Southwest Denver. I grew up here. My house (before our lives were destroyed by ICE) was in the heart of Ruby Hill, my favorite neighborhood in Denver. Ruby Hill is a place where all minorities are welcome, but is especially known for its Latino and Asian populations.
This was an April morning in 2018, driving my girls to school, we were just a couple blocks from home. I noticed several unmarked police type vehicles surrounding an older Honda. As we drove by I noticed there were 6, yes S-I-X, GIGANTIC men in ICE vests roughing up a Hispanic man who was half their size.
I could feel the adrenaline rushing to my throat as my left index finger found the button to roll the driver side window down I yelled, “YOU’RE A**HOLES!!”
One of the agents leaned down and looked into the window, through me, at my teenage daughter and made the *crazy* gesture then pointed to me.
I was driving off, but couldn’t stop thinking about how they were treating that man. I turned back around. My girls got panicky, Cilla, my oldest said, “Mom, what are you doing?” I said, “No matter what happens just stay in the car.”
I got out of my car, walked across the street and stood in the middle of the chaos, with my phone-camera recording, while screaming “I’d RATHER BE CRAZY THAN A RACIST PRICK! I bet your mother is SUPER proud of you officer SAN-CHEZ” (briefly glancing at the officer’s badge) who, in essence, had the NERVE to call me crazy!
Coincidentally, the very minute they saw my camera phone facing their way, they began to handle the gentleman much more calmly and wouldn’t even look me in the eye. It was as though I was invisible.
ICE agents aren’t afraid to rough people up for no reason, as long as there is nobody to protect the undocumented person, or be a witness.
ICE agents are not required to wear body cams, and often make sure there is no citizen witnesses when they arrest their victim’s. They are supposed to follow civil procedures but rarely do. They feel very empowered while roughing undocumented people up, treating them as though they are less than human, cuffing them, and throwing them in the back of an SUV.
We have two videos from that day; one of the officers and that poor man being taken away, and the one my daughter took of me cursing out ICE agents, her giggling, because I am 5’3” cursing out huge ICE agents, while her little sister is crying in the background “Mama! Don’t get killed by those ugly guys!”
When I got back into the car and drove off, I released a huge breath, said to my daughters, “oh my God, do NOT tell your Nana I just did that, she would freak out. But also know, white privilege is to be used to protect those who are not in safe positions. If I were not white, that could have gone very badly.”
