Protests against ICE: Rosario hides in her apartment. Working is too dangerous

Rosario, an undocumented immigrant living in Los Angeles County, has retreated into her apartment, finding work too dangerous. Her daughter, Allie, has resorted to providing her mother with an AirTag, a small tracking device, as a meager defense against the pervasive fear of deportation.

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I got her an AirTag.

Since 2025, the Trump administration has intensified the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers across the country. Their mission targets individuals without valid immigration papers, and sometimes even those who merely appear to be undocumented. Rosario, a 57-year-old single mother who arrived in California from Guatemala 26 years ago, has always worked, primarily as a street vendor. However, since 2025, this has become an untenable situation.

Rosario is one of nearly a million undocumented immigrants residing in Los Angeles County. Former President Donald Trump has consistently referred to such individuals as "illegals" and "criminals." This rhetoric fuels the anxiety and precariousness of their daily lives, making even basic activities like working a potential risk.

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She has always worked, mostly as a street vendor.

The fear is palpable, and the measures taken, like the AirTag, highlight the extreme lengths to which families are going to maintain a semblance of safety and connection amidst heightened enforcement. The article implicitly critiques the policies that create such an environment of fear and instability for a significant portion of the population.

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Donald Trump speaks of them only as 'illegals' and 'criminals'.