A New Kind of Neighborhood Watch

Some of these interviews have been translated from Spanish.

One day a week, at around 6am, Eric Leland drives from his home in Petaluma to a certain gas station on a central corner across town. He and four to eight other volunteers load up a folding table with Spanish-language materials, like cheat sheets about civil rights in interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Alongside these pamphlets are equipment like face masks, gloves, and earplugs for protecting workers at loud worksites. It’s a one-stop shop for the day laborers who congregate here each morning, hoping to be hired for a day’s work.

Those who speak Spanish stick around at the table, chatting with the day laborers who are gathering on the corner. The rest of the volunteers peel off to covertly observe key intersections on the main road, especially near the highway, as “legal observers.” They’re looking for federal government vehicles, whether from ICE or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.