Residents and activists in Los Angeles' Highland Park neighborhood are pushing ahead with a plan to install warning sirens to alert the area when federal immigration agents are spotted.
Supporters of the effort say the goal is to give families notice so they can take cover before Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrive.
Amanda Alcalde, founder of the Highland Park Community Support Group, said the grassroots initiative is meant to support residents worried about stepped-up federal immigration enforcement.
"We'd like to ultimately have this along all the different streets so they can take shelter," she told The Hill.
Alcalde has circulated flyers around the neighborhood announcing the siren plan and hopes to begin installations later this month.
Notices have also appeared on social media. One recent Instagram post — that is no longer available — says a siren will be installed Feb. 23 at Monte Vista Street and Avenue 56, the site of a dual-language school.
"If you hear the siren, ICE is in the community," the flyer reads.
Organizers are working directly with homeowners and businesses willing to place the devices on their property, bypassing the city's permitting process.
The nonprofit-backed initiative is being funded through community donations.
"Really taking a lot of that influence from Minneapolis and trying to turn it into our own here," Alcalde said, referencing similar activist tactics used in other cities.
The move comes as Los Angeles grapples with increased immigration enforcement. Mayor Karen Bass recently issued a directive aimed at limiting ICE activity on city property, part of a broader response by local leaders critical of federal immigration policy.
"I've seen a lot of fear in people's eyes," Alcalde said. "I don't see a lot of our ethnic minorities out in the day-to-day. ... It feels dystopian in a way."
In addition to the sirens, volunteers have distributed "ICE alert" whistles, encouraging residents to warn one another if enforcement activity is observed.
"We don't directly get ourselves involved with ICE, but we will get involved protecting the community to stay in their office or home," activist David Trujillo told The Hill.
Federal officials have not publicly commented on the siren plan.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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