'It penetrates your bones': Day laborers protest noise machines installed at Home Depot
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A pair of blue and yellow earplugs dangle on Jose’s neck while waiting for work as a day laborer out of the Home Depot in Cypress Park.They’ve been a necessity for laborers in the area since late November, when Home Depot installed three machines in the parking lot that emit a high-pitched tone.The noise, typically kept on all day, is a piercing sound that “penetrates your bones,” he said.The Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), a nonprofit that supports day laborers, held a press conference at Home Depot Wednesday, calling for the company remove the machines and vocalize opposition to the ICE raids taking place in its parking lots, part of a growing number of protests targeting corporate cooperation with immigration enforcement.Home Depot locations nationwide have been a prime target for ICE raids under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In early November, ICE agents detained a man at the Cypress Park location and then drove off with his toddler in the back of the vehicle.Around 50 people have been detained at the Cypress Park location this year, said Maegan Ortiz, IDEPSCA’s executive director.The machines are an attempt to push day laborers off its lots, she said.The machines were turned off by the company during the press conference, but were turned back on about an hour after it ended, according to workers.
The noise is in earshot of the IDEPSCA’s day laborer center, one of five operated by the organization that have supported workers for over two decades.“We have been here and remain open through global pandemics, providing services and creating community,” Ortiz said.“We’re not going to let sound machines, gates and intimidation get rid of us.
Day laborers are here to stay.IDEPSCA is here to stay.
The immigrant community is here to stay.”Home Depot did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comm...