everything
from us. And I told him, how are you calling me?
Like how is this possible? He's like, my Apple Watch
don't speak loud. I'm like, oh, that's fine. And I
did tell him it doesn't matter how bad they treat you.
What they tell you do not sign anything.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Don't sign anything. Since the increase in ICE raids, immigrant
rights groups have been saying this across the country. People
have been sharing this and WhatsApp groups. Don't sign anything,
don't open the door unless you see a warrant. For
the last few months, Lusetto, her husband and their children
have all been watching out for their Pio Candido.
Speaker 8 (03:23):
So I would always tell him if something ever happens,
like you have rights.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
That cloudy morning in June, Lusetto's phone rang.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
It was her uncle.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
He was calling from his Apple Watch. He had been taken.
Speaker 8 (03:39):
I couldn't believe it. We just talked about it, like
in your detained, Like what am I going to do?
Like how am I going to help you?
Speaker 5 (03:49):
I can't. I don't know how I'm going to.
Speaker 8 (03:52):
But I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
From Fudre Media, it's Latino USA. I'm Maria Josa today
Gandhido's story. What happens after an ICE rate? Later, I
speak to cal Matters reporter said, here almost will update
us on a one of a kind crowdsourcing project revealing
how ICE is specifically targeting Latino and Latina communities.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
But first, here's.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Latino USA producer Monica Moreles Garcia again to continue with
Gandido's story.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Hours had passed since Gandido was taken by Ice. It
was nighttime and he still hadn't had anything to eat
or drink.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Guando mourto at eleven pm, Ice agents gave him a
burrito and that's it.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
At least he thinks it was around eleven PM, because
officers eventually took.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
His watch.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Central Ortlanto. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
The next day, Gannilo was transferred to the notoriously brutal
detention center in the small desert town of Atlanto, California,
about a two hour drive from Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
The perma.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
At the beginning of twenty twenty five, there were only
three detainees at the Adelanto Ice Processing Center.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Yeah. Three.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
That's because advocates and congressional members had been working for
years to close down the privately run facility. Since the
LA raids in June, twelve hundred people have been detained there.
When Gandilo got to the jail like facility, it was
placed in a room with around one hundred other men.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
Louise Tolia, Elia Conditional and them.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
The air conditioner was on full blast and the bright
lights never turned off, they only dimmed slightly at night.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Flora ye.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Gano says it was so cold people got sick. He
felt like he'd been kidnapped. He was at the mercy
of agents who would retaliate against anyone who spoke up. Yeah,
I said, he calls the agents there racist. With ganiito
(06:29):
and detention, Lusetto wasn't wasting one second. She needed her
uncle to be released, so she began researching who did
she need to talk to, and she came across an
organization called Clean car Wash.
Speaker 8 (06:43):
They said that they specialized on helping car washers and
that they were going to try to do everything in
their power to help us out.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Clean car Wash is a worker center based in Los Angeles,
which until recently focused on providing shadows with trade edge
and support and fighting for lost wages.
Speaker 7 (07:03):
With everything you know that has been happening and everything
that started the first weekend of June, we had to
pivot and shift to providing support to car wash workers
and the families of those that have been impacted by
federal agencies going into car washes and kidnapping people from work.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
This is Andrea Gonzalez, Deputy director of Clean car Wash.
Speaker 7 (07:28):
When the raid happened at Gandilo's car wash, you know,
we reached out to the manager and thankfully the manager
provided us information about the workers that had been abducted
that day, and then that's how we got to meet Lusetto.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
The organization took it from there. They got legal representation
for Gandido and as for a bond hearing in front
of an immigration judge.
Speaker 7 (07:54):
Our role was to essentially let them know that they
were not alone because our organization, along with other worker
centers in Los Angeles, mobilized to create a legal fund.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Why are car washers specifically being targeted?
Speaker 7 (08:10):
So we know that over fifty eight car washes were
rated in the last month. We recognize that car wash
workers are vulnerable because they're out in the open air,
and we have also learned that workers themselves can recognize
that they were being surveillance. You know. Also, they're being
targeted because it's a predominantly Latino immigrant workforce, and we
(08:33):
think that they are assuming that all of those workers
don't have legal status because of the color of their skip.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Yeah, Andrea tells me, in most cases, once workers get
taken by ice, they don't make it out.
Speaker 7 (08:50):
Unfortunately, a lot of the workers were deported by the
time we got to them. It was too late. They
didn't make the phone call or they couldn't make a uncle.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Some of Gandhilo's co workers have already been deported to
Watemala and Mexico, he says, and others are still detained waiting.
Out of all the cases, Clean car Wash is supporting
Gandilo is the only one who's been released. He was
let go on bond under strict conditions. I visited Gando
(09:27):
at his home last weekend. He showed me his left inkle.
He had on an inkle monitor.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
In monitors.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
I was kind of shocked. The inkle monitor was bulkier
than I expected and heavier than he thought it would be.
Speaker 7 (09:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Ganido is home with Lucetto. His location is monitored twenty
four seven and he can't go back to work at
the car wash. But at least he's home.
Speaker 8 (10:11):
We're still fighting, we're fighting for legal status. He still
continues having the same support of the lawyer, so she's
working on his case.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
We're hoping for a good outcome. Misolina, my niece did
everything possible. That's why I'm here, he says.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
You could say Gandilo is one of the lucky ones
he had timing on his side. See days after Gannido's
bond went through, the Trump administration declared that immigrants who
arrive in the United States without proper documentation are no
longer eligible for a bond hearing as they fight deportation proceedings.
Speaker 8 (10:54):
So that means millions of people are unlikely to be.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Entitled to bond hearings.
Speaker 9 (10:59):
And then of course that raised his questions the prison
system and the capacity. This is millions of people we're
talking about.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Over the last eight weeks, almost three thousand people have
been arrested for not being US citizens. According to legal experts,
these raids violate the Constitution because, as they explain, human
rights are afforded to people based on their personhood, not
their citizenship.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
That was Latin New USA producer Monica Morales garcim. We're
going to take a quick break, and when we come back,
I'll speak with cal Matter's investigative reporter said here almost
he's going to talk about a new map that exposes
just how racist and targeted these raids are.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Stay with us, don't yes, Hey, we're back.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
And before the break, you heard the story of Gandido,
a man who was taken by ICE while he was
at his car washing job. Now we're going to speak
with friend of the show and cal Matters reporter said
Hiro Ormos, who with the help of Evident Media and
Belling Cat, has mapped out the Department of Homeland Securities
(12:41):
actions since the ICE raids began in California in the spring.
Speaker 10 (12:47):
In total, over one hundred videos have been geolocated and verified,
displaying patterns of where DHS has focused their efforts, including
raids at over fifteen separate home depots.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
This is important because it's the most comprehensive map to
date of the raids. In a video, said he exposes
patterns that show where ICE has focused its actions, how
the agency has been using excessive force, and how agents
have been detaining people on private property without warrants. The
(13:20):
video which we're playing in this conversation also includes an
interview with Greg Bovino. He's an official with the Border
Patrol who's been leading the raids in the area.
Speaker 10 (13:30):
I think the general public does see a difference between
the palato or the silitrus worker and the fentanyl dealer
that they are not both on the same field.
Speaker 9 (13:38):
If they cross the border illegally, then they're coming with us.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
They are under arrest and they're coming with us.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
And they need to lave and they need to leave
right now.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Sed Heo, welcome back to Latin you USA. Thank you
so much for having me, and thank you for this reporting,
because in a moment like this, what you're basically doing
is deconstructing ICE and DHS and their strategies and letting viewers, readers,
listeners see for themselves. Explain to our listeners why is
(14:10):
it important to be doing this kind of data collection
and then putting it all together to be able to
basically say, this is what ICE and Border Patrol are
doing every day.
Speaker 10 (14:20):
If you're in Los Angeles on Instagram, even if you're
not following it, you're seeing videos of people being taken
by Immigration of agents. You know, I think we all
suspect what it looks like. But when you actually see
it on a map and you see fifteen separate home
depots and you see them spread across Los Angeles, you
see the scale of it, but it's been verified by
a team of professionals, then there leaves no doubt it's
happening all over the place and it's not rumors. I mean,
(14:41):
there's very good websites and they try their best to
verify it. But you know, I was even shocked, and
I work on this all day every day. Mass agents
pull up quickly, they jump out of unmarked vans or trucks.
They wear blue jeans or battle fatigues. They approach Latino
men at times yelling and carry assault rifles. When someone runs,
(15:02):
they're taken. When they don't answer a question, they're taken.
When they can't produce papers, they're taken.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
So why is it important to be able to provide
this kind of information to the people out there?
Speaker 10 (15:19):
Because the federal government has been so intentional about carrying
out these operations, with mass on, with not giving out
information when journalists ask for it, with not being transparent,
there's a lot of rumors and there's a lot of
people on the street talking about things that are scary
and not verified. I think outside of Los Angeles, the
news and the understanding of what these raids look like
hasn't really been communicated. Well, if you're in La you
(15:39):
go walk down the street and there was no taco stands,
whether he was there's a lot less people stores. I
just went to a kind city on Saturday and it
had a picture that said, if you're an immigration agent,
you have to have a sign warrant. I mean, I'd
never seen that before. And there's all kinds of these
signs everywhere. It's like this whole city has changed. It's
important for journalists to be able to like put out
information accurate and say, hey, look we kind of got
(16:02):
the breath of this. Here's some perspective. And it's the largest,
first open source examination of the raids in a way
that is not disputable.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Right.
Speaker 10 (16:11):
No one can look at that map and say, hey,
this didn't happen, because every single point on that map
has the video link to it, has been verified, and
we've actually released that map, so anybody in the public
can actually download it, look at it. It's all kind
of show your work. And so again with how scary
this is, with mass men going up to places not
announcing their raids, I think it's important for people to
rely on someone to say, like, this is the current
(16:33):
pace and scale of things.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Right and based on actual fact, So said here, how
did you and your colleagues get the information.
Speaker 10 (16:44):
Yeah, there's a lot of divisional labor here. You know,
evidence makes these documentary journalisms. I'm a reporter, so basically
I just talked to people all day long. Belling Cat
is a investigative collective where they do open source investigations.
All that means is anything that's available in public, any
video on social media, anything that they can get online
they can examine. And what they do. They found videos
(17:05):
online they were viral and some sources passed them to me.
I sent it to them, and they very meticulously made
sure that the video was authentic, for making sure a
lamppost is in the right spot, calling the person and
looking at the metadata. But again, it takes a team
of journalists to do stuff like this.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
And because you're an Angelino, you can kind of tell
us like things have changed. Is it too much to
say that La has changed dramatically over the past several weeks.
Speaker 10 (17:31):
The change is so apparent and visceral. The streets had
a different character during the raids. The conversation all around
the city was about this. And it's quite offensive to
treat the city of Los angelesic and biggest city in America,
as occupied territory and to be treating it like it's
a war zone.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
We'll be right back mont de Boy. Yes, Hey, we're back.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
And here's the rest of my conversation with Cal Matters
reporter Serrie Ormos, who's going to talk about how much
LA has changed since a federal judge put a stop
to the ice raids as they were happening in June.
Speaker 9 (18:20):
This is a significant court victory for the City of
Los Angeles, seven other LA County cities. Immigrant rights groups
and the ACLU argued that Immigration and Customs enforcement has
been engaging in racial profiling.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Can you talk a little bit more about this?
Speaker 10 (18:37):
Injunction, they wanted the judge to issue the stop to
the raids while they litigate the case, and it's kind
of like emergency action, and basically what the plaint is,
what the ACLU was arguing was, Hey, these guys, these
orbital guys are running up to car washes, they're running
up to home depots, and they're just grabbing guys that
look like Latino. Now that we've had this temporary restraining
(18:58):
order by the Central District, LA seems like it's coming
back to life. I was just at a Latino grocery
store that was just absolutely full to the brim and
I was thinking like the last few weeks, I haven't
really seen something like this, Like people have not really
been going out, but now the temporary restraining order has
a real effect. I mean LA feels especially this week
and felt like life was just injected into it again.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
And you have NGOs working together with the cities to
come together in these lawsuits. I mean, this is pretty
it's pretty extraordinary, Am I right?
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Said he absolutely.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
I don't think I've ever seen it.
Speaker 10 (19:32):
Usually it's an advocacy or challenging the city or the county.
You don't see them on the same side. I've never
seen them on the same side. I mean, it was
a pretty incredible and federal court to see the advocates
and all these representatives from the different municipalities. It is
pretty heartwarming to see that the City of Los Angeles,
the county, the neighboring cities are all on the same
page with these you know, the People's Council that ACLU,
(19:52):
this case is brought forth by way, the farm workers,
They're all on the same side arguing against this. It's
so rare to see that who is going against that,
you know, it's the Trump Administration's Department Hold Security.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
So said here.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
When we're covering these stories on the ground, oftentimes there
is you know, a person, a moment, a story that
you kind of hold on to that kind of again
grounds us in why are we doing what we're doing.
Is there a story that you've been holding on to
as you manage a situation in your city that doesn't
seem to be going away anytime soon.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 10 (20:28):
I talked to one guy who was taken at work
and he was deported within the week, and I asked
him why, when he was in attention in Texas, why
he signed the voluntary deportation PAPERORGS. Why didn't he just
kind of stay there try to get a lawyer. And
he said, very simply, well, I have a family. I
need to work. And he's like, I'm not going to
be here for seven months, Like I'm going to go
back to Mexico and I'll try to make it work there,
(20:50):
but I need to provide for my family.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
It's a matter of fact about it.
Speaker 10 (20:53):
And I just thought I want to adopt a little
bit more of that in my life, Like, there's going
to be tough times, but my job is to be
a journalist. I'm not going to be catatonic when something
bad happens. I want to keep, you know, my mind
sharp and work the problem. And there's a resiliency that
I'm seeing and people who are taken deported, and that
resiliency is something that even I just think immigrants have
(21:15):
so much resiliency already, and even when they're deported, like
I'm seeing them not put their heads down. And just
like right now, some of the people who interviewed are
in Chiapas, Mexico City, working like they have not stopped
working since even now that they're in Mexico.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
It leads me to my last question for you said here,
which is actually about you.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
What keeps you optimistic these days?
Speaker 10 (21:40):
If I ever feel down, there's so much stories just
in my history of you know, both my parents grew
up without running water or electricity, and so I'm optimistic
every day about the resiliency by immigrants.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I would say there's a saying in Mexican Spanish Levas
which means this is absolutely gonna backfire on Trump dar
del temprano sooner or later. And I think the pendulum
is going to swing absolutely in another direction in terms
of immigrants.
Speaker 10 (22:08):
The reality is, if you look at the Gallipolo just
came out nearly eighty percent of people support immigration.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
It's highest it's ever recorded.
Speaker 10 (22:15):
And I'm not the only one who's looking at all
this and saying this is not the American way, right.
And I learned that people can go through a lot
of things if they go through it together, you can
bounce back very quickly from really tough times if you're
not the only one going through it. I mean, people
here care. And there was immediately outpoint of people, you know,
(22:35):
thousands of people in the streets of Los Angeles saying
that they do not approve of what's going on. I
think there's a lot of reasons to be optimistic. People
are not indifferent, and that gives me energy.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
That's what makes you a great journalist.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
At you almost thank you so much for joining us
again and being a friend of Latin USA.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
We appreciate it. Thanks for your reporting, and we'll continue
to check in with you.
Speaker 10 (22:58):
I'm so happy to be a friend of Thank you
so much.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
This episode was produced by Monica Morales Garcia and edited
by our managing editor Fernanda Echavari. It was mixed by
Stephane Laboude and J. J. Carubin fat checking for this
episode by Roxana Aguire special thanks to Marta Martinez.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
The Latino USA team.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Also includes Julia Caruso, Jessica Elis, Victoria Strada, Renaldo Leanos Junior,
Andrea Lopez Gruzado, Louis Luna Rori, mad Marquez, Julieta Martinelli
and Nancy Truquillo.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Our intern is Diego.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Perdomo, Benni, Lee Ramirez and I are co executive producers
and I'm your host Mariano Hossak. Latino USA is part
of iHeart Spiku Dura podcast Network. Executive producers that I
heard are Leo Gomez and Arlene Santana. Join us again,
dear listener, on our next episode. In the meantime, I'll
see you on all of our social media and remember
it's so easy. Just join Fudua Plus. You'll listen at
(24:10):
free and get bonus episodes and special behind the scenes stuff.
By joining, you'll support the kind of reporting that makes
episodes like this one possible. So thank you io.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment,
building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for more than fifty years,
advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
A better world at Hewlett dot org and funding for
Latino usa is.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Coverage of a culture of Health is made possible, in
part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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