Vigil held for man who died fleeing an immigration operation at Monrovia Home Depot
Immigrants' rights activists held a vigil outside a Monrovia Home Depot store on Friday night for a man who died as he was allegedly fleeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers Thursday morning.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network hosted the 6 p.m. event in memory of the man who died. The Consul General of Guatemala in Los Angeles identified the man as 52-year-old Carlos Roberto Montoya.
"He was a very friendly man," NDLON executive director Pablo Alvarado said. "He was one of the most loved day laborers.
The Monrovia Police Department said the man ran away from the Home Depot at 1625 Mountain Avenue as ICE agents approached the hardware store. The man crossed Evergreen Avenue and ran onto the 210 Freeway less than 10 minutes after the agents arrived, according to the City of Monrovia. He was struck by an SUV on the freeway and later died at the hospital.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents were not pursuing the man. Homeland Security was unaware of the man's death until CHP contacted the agency hours after its operation ended.
Protesters responded to the man's death and staged a rally at the Monrovia Home Depot on Thursday.
The Home Depot is in the district represented by State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez.
"There is such incredible fear in our immigrant communities, so much so that people will run into freeway traffic out of fear when all they want is a chance to support their family and seek the American Dream," the senator said in a statement. She called for an end to what she described as violent and sweeping.
Rep. Judy Chu attended the vigil and claimed ICE violated the current temporary restraining order restricting the immigration raids in Southern California.
"He should not have died, and we should not have had these raids here in Home Depot," Chu said. "In fact, they violated the federal injunction against racial profiling."
Chu said agents detained 12 people during Thursday's operation. She joined the activists demanding an end to the ICE operations.
"This is a tragic ending to these ICE raids," Chu said. "That's why these ICE raids have to end."