Ice on Oscar Sunday

Shortly after I woke up this morning, I thought about two things:

1) A bunch of really hungry women in Hollywood get to eat tonight after the Oscars are over and
2) It would be really cool to find a box of jewelry destined for an A-list actress accidentally sitting on the side of the road. But I would return the jewelry. Eventually. I think.

To bring myself back down to reality, I checked out what was happening in the news. The same old same old was going on in the world, so I went to make myself a cup of tea.

My husband wandered into the kitchen and mumbled good morning. I said, "Hey, good morning. Ralph Nader's running for president."

He stopped in his tracks, looked at me like I was crazy, turned and walked out of the room. Five minutes later he re-emerged, saying, "I'm going to Starbucks."

A couple minutes after he left, the phone rang. I could see from the caller ID that it was him so I answered, thinking he was going to say, "Have you seen my wallet?"

Instead, he said, "Dudes in ice jackets are swarming all over our neighborhood!"

Ice jackets? What? I was confused. Was this a throwback to Vanilla Ice or something? "Ice jackets?" I asked.

"I-C-E! Immigration and Customs Enforcement! They're doing an immigration raid in our neighborhood."

"Are you kidding?"

"Nope. There's a bunch of them down the hill from us. It looks like they're standing guard."

I quickly hung up the phone, grabbed my camera and ran outside to check out what was going on. It was raining hard, which is enough to keep everyone inside. But the street seemed eerily quiet for another reason. I looked to my right and sure enough, two white vans were parked in the middle of the street. Some menacing guys in black jackets were standing on the sidewalk in front of the building three doors down. They had that ultra alert stance that you only see in cops and drug dealers.

I walked toward them and they turned to look at me. The way these guys were staring me down was not at all friendly. But I wanted to get a picture of what was happening. So I walked a little closer and pulled out my camera.

One guy began walking my way and barked, "Ma'am, put that camera away. Put it away or we're going to take it."

What in the world? The last time I got a camera confiscated by the police, I was living in China. This isn't China though. This is supposed to be the United States, the country Michelle Obama's proud of. But I felt afraid. So I turned around and quickly walked back to my building. Thankfully, the officer did not pursue me.

Ten minutes later, I saw the white van drive past. I poked my head outside and looked down the hill. Everything looked like it would look on a rainy Sunday morning with no sign that the ICE folks had ever been here.

And of course, in a few short hours, less than two miles from here, some of the wealthiest residents of this city will be stepping onto the red carpet, dripping with a different kind of "ice".

I'd been wishing I had some of that ice. And now some of my neighbors have been carted away by ICE.

Such is this city.


thailandchani said…
Ugh! That just sounds scary as hell! Just like something out of a Nelson DeMille novel.

I wish you'd been able to get pictures.
the joy said…
Aw man. I was hoping for some really compelling photos.
I wonder if someone called ICE.

What is wrong with Ralph Nader?
Liz Dwyer said…
It was scary and I wasn't even the one getting carted away.

The Joy,
I know. But they were not playing around. I wish I knew more about what was going down.
Liz Dwyer said…
Good point. I'll bet someone did call because otherwise how would they know to raid that building?

And Nader? I have no words.

Actually, I take that back. He's a little crazy.
Jameil said…
its b/c they're undercover officers. it can comprise their investigations or put their lives in danger if there are pictures of them floating around.
Jameil said…
make that compromise.
Anonymous said…
At least you didn't see them beating some poor defenceless person and screaming abuse as they threw him/her into the van. I expect that's what usually happens. Politeness and courtesy are reserved for the respectable wealthy with their expensive lawyers on hand at any hour.
Ian Lidster said…
Brilliant ironies in this post -- you are so adept at such things, Liz -- and what a chilling encounter. And, the contrast between the two 'societies' was apt. I once watched a really abusive search for 'illegals' on the Amtrak train between San Diego and LA. It was like the old Orient Express, an elderly lady said afterwards, except the 'Federales' weren't in Nazi uniforms.
My cousin and her husband are ICE agents here in the DC area. They focus mostly on drug smuggling, pirating of music, etc., money laundering (mostly Russians and Ukrainians). But every now and then they roll up on Salvadorans or Asians. They say they are only going after illegal immigrants who ALSO have a tie to some of these other aforementioned crimes. Do I believe them? No. LOL. Nor do I think they are the American SS. The truth's somewhere in the middle. They are black folks, doing their jobs as they see them. As my cousin's hubby says,"We didn't sneak into this country, we were brought here in chains." That's his opinion. I will not attack him for it.
Anonymous said…
Thank God for the police!!!! Getting up early on a Sunday and trying to keep the community safe.
Lisa Johnson said…
That's really scary! Too bad you couldn't get any pictures. I wonder what ended up happening.

And I am so disgusted in Nader that I cannot even discuss it.
Liz Dwyer said…
I didn't know they work undercover. That makes sense to me then. "Citizen journalists" are probably their worst nightmare.

The beat down might have been going down inside the building. Or whoever was getting arrested might have been cooperative. But I guess we'll never know.

That must have been horrible to witness on the train. Those sort of situations make me really nervous.

When I lived in China and I'd go to Macau and HK (before the changeover) the bus would stop before the border and everyone would have to get their papers out. Soldiers would get on with guns and would check everybody's papers. I was always so grateful that everybody was legit because I would have hated to witness what might happen otherwise.

Of course, the bus never stopped on the way back in to China.

I'm sure it can't be easy to be an ICE agent because folks probably think they're just snatching up innocent moms and children all the time. I know a lot of criminals do get rounded up and that is clearly a good thing. Illegal immigration is such an issue in California and has been for a long time. I really do feel for the children that are caught up in all of it.

Cough, yes, thank God for them! Or at least for some of them. Wink, wink!
Liz Dwyer said…
I really wonder what happened as well. One of the hard things about living in such a big city is that "small" news stories like this get lost.

And Nader...I hear you. I've never thought he was a great candidate anyway, not even in the past.
Amazing. We had the same experience when the national guard took over the beach after the riots and the earthquake. Amazing. But legal with all of Bushy's rules and crap.

I worry about Nadar. A lot of people believe he's the single reason Bush is president. I don't know how one would know something like that but....
Jen said…
I've just been covering The Great Gatsby with my American Lit. students. We were discussing the Oscar ice and the level of excess in our society that's one of the reasons that the book can still resonate today. They actually didn't know about the ice loans, etc.

The other ICE incident is just plain scary, but not surprising, sadly.
I cannot imagine what that must have been like. The whole idea of immigration raids is so foreign to me. Is it only a West coast/Texas area kind of thing?
There are ICE raids even in Kansas. Everywhere Mr. Charlie trucks in Hispanics todo thejobs the brothers refuse to do though they need the check with the added bonus of busting unions, depressing wages, refusing to pay benefits, etc. Hell my cousin has told me about ICE raids in Miss, where Mexicans are yes...picking cotton.

Maybe they should raid Hollywood. Seems our dumbass American actors and actresses can't compete with the foreigners any more...
That is too strange. Nice irony there, sadly.

Have you considered getting a really powerful telephoto lens?

I thought Nader was a hero when he called attention to public safety issues, but worry that his ego-based candidacy may dilute Obama's power base.
Liz Dwyer said…
I really hope I don't have to experience life here during something like Northridge or the LA Riots. I'm sure an earthquake will happen again, but hopefully not the rioting.

I don't really blame Nader. The last two elections no one really was really able to cope with Karl Rove's tactics. I think that may have had more impact than Nader. I sure hope that's different this time around.

Oh that book is SO relevant to our current culture. The ice rental is really interesting. Sort of like episodes of MTV's cribs where the artists rented houses so they could appear to be a certain way. It's all weird.

You know, I don't know how much these raids go on in other parts of the country. I really feel horrible for the children that get caught up in it.

Ah, you answered DMB's question! And picking cotton...that's crazy. I often think the raids are show for precisely that reason. Our country is so sick, conveniently having a new group of people to pick the cotton and the strawberries for next to nothing?

And yeah, no American's won acting awards. They're too busy making sure they get chased by the paparazzi to hone their chops.
Liz Dwyer said…
Well, I need to upgrade to a "real" camera first! I only have my little Kodak point-n-shoot camera. I really want a better one but the one I want is $800! I need to save up for it!

I definitely think Nader has been a great voice for consumers. I guess we'll see what happens with his run for the presidency.

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