A neighborhood in Los Angeles wants to employ sirens to warn local residents and business owners that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are present.
The Highland Park Community Support group told KTLA that it would like to crowdfund for the purchase of air raid sirens as a warning to local residents.
“We’d like to ultimately have this along all the different streets so they can take shelter,” said Amanda Alcalde, creator of the group. “I’ve seen a lot of fear in people’s eyes. I don’t see a lot of our ethnic minorities out in the day to day. It’s big change. It feels dystopian in a way.”
Alcalde said the group hopes to install the sirens later this month, adding that they will be installed on private property as opposed to city-owned spaces. Questions of them being a noise ordinance issue have not been addressed.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that those air raid sirens were used in London when German planes flew over, calling the move “insane.”
“The residents of Highland Park want to buy an air raid siren—the same device that was used in London when German planes flew over—to alert the community about ICE,” she said. “Seems like a public nuisance!”
Group member David Trujillo told KTLA that the group will avoid obstructing ICE agents during enforcement.
“We don’t directly get ourselves involved with ICE, but we will get involved in protecting the community to stay in their office or home,” said Trujillo.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed an executive order prohibiting federal agents from using city property to conduct operations. The order also requires the LAPD to activate body cameras when interacting with ICE agents.
“What we have seen in all of our districts is ICE go and attempt to stage at various properties, public or private,” Bass said. “It instructs LAPD officers to preserve all evidence related to immigration enforcement activities so that it can be reported.”
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