BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Rapid Response Network on Monday shared their intentions to continue to educate the community on their immigration and constitutional rights.
- The United Farm Workers union declared several of its members were detained during the operation.
- Legal Services Director Amber Tovar said she knew of at least five residents who were eventually released hours after being improperly detained.
- Several others in the Rapid Response Network spoke of an incident in Kern where a U.S. citizen was detained for four hours by Border Patrol after having his tires slashed and being removed from his truck.
Border patrol operations in Kern County have wrapped up, but the community and advocates remain on edge. The Rapid Response Network on Monday shared their intentions to continue to educate the community on their immigration and constitutional rights.
Following U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's operation "Return to Sender," local officials, attorneys, and advocates are continuing to speak out.
"As an individual here in the U.S., they are protected by the United States Constitution and all of its amendments," said local attorney and co-founder of the Immigration Justice Collaborative, David Torres.
Torres said while they're not arguing against CBP's legal standing to detain people in the U.S. unlawfully, the efforts in which they do so must still follow the letter of the law. This is why the collaborative wants to draw attention to alleged aggressive actions and racial profiling.
"All because of the color of our particular skin, and that was no deterrent for them, the fact that the people could be United States citizens," he said.
The United Farm Workers union declared several of its members were detained during the operation. Legal Services Director Amber Tovar said she knew of at least five residents who were eventually released hours after being improperly detained.
"Our farm workers who were especially targeted by this operation, who without a doubt are most vulnerable to future enforcement operations," she said.
Founder of the Bakersfield Sikh Women's Association, Raji Brar, said the operation not only struck a chord with the undocumented community but also those with green cards or asylum cases still in process.
"It's a very eerie feeling, a lot of places were empty, people were staying home to feel safe." she said. "As we all saw, there was a U.S. citizen that was detained by Border Patrol."
Brar and several others in the Rapid Response Network spoke of an incident in Kern where a U.S. citizen was detained for four hours by Border Patrol after having his tires slashed and being removed from his truck.
"That I think in itself was very jarring and very scary to the community," Brar said.
We reached out to Border Patrol for further comment on this incident and other detentions but have not heard back yet.
The UFW Foundation said they will continue to host know your rights workshops every Thursday at their offices until further notice for anyone in the community.
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