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A grassroots community effort in Los Angeles' Highland Park is preparing to install warning sirens that will alert residents when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are spotted in the neighborhood.
The Highland Park Community Support Group, led by Amanda Alcalde, plans to place small red siren lights throughout the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood by February 23. The initiative aims to give residents time to seek shelter when federal immigration agents conduct operations in the area.
"We'd like to ultimately have this along all the different streets so they can take shelter," Alcalde told local media. "I've seen a lot of fear in people's eyes. I don't see a lot of our ethnic minorities out in the day to day. It's big change. It feels dystopian in a way."
The group has already posted flyers throughout the neighborhood explaining the system. "If you hear the siren, ICE is in the community," the flyers state. According to social media posts, at least one siren will be installed near a dual-language school at the corner of Monte Vista Street and Avenue 56.
Since the initiative isn't city-sanctioned, organizers are working directly with willing homeowners and local businesses to place sirens on private property rather than navigating city permitting processes. The group is also distributing ICE alert whistles to neighbors, encouraging residents to warn each other when enforcement activity is spotted.
Alcalde says the initiative draws inspiration from similar community responses in Minneapolis, where residents used whistles and shouted warnings in both English and Spanish during immigration enforcement operations.
The Highland Park effort comes as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently implemented new measures limiting ICE activities on city property. Earlier this week, Bass signed a directive barring federal immigration officers from using or staying at any city-owned facilities.
Federal officials have not yet commented specifically on the Highland Park siren initiative. The community support group is accepting donations to fund the project.