Grassroots effort in Northeast Los Angeles sparks debate among federal officials and local leaders about immigration enforcement and public safety.
Communities in Los Angeles’ Highland Park neighborhood have begun installing small air-raid-style sirens designed to warn residents when federal immigration agents are operating nearby, according to activists involved in the effort.
Local organizers say roughly 20 bright red sirens have been installed across parts of Highland Park, particularly near York Boulevard and Figueroa Street.
The devices, which cost about $70 each, can be activated through a mobile app and emit a loud alarm that can reportedly be heard up to half a mile away.
Flyers posted around the neighborhood explain the intended purpose of the alarms. “When the alarm goes off ICE is in the community,” the notices read. “Get off the streets, take shelter and lock down.”
Nelson Grande, a Highland Park resident and candidate for Los Angeles City Council District 1, said the alarms are meant to alert residents to immigration enforcement activity.
“At the very least we can alert the community,” Grande told the LA Times, adding that some residents are fearful following increased enforcement activity by federal authorities.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security criticized the idea. In a statement to the Times, a department spokesperson called the practice “quite literally insane,” arguing the sirens could function as a “public nuisance” and potentially interfere with federal law enforcement operations.
The agency also noted that individuals arrested in recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations included people convicted of serious crimes.
A spokesperson for the office of the Los Angeles DSA Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said city officials were not consulted and are not involved in the effort.
Some city officials and law enforcement sources have raised concerns about how residents will confirm the presence of federal agents before activating the alarms and whether the noise could create confusion or unnecessary panic in the community.
