880: What Is Your Emergency?

Summary

Podcast Summary: This American Life – Episode 880: "What Is Your Emergency?"

Original Air Date: February 1, 2026
Host: Ira Glass

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Overview

This episode dives into the chaos and confusion wrought by the new landscape of immigration enforcement in America. Through the lens of real 911 calls, reporting, and firsthand accounts, "What Is Your Emergency?" paints a vivid portrait of communities grappling with the sudden, sometimes violent presence of federal agents in everyday spaces—from hospitals and hotels to grocery stores and even Home Depot parking lots. The episode explores how local police, federal agents, and ordinary people struggle to understand their roles and rights in this evolving situation, often turning to 911 for help—only to find that no one seems to know what to do.

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Key Themes & Segments

The Arrival of ICE and Border Patrol in Everyday Life

• Timestamps: 00:37 – 09:37
• Context: Following massive federal immigration operations across U.S. cities, local reporters and citizens began requesting and listening to 911 calls to capture the scale and tactics of these raids.
• Insights:
  • 911 calls reveal people’s everyday lives repeatedly disrupted by ICE and Border Patrol.
  • Agents use unmarked vehicles, disguises (posing as exterminators, contractors), and aggressive tactics—even in hospitals and hotels.
  • Both immigrants and citizens feel the impact, with many unsure where to turn for help.

Notable Quotes:

• Narrator: “The picture that you get in these calls…is different from the videos we’ve all been seeing online and in the news. The videos capture individual incidents…These 911 calls…are like a portrait of a country where ICE officers and Border Patrol agents are spreading everywhere, all sorts of run-of-the-mill locations.” (01:49)
• 911 Caller: “I’m a US citizen, and I was just going to a grocery store and they start tear gassing the whole street. It’s ridiculous. Like, are we in the freaking war?” (04:33)

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911 as the Last Resort—Confusion and Inadequacy

• Timestamps: 09:37 – 22:50
• Context: The episode showcases a series of 911 calls that highlight the confusion experienced by both callers and dispatchers as people attempt to report ICE activity.
• Discussion Points:
  • Dispatchers often don’t know how to respond or help, repeatedly asking if callers need ambulances.
  • Callers plead for protection against federal agents, sometimes in the midst of violence or detainment.
  • Local police are often unable or unwilling to intervene, leaving citizens feeling abandoned.
• Notable Moments:
  • A man asks a dispatcher: “Next time, if they kidnap me, what do I do?”; dispatcher has no clear answer (07:31).
  • A 911 call where a US citizen requests help after ICE agents smash his car windows and detain him—only to have the dispatcher explain there’s little they can do (16:23).

• Summary Quote:
  • Narrator: “One thing that hits you when you listen to these 911 calls is this feeling like nobody’s going to come save you. Superman’s not going to show up, the cavalry’s not going to come in.” (20:03)

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Federal Agents Call 911, Too

• Timestamps: 22:50 – 28:29
• Key Points:
  • ICE and Border Patrol officers also use 911—for filing accident reports, reporting thefts, or calling for help with crowds during operations.
  • Sometimes, agents manipulate 911 to get local police support, even lying about incidents to create a record in their favor.
  • In several documented instances, videos contradict the agents’ claims, exposing abuses of power.
• Memorable Example:
  • Oxnard, CA: ICE agents deliberately ram an activist’s truck, then falsely claim to 911 that they were “backed into” and are in “active pursuit.” (26:07)

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Escalating Tactics and Eroding Rights

• Timestamps: 28:29 – 32:41
• Background & Analysis:
  • The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration mandate has dramatically expanded budgets and manpower for ICE.
  • Training time for new agents was slashed; recruitment ads used extremist slogans.
  • Supreme Court and DHS policy changes have eroded civil rights protections—agents can racially profile and now even enter homes without a judge’s order.
  • Stephen Miller (architect of new policy) tells ICE:

    "You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. And anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.” (28:05 – 28:15)

  • This federal immunity, lack of local oversight, and militarized tactics have led to protests, violence, and even fatalities.

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Tragic Consequences: Violence Against Civilians

• Timestamps: 28:35 – 33:20
• Notable Story:
  • The shooting of Marimar Martinez, a US citizen shot by ICE agents while warning neighbors about ongoing raids. She survived, but the government accused her of terrorism—a charge later dropped after body cam evidence and bragging texts by the Border Patrol officer came to light.
  • Statistics: Thirteen civilians shot by immigration agents since the start of sweeps; two fatalities, most accused by agents of "not complying."
• Quote from Officer's Texts:
  • “I fired five rounds and she had seven holes. Put that in your book, boys.” (31:00)

Community and Police Response

• Key Moment:
  • West St. Paul police chief, when asked what to do if ICE breaks the law:

    "I don't know. I don't have answers for you on a lot of things. They have a different playbook…our officers aren’t trained in." (32:32)

  • His only advice: "Call 911. We will be there… I know it’s not what you want to hear…but yeah, it’s a difficult situation." (33:00)
  • Emotional Tone: Even public officials are at a loss.

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Act 2: There’s No Place Like Home Depot

• Timestamps: 35:01 – 46:48
• Reporter: Anianci Diaz Cortez
• Setting: Home Depot parking lots in Los Angeles—major sites of recurring ICE raids.
• Stories & Insights:
  • Detailed look at ‘El Centro’ safe zone for day laborers, its frontline defenders, and how community members have adapted to survive.
  • Both security guard Daniel Jimenez and organizer Joshua Erazo describe the harrowing moments of trying to get workers to safety during sudden raids.
  • The ethical dilemmas—risking more people vs. protecting a few—play out in real time, akin to the "trolley problem."
• Notable Quotes:
  • Daniel Jimenez (security guard): “You just hear people screaming, screaming ‘migra, migra’. And then it almost feels like a stampede…” (39:36)
  • Joshua Erazo (community organizer): “I just felt like shit. I felt like I failed him…you in essence being like, no, like, I’m not gonna grab your hand.” (43:22)
  • On learning to adapt: “He calls him El Monstro de la Puerta—the Monster of the Door, which is new. This didn’t used to be a place that needed a monster at the door.” (46:08)

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Act 3: Memo to the Future

• Timestamps: 46:48 – 57:47
• Reporter: Mickey Meek
• Subject: Memo Torres of LA TACO
• Segment Highlights:
  • Memo Torres, a former landscaper-turned-food-writer, now documents raids and abductions in LA via his “Daily Memo” video archive for the community and legal teams.
  • The Daily Memo aims to bring order and record-keeping to the chaotic cascade of abuses—documenting locations, tactics, and patterns.
  • Reflection on History: Comparing today’s militarized, masked raids to 1950s deportations (Operation Wetback): “There are no chains or shackles. There’s no military gear. There’s no rifles. Look like Barney Fife right there.” (56:53)
  • The project is designed to ensure these records are preserved for future reckoning and justice.

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Memorable Final Moments & Tone

• Musical Interlude: (58:05) - Joshua Erazo sings: “I got a feeling that I ain’t felt before…The world I knew and kind of love just walked right out the door.”
• Ira Glass closes (with a note of unresolved, collective unease): “We’ll be back next week with more stories of this American life.” (60:01)

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Notable Quotes At A Glance

• Ira Glass: "What we hear in these 911 calls is people in real time doing what so many of us are doing, not quite believing what’s happening right in front of them, not sure what to do or what can be done." (08:21)
• ICE Agent (calling 911): “He backed into us, and he’s fleeing from us, and he’s causing an insane safety hazard to this entire area.” (26:07 – later proven a lie)
• Memo Torres: "People are like, 'Oh Memo, we don’t want you to burn out.' I’m like, I burn out every day." (50:25)

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Key Takeaways

• Federal immigration enforcement has flooded American cities, radically altering the role of 911 and local police.
• Citizens—both immigrant and native-born—are left in limbo, forced to navigate unprecedented encounters with federal agents with little guidance, protection, or recourse.
• Ground-level organizations, journalists, and community members have stepped up to document abuses and create pockets of safety—even as the ground keeps shifting.
• The episode is a snapshot of a historical moment, capturing confusion, resilience, heartbreak, and an urgent search for accountability.

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Recommended Listening Order

• First Segment (00:37 – 09:37): Sets context with real calls and reporting—essential to understand the stakes.
• Charlotte to Chicago Calls (13:08 – 28:29): Illustrative escalation—listen to these to feel the chaos up close.
• Home Depot/Community Resistance (35:01 – 46:48): Offers hope, ethical conflict, and adaptation on the ground.
• Memo’s Archive (46:48 – 57:47): Perspective on documentation, history, and the importance of memory.

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For those who haven’t listened, this summary offers a complete walkthrough of Episode 880, giving you the context, notable moments, and emotional texture of a country in the throes of transformation and trauma.

Transcript

[Ira Glass]

Support for this American life comes from Schwab. At Schwab, how you invest is your choice, not theirs. That's why when it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices. You can invest and trade on your own. Plus get advice and more comprehensive wealth solutions to help meet your unique needs. With award winning service, low costs and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more. A quick Warning There are curse words that are unbeeped in today's episode of the show. If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website thisamericanlife.org.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Back when federal immigration agents launched big operations in North Carolina, this is back in the middle of November. One of the things that local reporters did to get a sense of what ICE and Border Patrol were doing, the scope of it, the kinds of things they were up to, was that they requested 911 calls.

[911 Dispatcher]

Charlie, 911. Do you need police, fire or medic?

[Narrator/Reporter]

When the city releases these to reporters, they alter the voices a little to protect people's identities. This woman saying that all morning these black vans have been showing up at her building pretending to be exterminators so that people will open their doors and she thinks they're ICE and everybody's scared. There have been reports from around the country of immigration agents pretending to be contractors or utility workers or police to trick people and then nab them. And the dispatcher does not know what to do with this.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, so what did you need police assistance with? Did you just want us to know that this is happening in your neighborhood, ma'? Am?

[Narrator/Reporter]

The woman says no. She wants the police to come because people are intimidated. It's private property. And how is it okay to say they're exterminators when they're not? The picture that you get from these 911 calls, Ryan Orley and Julia Coyne collected them for the Charlotte Observer. Jim Daley did it at the south side Weekly at Chicago. We requested some ourselves. The picture that you get in these calls of immigration officers is different from the videos we've all been seeing online and in the news. The videos capture individual incidents, right? Viral moments. They're often combative or violent. These 911 calls have that sometimes. But they're also something else. Together, they're like a portrait of a country where ICE officers and Border Patrol agents are spreading everywhere, all sorts of run of the mill locations. This new presence that everybody's bumping into so many of the Calls are people who are not targeted by ice, but just calling to say they're here getting in the way of daily life.

[911 Dispatcher]

Hello? Hello, this is 911 teaching police via medics. Police, Police. What address do you need? Police at University City Emergency Department. We're in the er. Okay, what's going on out there? Yeah, we have a bunch of self declared ICE agents here who are interfering with patient care and we need them removed. And how many would you say are there? Six. Okay, and are they in the ER right now? Yeah, they're literally in the room with me. Okay. Okay. And do they have any weapons that you can see? Yep. You guys just come to the er. We can show you who they are. What is the address? They need to police Holiday Inn Express to avoid corporate drive. Is this referencing a specific room number? No, we have a big bus parked out there. They're not staying at the hotel. I don't know who they are. I don't know if they're ICE agents or what they are, but they're hovering around and making my guests uncomfortable, along with employees. So I want them off my property. It's my property and someone needs to inform them of that. So they should not be inside of my hotel. They should not be parked at my hotel without any sort of payment. It's my personal property. I'm paying the property taxes for it, not them. Chicago Mercy Pippin, 91 1. Yes, hi. I just geogassed the whole street by Rico. Fresh on Armitage and Drake. And I was just. I'm a US citizen, and I was just going to a grocery store and they start tear gas in the whole street. It's ridiculous. Like, are we in the freaking war?

[Narrator/Reporter]

This is from Chicago, from when it was flooded with federal agents during Operation Midway Blitz. Hundreds of immigration agents all around the city arresting thousands of people.

[911 Dispatcher]

Wait, what's the address again? It's by rico. Fresh on. Army Surgeon Drake. Army Surgeon Drake. Why are they doing that? Who gives them the right to do this? All right, anybody need an ambulance, ma'? Am? No, no one needs the ambulance, but you need to be aware of the things. Like, you can't just do that. When I was walking to the grocery store and they jerked out and everyone. ICE agents, you said? Yes, it was ICE agents in unmarked cars wearing the uniforms. Unmarked, covering their faces. I just want you to be aware of the fact that I don't know if you can arrest anyone. All right, and you say nobody needs an ambulance right now, though, right? No, I'm fine. I'm still Gonna walk home.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That call maybe. You notice the dispatcher struggling to figure out exactly what to do for this woman. Does she need an ambulance? She keeps asking. It's unclear in a bunch of these calls what 911 can do to help. And in the calls, you hear both sides, the dispatchers and the callers as they try to figure it out in real time in this entirely new situation they both find themselves in, where people are calling local police to do something about federal agents.

[911 Dispatcher]

I need you guys to come here right now. On Grace and Kildare. There's US Border patrol and they're throwing bombs and they're fucking hitting US Citizens. They just knocked out a young lady with a bike. What the is going on? Here's the paramedics for her. Do you think she needs paramedics? They're taking her. Why are they taking her? Do you think she needs paramedics, sir? Yes, they need paramedics. Hold on one moment. Hold on.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The dispatcher then transfers to the fire department to get a paramedic as he stays on the line.

[911 Dispatcher]

How can I help you? I need the cops here now. Is there someone hurting her? Is there someone injured? I think he hung up. Fire. He said they were throwing bombs and hurting bombs.

[Memo Torres]

Yeah.

[911 Dispatcher]

I'll try to call back. Okay.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I should say for most of these calls, we can verify the basics of what happened through videos or local reporting or other sources. Though there were a handful where all we have is the call. Like this next one, a man called 911 with this stumper. He says masked men stopped him and asked him for his ID and violated his rights and damaged his phone. His question for 911 is, next time, if they kidnap me, what do I do?

[911 Dispatcher]

And if I did kick map, what do I do? Who do I call? If you get kidnapped, you can call 91 1. Okay, but you're not currently being kidnapped, correct? No, but I could. Okay, I hear you. So basically, it's just people with masks. Then I can defend myself. Can I bring my daughter and defend myself?

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's a little hard to hear. He's saying, if it's people with masks, can I defend myself? Can I bring my gun and defend myself?

[911 Dispatcher]

So what are the situations? I can't advise you on anything legal. I'm not an officer or a lawyer. But I can have officers reach out to you and talk more about this? Yes, please do that.

[Narrator/Reporter]

From WBC Chicago, this is American Life. I'm Ira Glass. So here we all are. Federal officers shooting American citizens, killing two in Minneapolis. What we hear in these 911 calls is people in real time doing what so many of us are doing, not quite believing what's happening right in front of them, not sure what to do or what can be done. And in this case, calling the place that you're supposed to call when there's an emergency, saying, there is one right here. Today on our program, we have more of these calls. You'll hear people with 911 on the line as ice is chasing them, trying to puzzle out their next moves. And you'll hear a bunch of other people trying to outplay armed federal officers in this new version of America that we all find ourselves in. Stay with. This message comes from Capital One. Capital One offers checking accounts with no fees or minimums. What's in your wallet terms apply. See capitalone.combank for details. Capital One NA Member FDIC support for.

[Ira Glass]

This American Life comes from Mint Mobile Feeling like you've got a big spending hangover after the holidays this January. Quote Quit overspending on wireless with a limited time offer of 50% off unlimited premium [e-mail] American upfront payment of $45 for 3 months, $90 for 6 months, or $180 for 12 months. Taxes and fees Extra initial plan term only above 50gb network may slow when busy Availability, speed and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com support for this American Life comes from Capella University. Sometimes it takes a different approach to pursue your goals. Capella is an online university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. That means you can earn your degree from wherever you are and be confident your education is relevant and recognized. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more about earning a relevant degree at Capella. Edu.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Cis American Life Act 1 what is the nature of your emergency? So before we jump back into more 911 calls, it seems worth saying a word about how we got to this point that people around the country are calling local law enforcement about the presence of federal law enforcement. Okay, so last year, the Trump administration, hoping to deliver on his campaign promise of mass deportations, it tripled ICE's budget, giving them more money than any federal law enforcement agency. And DHS rapidly hired lots of new enforcement officers. 12,000, they claim, more than doubling its workforce. The Trump administration cut the training time for these new agents in half to 47 days, a number chosen reportedly because Trump is the 47th president. Now they say the training is 42 days. To recruit these agents, DHS ads were all about protecting the homeland and repelling Foreign invaders. They used a lot of white nationalist slogans and memes. Google that if you're curious. It's shocking. And, you know, who knows how many people like that actually signed up. I'm bringing this up because all of that set a certain tone for the agency. This was the new fists out agro coming for you branding of our immigration enforcement. And the White House really, really wants them to deliver. The architect of Donald Trump's immigration policy, Stephen Miller, kind of famously berated DHS officials last May and demanded they arrest 3,000 immigrants a day. A quota it is nowhere close to achieving. So that all sets the stage for the nationwide tour of American cities. The federal agents have been on for months, going from one city to the next. Los Angeles, then Chicago, then Charlotte, then Minneapolis, then New Orleans. Some of the operations got cutesy trolley names. Charlotte's Web, Catahoula Crunch, Catch of the day in Maine. And when they arrive in each city, in the calls that I want to play you right now in this act of the show, what's interesting is there are these little runs of calls that tell a story. When you listen to them in sequence, one after another after another, it's like you see the immigration agents roll through town on some particular afternoon or evening, moving down the block from corner to corner and spot to spot, leaving a little cloud of chaos each place they touch. We're gonna start with a whole bunch of calls from Charlotte that begin at 10:04 in the morning with a guy who's phoning 911 because ICE seems to be breaking the law. And 911 is the place you call to report somebody breaking the law. Right.

[911 Dispatcher]

Charlotte911. Do you need police, fire, or Mayday? I just want to select. We've got a Chevy Tahoe. It's definitely ice. They have their. They have their license plate. Like, it's covered. Like it's. It's like. I'm pretty sure that that's illegal. It's. It's all covered up. And he's backing into this corner right now. You say you believe his eyes? Oh, he's got a camera out right now. And they're in, like, tactical gear and everything. But what type of vehicle is he? It's a Chevy Tahoe. The numbers on the plate are, like, deliberately crossed out. And where are they at? I'm at North Tryon Street. I'm in the Kangaroo.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The Kangaroo's gas station, Mini mart.

[911 Dispatcher]

Like, I'm at a distance, but they're in the Kangaroo right now. Okay. Oh, here comes the cavalry. What do you mean? All the fucking ICE agents are coming in right now, and this guy's. It's. This guy's walking up to me. I don't have to roll down my window, do I? So you have the traffic light stop following us warning. I'm on the phone with 911, actually, because, you guys, this is your first warning to stop following us. And it's on camera. Your license plate is obstructed. You guys are on camera as well. We're on camera. First warning, stop following us. If you see you follow us, we're going to rescue for impeding. Impeding what? Good. You got all that, right? Yes. I'm not impeding anything. I'm just sitting over here. He said I was following him. I just drove into the. The gas station here. There's like. Oh, my God, there's like, eight trucks in here now. But my concern was the license plate that was deliberately crossed out. And then he's going to want to say that I was following him. And you heard him, like, how intimidating he was trying to be. So you just want me to have an office to call you? Yeah, that would be great.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Okay. So that's the first call in this set of calls. Seventeen minutes later, completely unrelated to that first guy. About a mile and a half away on the same road, North Tryon Street.

[911 Dispatcher]

I just had a car hit me. He just hit the back of my car. Okay, where are you? Oh, North Tryon. I'm right behind him. He's running away from me. He's a ICE detective. He just hit my car, and he just ran away. A detective hit your car? ICE Police control car. Oh, I hit your car? Yeah, he in my car right now. He's running away. All right, listen to me. I'm rushing not to follow.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I'd advise you not to follow the.

[911 Dispatcher]

Dispatcher saying just to keep yourself out of harm's way. No, I mean, they're not gonna do nothing to me. I'm American citizen. But it's just the fact that he hit my car and he's running away. I understand. Yeah, that's not. That's not going on right now. Right, right. Okay. What I will tell you is the officer's not gonna come and chase you guys out.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The officer is not going to come chase you guys down. In other words, you're on your own.

[911 Dispatcher]

True. Now they're following me where they're going. They point a gun at you. Yeah, Yeah, that's. That's just violating my right. He hit my car, and now they were Pointing guns at me. Yeah, and they just hit my car, too. I understand that. Where are you right now? Oh, no.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Try on this goes on for a little while. The dispatcher asking for a cross street. The guy doesn't know the cross street, and you hear pounding on his windows.

[911 Dispatcher]

Do you see an intersecting street where you are? Yes, sir. Where? I'm writing left in the intersection. Where intersection is that? University City? Yes, sir. Now. Right now you're hitting me with the car. That's a stone. Open the. Open the door. Open the. Open the door.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A while later, 911 gets this call about the same car in the same location. And the guy who was in the.

[Joshua Erazo]

Car.

[911 Dispatcher]

My cousin, has been abducted by ice and he's a US citizen, so I need help on how to proceed. And he is a US citizen, so we see where. What. What's going on with that. I thought. I thought that was just going to be. To detain immigrants that are not from here, not also US citizens. So you say he was kidnapped by ICE officials, Ma', Am, Did I hear you correct me? Yes, ma', am, it was. And I do have video footage.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Okay, ma', am, this dispatcher gets some more information and then pulls another person on the line to talk to the caller.

[911 Dispatcher]

I'm going to have an officer call you and talk to you about this. CMPD doesn't deal with immigration enforcement, so I'm not sure how we would proceed with that. We would like to know if the police can't help us, who can help us find our cousin? You know, who are we supposed to sign to for help? Right, right. I understand your concerns. I'm sorry you guys are going through this.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Okay, so a man gets pulled from his car. That was one call. Cousin looking for him. That's the next call. And then an hour after that, there's another call about the car that's sitting there, windows smashed in.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, what type of report are you trying to make? Damage report. What type of damage report would happen? So I don't really know as far as everything, but my cousin was stopped by ICE and they bashed the windows and I'm not sure why, if he's a US Citizen, but the car is under my name and he's a cosign, and we're both on the insurance and everything, but I need a police report as far as trying to see what. What the next steps are. All right, I have an intercal for service. We'll get officers out there as soon as we can.

[Narrator/Reporter]

An accident report. That's something the 911 operator knows how to do. The government later filed charges against the guy they pulled from the car. His name's Christobal Maltos. He's 24. Agents said that when his car moved, he hit an officer with his car mirror and then charged him with felony assault, resisting and impeding. A few weeks later, the DOJ dropped the charges. One thing that hits you when you listen to these 911 calls is this feeling like nobody's going to come save you. Superman's not going to show up, the cavalry's not going to come in. The police aren't going to be there. The police aren't going to come because local police won't interfere with federal immigration officers doing their jobs. You hear operators telling that to callers. And you also hear them say, can you just get out of there? Or can you just play along? For instance, here's another call. We're in the same city, Charlotte, North Carolina, the day after.

[911 Dispatcher]

Everything you just heard Charlotte 911. Do you need police, fire or medic? Police. What are those? So I'm over here on Eastway by the Showmars at East Way crossing. I've got two vehicles that are in border patrol and they're following me and they're trying to get out of the car. There's two wagoneers and they've got their sirens on and they're border patrol, they're not police. And they're trying to pull me over right now. And they've been driving recklessly and they're right on my ass. And I'm a US Citizen. I am not immigrated here whatsoever. And they're trying and they're driving recklessly. They're like right on my butt. They keep trying to block my path. And there's actually four of them trying to ram into my car. Can you please send someone asap? Are you able to. Okay, are you able to, like, pull over safely? I am. I just pulled over. Okay, just try to comply as best as you can. Okay.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It gets kind of faint there. But he's saying, I'm on the ground. I'm on the ground. This continues for half a minute. Then you hear the dispatcher pipe up again.

[911 Dispatcher]

Hello, 911. Hello?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Then there's another half minute or so.

[911 Dispatcher]

Like this until finally 911 disconnect and do no response.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This happened in the parking lot for a shopping mall. Witnesses heard him yelling, I'm a US Citizen. As he was dragged out of the car. Several agents cars surrounded him. They handcuffed him. They took him a Crowd gathered, upset, filming. The guy's name is Joshua Long. He was detained for six hours. Says he was charged with assault on a federal officer. Here's something you might not have guessed. It isn't just citizens and immigrants calling into 911 on these calls. ICE and Border Patrol call, too. And they call 911 for a bunch of different reasons. Sometimes it's for the stuff that anybody calls 911. There's one call where federal agents got into a fender bender and wanted to file a regular traffic accident report. Another Border Patrol agent called to report a theft. He said that somebody, presumably a protester, but he doesn't say, broke into his car, stole his work laptop, some ammunition, and his uniform.

[911 Dispatcher]

These aren't on the light. I apologize, but it had my badge in there, too. I didn't realize that my badge was in there until right now.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Calls like these911 operators respond to like any other calls. But sometimes ICE and Border Patrol call for help with their jobs out in the field, and that's more complicated. Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis. Lots of cities, sanctuary cities, don't allow local police to help with immigration arrests. This is a huge bone of contention for the Trump administration, who've tried to sue to change this, and just this week demanded that Minnesota help them as a condition for reducing the number of federal agents there. But one way that some local police do step in and step in all the time to help federal agents is to manage crowds and protesters who show up around their operations. And in cities where local police are not cooperating with ICE and Border Patrol, one way that federal agents can get them to show up is by calling 911. So, for example, in Worcester, Massachusetts, in May, ICE called repeatedly for police to come to Eureka street to help him deal with the crowd when ICE arrested a woman as her teenage daughters watched.

[911 Dispatcher]

I need you to get there as fast as I can. What happened? We have a crowd surrounding an officer, and he's requesting immediate assistance. Can you send units, please? I'm going to send units. Yes. Beautiful. Any weapons that they can tell? Other than the agents, no. About how many people is it? About 25. 25 people surrounding one officer.

[Narrator/Reporter]

After that, the scene gets pretty unruly. People in the crowd demand to see a warrant for the arrest. The Weiss does not need a warrant to arrest somebody. That's something lots of people don't know. Here's one last example of ICE calling 911, in this case, doing something that kind of surprised me to hear so baldly. They're on a recording in October, in Oxnard, California. ICE agents deliberately rammed their Jeep Cherokee into the side of a pickup truck of an activist who'd been following them. They T boned the truck. There's video of this. And then the agents called 911 and lied about what happened.

[911 Dispatcher]

911, what's your emergency? Hi, I'm with DHS ICE. I had a local individual crash. They backed into our vehicle. We're pursuing them right now. They're causing a major safety incident. We need. We need locals here now because we're in an active pursuit with this vehicle. He backed into us, and he's fleeing from us, and he's causing an insane safety hazard to this entire area.

[Narrator/Reporter]

ICE hasn't released the name of this agent. He hasn't talked to the press. So we can only guess at why he's saying what he's saying. Maybe he has no idea he was filmed ramming his Jeep into the pickup truck. He's trying to create a record. Maybe he's just saying anything that he thinks would get the local police to come help him. The dispatcher does send police cars out to help, and they stop the pickup. ICE arrests the activist. His name is Leonardo Martinez. But the video of the agents ramming his truck goes viral, and he's released a few hours later. Over the eight months since ICE and Border Patrol began these operations around the country, their tactics have gotten more extreme. And the guardrails protecting people's rights have been crumbling. In their first operation in Los Angeles last summer, immigration agents began widespread racial profiling, stopping anybody speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent. Then in September, the Supreme Court said they would allow that for now. So now they can stop anybody who looks or sounds foreign to them. Another change. DHS issued a new policy saying federal agents could enter somebody's home without a judge's order, which until now was considered unconstitutional. And as things ramped up over this fall, it was made clear to federal agents that if protesters or anybody else tried to slow them down, they could basically do whatever they wanted to them, whatever they saw fit, and they would not be punished. Here's Stephen Miller in October. To all ICE officers.

[Ira Glass]

You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties.

[911 Dispatcher]

And anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.

[Ira Glass]

You have immunity, and no one, no.

[911 Dispatcher]

City official, no state official, no illegal.

[Ira Glass]

Alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So where's that, Lee? I have one last Call. I want to play you. It's from Chicago.

[911 Dispatcher]

Chicago Fire Department. I can help you. California. I just been shot. Okay, 35th in California. 31st in California, please. What's in this? Right over for you, huh? Well, on your body, where you shine. Press. Where on your body were you shot? On my arm and on my leg. I can't feel my arm no more.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This is Maramar Martinez, a US Citizen. She was driving around her neighborhood, warning people that agents were coming, and was shot Oct. 4, three months before Renee Goode and Alex Preddy was shot and killed in Minneapolis.

[911 Dispatcher]

Help us on the way now. We'll be there shortly. You're outside on the corner there. In the corner. In the corner. On the corner. Okay. Help us on the way. We're gonna be there shortly. Cool. We'll meet you there. Ma', am, do you know who shot you? Do you have. Do you know who shot you? Ma'? Am? Hello? Ma', am, do you know who shot you? Oh, my God. I feel like I'm a faint.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She's saying to somebody, do you have a bandana or something to stop this?

[911 Dispatcher]

Oh, fucking shit. Hello? Luis Paulo. Ma'? Am. Shot you. ICE agent shot me. Who? ICE agent. The ICE agent shot you. Yes.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Marimo Martinez's case is eerily like Renee Goode's. She was in her car, and the government accused her of using her car as a deadly weapon and called her a domestic terrorist. News covers. It's documented. Thirteen people have been shot by immigration agents since these big city sweeps began. And most of them, they were shot in their cars. Also, most of them were accused by federal agents of not complying with orders or trying to escape or using their car as a weapon. Two of the people shot in their cars died. The rest survived. This woman, Marimar Martinez, was one of the survivors. In her case, a Border Patrol officer, Charles Exum, said she rammed her SUV into his. She said it was the other way around. And once she got into court on charges that she forcibly assaulted, impeded, and interfered with a federal law enforcement officer, once it got before a judge, the government decided to drop its case. Martinez's attorney had argued that body cam evidence clearly showed Exum swerving his vehicle to hit Martinez. Also, it was revealed that Charles Exum, the officer who shot Martinez, bragged about it in texts to his friends, saying things like, I fired five rounds and she had seven holes. Put that in your book, boys. Before he jumped out of his car and shot her, he was recorded on body cam footage saying, do something, bitch. In the end, his glee. His apparent pleasure in the violence of his own actions turned into a problem for their case and how a jury would see it. In a sense, that's what's happened to these operations nationally in the last two weeks. Their brutality and the seeming incompetence of the people carrying them out, the reckless incompetence is hard to avoid. It feels like everybody's been talking about it, whatever their politics. In Minnesota, the place that's been ground zero for so much of this lately. The police Chief for West St Paul, Brian Sturgeon, was asked this week by a resident at a city council meeting, what do we do if ICE agents break the law? Can you help us? In other words, the same question that came up in a few 911 calls. Looking strained and tired, Chief Sturgeon said, I I don't know. I don't have answers for you on.

[Ira Glass]

A lot of things. They have a different playbook. They have a playbook that I'm not trained in. Our officers aren't trained in. They have a playbook that we disagree.

[Narrator/Reporter]

With on some aspects of. I'll be honest with you, you seem truly lost about what he could possibly offer his suggestion. Call 911.

[Ira Glass]

I want our citizens to know that if you see something or if, for instance, if they're hanging, if they're stopped.

[Narrator/Reporter]

By a bus stop, call us. We will be there.

[Ira Glass]

If you are afraid because they're in the area or they're knocking on your.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Neighbor'S house, call us.

[Ira Glass]

Know if you do call 91 1.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We will be there. I know it's not what you want to hear, but yeah, it's a difficult situation.

[Ira Glass]

I don't have answers for a lot of the stuff because I don't understand it either.

[Narrator/Reporter]

President Trump, meanwhile, after first saying this past week that he will be de escalating immigration enforcement by the end of the week, say there's going to be full steam ahead. As of today, operations continue in cities around the country. Kharnajafi Walt produced that story about 911. Coming up, the glutton of Los Angeles goes to war. That's in a minute. Chicago Public Radio. When our program continues.

[Ira Glass]

Support for this American Life comes from Squarespace, the all in one platform for creating a fully custom on brand website. Choose from a wide range of professionally designed award winning templates with options for every use or category. Showcase your offerings with a website designed to grow your business and manage payments seamlessly with branded invoices and online payments. Visit squarespace.comamerican to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Support for this American Life comes from BetterHelp. February is full of flowers, candy and lots of relationship talk. It can feel like everyone has it all together in their love lives, but the truth is they're still figuring it out. And whether you're married, dating or prioritizing being single, just remember you're right on time. Therapy can take the pressure off and help you feel lighter. Just a little outside perspective from a professional can lead to new understanding and a lot of progress. Visit betterhelp.comtal for 10% off.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This message comes from Sony Pictures Classics. With a Private Life Jodie Foster is Lillian Steiner, a renowned psychiatrist with more than a few skeletons in her closet whose carefully ordered life is shattered by the mysterious death of one of her patients. Burdened by guilt and grief, Lillian launches a personal investigation to prove that death was no random tragedy. In this film noir, a dangerous web of love and lies begins to unravel. A private life now playing Select Cities Coming soon to a theater near you, this is American Life. Myra Glass, Today's program what's yous Emergency? Stories of life in this new America where federal agents have swept out across American cities. In this half of our show, we're going to turn to people trying to outsmart, outrun and outplay those forces, beginning now with Act 2. Act 2 there's no place like Home Depot. So there's certain spots around the country getting raided over and over again, like Home Depot parking lots where day laborers gather looking for work. Back in May, Stephen Miller reportedly yelled at DHS leaders, why aren't you at Home Depot? And then shortly after that, they were in force. One of the very first ticket hit in Los Angeles on the first day of the feds arriving in June was this one in Westlake LA on Wilshire Boulevard. And then in August, this same Home Depot was the spot where DHS launched a brand new strategy that it called Operation Trojan Horse, where Border Patrol agents hid in the back of a Penske truck that pulled up into the parking lot as if it was just a regular moving truck looking to hire people. Homeworkers ran to it to get jobs. The back opened, agents jumped out in tactical vests with weapons. Sixteen people were taken that day. Five months later, this same Home Depot is still getting raided and people are still showing up to find work every day. So what's that like? Months and months of cat and mouse reporter Anianci Diaz Cortez wanted to find.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

Out this Home Depot is not the easiest place to try to conduct a raid because at the edge of the parking lot is a kind of safe zone. An area the size of 10 parking spots surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Inside there's a small building. There's a corrugated roof. Day laborers know when there's a raid, they can take shelter there. It's run by a non profit called cares, set up years ago to make sure day laborers actually got paid by contractors hiring them. Everyone just calls it El Centro. I want to introduce you to two people who are here just about every day. Daniel Jimenez is a security guard. How did you find this job? Yeah, how did you end up here?

[Narrator/Reporter]

My friend's dad is the owner of the security company I'm hired to. Before that, I was a dishwasher at a wedding venue.

[911 Dispatcher]

Gray Dodge coming up to table one. Dodge Durango.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I didn't know anything about what they did here. I literally just started working here.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

Daniel's 20 years old with slouchy younger brother vibes. Constantly fidgeting with his vape and often dropping it. Go to drink at Starbucks across the parking lot. Mango Dragon Fruit refresher. When you see him at his post just outside the gate to El Centro, he looks bored. That's a big contrast with the second person I want to introduce you to, Joshua Erazo. College grad, passionate about non profit work and labor policy. That's from his LinkedIn page. His vibe, soft spoken, community organizer. The person the day laborers turn to for everything. Job connections, immigration, lawyers, coffee, toilet paper, Thanksgiving turkeys. People come to the Centro for all kinds of stuff, even just to hang out and watch tv. Daniel stands outside the gate. Joshua's inside.

[Joshua Erazo]

That's why we have like our door system and our locks and all that. But you know, we have the cameras and I'm. I'm ready.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

Here's how it works. If there's a raid, workers try to rush inside. Daniel tries to shuttle people through the gate. When they're in, Joshua will lock the gate. It's private property, so federal agents can't enter without a warrant. And it can be pretty harrowing.

[Joshua Erazo]

You just hear people screaming, screaming, migra, migra. And then it almost feels like a stampede of like people just running to where they can. Holy shit. You know, this is intense.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

One raid in particular stuck with both of them. This was back in August. Immigration agents rolled up with tear gas. People ran towards El Centro. Daniel was outside the gate. Joshua was inside. Daniel thinks he got 15 people in. But then one guy on the way in tripped.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He tripped in the middle of the door. And he was just laying there with ICE trying to. Four guys, four ICE agents on him, and I couldn't close the door, and they're trying to get in, so I had a. I had to try to keep. Close it, but. And not let them get in and not squish him. Wow. With that guy who's like, do I save one more and possibly risk everyone, or do I just let them take him? Which is a. I feel like I stuttered a little bit on that decision for like, a half a second.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

Inside the fence, Joshua was struggling with the same question of when to lock the gate. Immigration agents have now grabbed the man's legs and his shirt, but his shoulder and arm are inside the gate, his hand reaching out for Joshua, like, kind.

[Joshua Erazo]

Of reaching out for me to grab him.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

Outside the fence, two agents grabbed Daniel and pulled him away from the gate, leaving the door to Joshua alone. Joshua knew the guy stuck in the door, knew him well. Said he was like a deal, an uncle, maybe 50 or 60. Came around most days when it's like.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What do you do?

[Joshua Erazo]

You know, I grab his hand, and all I wanted to do was like, you know, come on in and close the door and, like, get out of here. And like, yeah, like, we did it. Like, you were saved. But in the moment, I was thinking to myself, like, there's people here. There's people over there that the ICE officers can't even see. There's the fact that we have our computers, which might have information. You have to think about all these things.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

Joshua makes a quick decision, locks the gate with the man still outside.

[Joshua Erazo]

He was at the door. He's a strong dude. He's almost getting away from five other grown men grabbing him. And he's like, joshua, Joshua. Like, Joshua, like. Like that with his hand out, kind of very, like, grunting because he's using his strength and. And me having to be. I can't. Like, I'm sorry. And then him, like, the other agents overpowering and, like, throwing him back out the door onto the sidewalk on his. On. On the floor.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

The guy's shirt had almost been completely ripped off by the officers. Joshua watched from behind the locked door as they arrested him. He says the rest of the day, he kept asking people, did I do the right thing? What would you have done?

[Joshua Erazo]

I just felt like, shit. I felt like I failed him. I felt like. To see someone, like, taking in front of you with your hand out and you, in essence, being like, no, like, I'm not gonna grab your hand. It kind of feels like. Like, I let them down. But then you think about like. But if I had done that, like they would have opened the door and they would have came in and then. But then it's like if it went the other way, maybe 12 people had gotten taken. You know, I think I was asking others just to be like, well, what would you have done? Like, would you have grabbed their hand? Would you not have grabbed their hand? I guess trying to affirm that I made not the best decision, but I made the decision that had like the least amount of negative consequences.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I have like this thing that keeps coming to mind when you're talking about this.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

This is my producer, Lily Sullivan.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Have you ever heard of this? Like, I think it's like an ethical situation. Like if a train is going down the tracks and you're the conductor and.

[911 Dispatcher]

There'S one person on one track or.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Six people on the other, who would you save?

[Mickey Meek]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And you lived that situation. Like it's actually that situation situation and.

[Mickey Meek]

You were the conductor.

[Joshua Erazo]

Yeah, I would just blow up the train so it couldn't get to either one, the train being here. Ice. But no, I wouldn't inflict any violence on anybody. But my solution would be get rid of the. Remove the train from the equation so the people can live.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

There's one more operation I want to tell you about that felt big for a different reason. This one happened just a few weeks ago while I was in the Starbucks. There in the parking lot. A woman opened the door and shouted, ice is here. Yego ice. Baristas froze, panicked. Drinks started flying. I left my drink on the counter and rushed out.

[911 Dispatcher]

La Migras Talaria. Yeah. White Tahoe. The white Tahoe is ice. The white Tahoe running down Union Avenue is ice.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

I head for El Centro. I expected outside to be chaos, but what happened instead, it was creepily still.

[Ira Glass]

Oh my God.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

The whole front is empty. There's no more workers. Everyone just left the SUV circle.

[911 Dispatcher]

They're coming up, they're coming back.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

But then it's just the screeching of tires. As far as I can tell, no one gets taken from the parking lot this round. The immigration agents just left. The center was locked down. Inside, some workers watched a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. The Hero. The one who sounded the alarm, the one who spotted ice. I honestly didn't see this coming. It was Daniel, the 20 year old who stands outside the gate. He spotted them first. He was on high alert, pacing. For months now, he'd been memorizing license plates every day from photos a community watch group had sent around. What'd you see?

[Narrator/Reporter]

It was too Ford Expeditions. Would you like the plates?

[911 Dispatcher]

Sure.

[Narrator/Reporter]

There was a California paper plate, BTC 1984. And then a Texas plate, WNJ 3422.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

He told me he'd started memorizing them because checking his phone was too slow. That other raid weighed on him the day he said he stuttered. He didn't want to stutter again. I think lots of people right now are finding themselves in roles they did not see coming, doing things they never imagined. One of the bosses here has a new nickname for Daniel. He calls him El Monstro de la Puerta. The Monster of the Door, which is new. This didn't used to be a place that needed a monster at the door.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Onion c. Diaz cortez. Lily sullivan produced that story. Act 3 Memo to the future. Emergency suggests something immediate and short term that happens fast. Runs on adrenaline and then ends. Mickey Meek has this story about a guy who's been in emergency mode for eight months now.

[Mickey Meek]

Los Angeles was way ahead of Minnesota's Governor Tim Waltz when he called on people to carry their phones on them at all times to record immigration raids. LA has been making videos all along. The hard part is keeping track.

[Memo Torres]

Did you get that one, Izzy? Which one? In Glendale, vine and Columbus.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Vine and Columbus, Yeah.

[Memo Torres]

It's a new one.

[Mickey Meek]

Memo Torres and Izzy Ramirez are building an archive. Every day's raids, arrests, sightings of federal agents in Southern California. 230 days and counting. Memo delivers a roundup at the end of every day. Just him speaking to the camera and playing video clips. It's called the Daily Memo.

[Memo Torres]

It's Monday, August 11th, and it's day 67 of the ICJ of LA. It's Wednesday, October 15th, and it's day 133. Today's Thursday, November 20th, and it's day 168. A mother ran with her infant as her husband was taken by agents. We confirmed about 14 people kidnapped by Master Legions.

[Mickey Meek]

I don't even live in Los Angeles, and yet I've been watching the Daily Memo for months. It speaks to something about this moment. For a while now, almost every day has felt like, I can't believe this day happened. And also, what did happen exactly? The Daily Memo is trying to organize that chaos. Memo records the Daily Memo video at night and then during the day. All day. Almost every day for months now. He and Izzy are in the small room in la, a work studio, sitting in front of computers while their phones are blowing up with texts and DMs and videos from around the city.

[Memo Torres]

Look over all the footage is the footage uploaded.

[Mickey Meek]

Memo's got two screens in front of him. When I was there, one screen was a map zoomed in on northeast Los Angeles with pins where that day's raids had happened. So far.

[Memo Torres]

Done with the doc, Izzy, or are you still updating?

[Mickey Meek]

The other screen had a Google Doc with bullet points and links to videos that he and Izzy were making together. They cross check videos, call witnesses, often community watch teams and rapid responders. They're weeding out fake or mislabeled videos in the room. It's long silences and then quick shorthand as they try to gather, verify, and archive the same bundle of information for each incident. And each day. Like, how many people taken?

[Memo Torres]

Yesterday was 14.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Yeah. And then the day before that, I had. So that's 28 plus eight. That's 36. 36 people.

[Mickey Meek]

What time.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Do you know what time the classic car wash was? Go to number the classic car wash.

[Mickey Meek]

Not city car wash. And where.

[Memo Torres]

Here's this one saying, ICE is in Inglewood.

[Mickey Meek]

It is a total grind, both monotonous and distressing. Memo is 6 foot 4 and he's got this big beard, perfect hair. The first time I met him, he was taking his first day off work in six months. You have like a threshold for yourself of being like, I will do this until ax. I'll do this until I know I gotta do something else.

[Memo Torres]

Yeah, it's interesting. I. I don't have too much time to think about all that, to be honest with you. I'm literally living in minute by minute to what's happening with ice. People are like, oh, Memo, we don't want you to burn out. I'm like, I burn out every day. You know, I go home and then I crash and then eat an edible, put on some tv, go and pass out, and then wake up the next day and just be like, here we go again. Yeah, but like, you know, it's no different from, like, my landscaping and gardening days, where it was just the same grind every single day.

[Mickey Meek]

Yeah. Like, what are the things that are.

[Memo Torres]

Useful from that life and just shut up and work. You know nothing about, like, that life. The day labor life or the gardening life is pleasant. Nothing about it. You're dealing with people that are, you know, passively racist, hard ass work. I mean, even, like, in the worst of weather would be hot and dry or cold, freezing and miserable. You still got to get out there and mow the lawns, trim the trees, trim the bushes, dig the dishes, get dirty, back pains, sores and when you wake up the next day, it doesn't matter how bad your body feels or my, how tired your mind is, you get right back up. 5:30, meet the crew, get your coffee and your donut and get right back to it. Yeah, so all of that I brought with me. So it's like, yeah, so what? It was tough. Yesterday was tough. Today's gonna be tough again, Tomorrow's gonna be tough again. And that's the, that's the routine of Life.

[Mickey Meek]

Memo is 45 years old, Mexican American. He's lived his whole life in LA. He had his own landscaping business for 16 years and then almost a year ago managed to turn the thing he did for fun into his job. He liked to photograph and post about the places he ate at on his lunch breaks. Taco trucks, little burrito hole in the walls, Taqueros who'd set up shop on sidewalks. His Instagram handle was El Tragon de Los Angeles, the Glutton from Los Angeles. And a website called La Taco hired him full time. He did food reviews for them, like the giant taco hiding under the 10 Freeway. But within a few months, federal agents showed up in the city and Memo and the rest of the staff at La Taco switched to covering raids and protests. There wasn't even a big discussion about it. It just made sense. The people they all regularly saw and talked to were now targets. So the whole organization changed overnight from being a membership based website with local food and culture stories with some news to still being that plus a home for the Daily Memo. One of the top metro reporters for the LA Times says no one else in the city, including the LA Times, is doing this kind of detailed daily accounting. This record Memo started this is it. Memo had a specific audience in mind when he started. The Daily Memo is in English, partly because he was trying to reach the younger, more online members of Latino families in la. The ones taking care of paperwork and bureaucracy. The kids of street vendors, gardeners, day laborers, the ones now trying to keep their parents safe. In the Daily Memo, he would tell the audience what parts of the city and surrounding areas are getting hit, what times of day and when he saw patterns and trends emerging in the videos, he'd point them out. Every Daily Memo, by the way, starts out with a cartoon Taco on the screen and the sound of a bite being taken out.

[Memo Torres]

Today is Thursday, November 6th, day 154 of the Ice Siege. Most of today's abductions happen on the streets, including questioning a homeless man. They also raided a U Haul on Geronimo Natural, which seems to be a new target of theirs. Like they just learned that they also have day laborers. Well, they took four people from that U Haul. Another new favorite target, Recycling centers.

[Mickey Meek]

Memo and Izzy get videos and tips no one else does. Because they're not outsiders. They're trusted. Memo was one of the first to track what places were getting rated again and again. Car washes, school drop off areas, Home Depots. He knows who they often targeted. Latinos in work clothes. A lot of older people, 50 plus. The Daily Memo tracked the evolution of immigration raids in la, from a hodgepodge of random agents, often in street clothes and with no visible identification, to a more consistent, militarized look. Green Border Patrol vests, sometimes helmets with rifles. Over time, there are more videos of agents opening fire on people. The first US citizens arrested in Los Angeles were big stories. Now those are common in LA and elsewhere when DHS accuses people of assaulting federal agents. The Daily Memo is a place lawyers go to to look for videos that may prove them wrong. And there's one more kind of video in the Daily Memos archive. These eerie still lifes. A food cart with meat still sizzling on the grill, but no one's there. A row of buckets with bouquets in them. A lunch bag left in front of an apartment complex. The aftermath of someone being taken. Memo showed me a video of a woman stumbling on a gardening truck on a residential street. No one in it or nearby. The open truck bed is full of tools and gear.

[Anianci Diaz Cortez]

So we're in Roubidoux, right? Off of Mission Avenue and Crestmore, right?

[Memo Torres]

We got rakes, lawnmowers, blowers, shovels, ladders, pipes.

[Mickey Meek]

So, like, in that instance, what are you. What are you doing?

[Memo Torres]

Well, we'll just report that we found an abandoned truck, because people, a lot of people find out about this stuff through the videos, they'll comment, that was my cousin, that was my dad. Oh, my God, we were wondering where he was at. And they'll reach out through the DMs, and then I get to talk to them. Be like, okay, I'm sorry. That's how we verify that it was actually a nice agent. I learned. Two of my former employees, when I had my Lansky company that were deported from some of these videos, I'm like, dude, these are people I worked with like 15 years. I know them really well. I know their families.

[Mickey Meek]

At the end of the night, after Memo finished recording the Daily Memo, I sat next to him and pulled up some old black and white photos on My phone from the 1950s of Mexican men in work hats lined up to board planes and trains. This is when the government ran another big deportation campaign in California targeting Mexican immigrants and named it after a slur, Operation Wetback. And looking at them, one thing really stood out to Memo.

[Memo Torres]

There are no chains or shackles.

[Mickey Meek]

Yeah.

[Memo Torres]

There's no military gear. There's no rifles. Look like Barney Fife right there.

[911 Dispatcher]

Right?

[Mickey Meek]

Barney Fife, the bumbling sheriff from the Andy Griffith Show.

[Memo Torres]

I'm not. I wasn't there. And I won't say that the cruelness wasn't there. But you don't see the cruelness in the images then as you're seeing them now.

[Mickey Meek]

How will these videos look in 5 years? 20 years? 50? What are we gonna think about them? Memo's got his mind on the future, too. He and Izzy are downloading all the videos so they can't disappear. At some point in some future America, maybe they'll lead to a reckoning.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Meeki Meek is a producer on our show.

[Joshua Erazo]

I Got a Feeling that I ain't felt before.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The world I knew and.

[Joshua Erazo]

Kind of love Just walked right out the door.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Program is produced today by Mickey Meek and Nadia Raymond. Edited by Laura Starcheski. People put together today's show includes FIA Bennen, Zoe Chase, Michael Comite, Suzanne Gabber, Angelo Gervasi, Cassie Howey, Seth Lynd, Molly Marcelo, Kathryn Raimondo, Stone Nelson, Robin Reed, Marisa Robinson, Texter, Ryan Rummery, Alyssa Shipp, Ike, Charisse Khandaraja, Christopher Stratala, Nancy Updike and Diane Wu. Our managing editor, Sara Abderamen. Our senior editor is David Kestnerbaum. Our executive editor is Emmanuel Berry. Special thanks today to Ayesha, Wallace Palomares and Javier Cabrilla from La Taco, Palmira, Figueroa and Pablo Alvarado at National Day Laborer Organizing Network. Jessica Lessenhop, Maddy Wiese, Jamie Schwesnettle, Mike McGuire, Abdi Rahman, Ali, Hannah Adlerstein, Eve L. Ewing, Mariah Woelfel, Scott Ducharme, Peter Mancina, the Central American Resource center organizers at the LA Tenants Union, Patricio, Emiliano Provencio, O' Donohue and Khadijah. Our website, thisamericanlife.org, where you can listen to our entire archive over eight hundred and fifty shows for absolutely free. This American Life is delivered to public radio stations by prx, the public radio exchange. Thanks as always to our Brigham's co founder, Mr. Tory Malatea. You know he loves pretending he's a little Joey in Australia living in a pouch.

[911 Dispatcher]

I'm in the kangaroo.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I'm out of glass. Back next week with more stories of this American life.

[911 Dispatcher]

I gotta get out and get away from it all.

[Narrator/Reporter]

You see in the stories, it just me. You.

[Joshua Erazo]

Are you seeing this or is it just me?

[Narrator/Reporter]

This message comes from Kelly Corrigan Wonders, a podcast hosted by New York Times bestselling author Kelly Corrigan, who converses with guests to explore curiosity, humility and creativity. Listen to Kelly Corrigan Wonders today. This message comes from Bombas your feet hit the ground an average of 2,000.

[Mickey Meek]

Times in a mile.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bombus sports socks are designed to support you every step. Sprint to bombus.com NPR and use code.

[Mickey Meek]

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