A group of activists install alarms to alert about ICE operations in Los Angeles

A group of community activists from Highland Park, in Los Angeles, is installing a series of alarms to alert neighbors to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. According to activists with the Community Support Group, the goal is to give families time to "shelter in place."

"We’d like to ultimately have this along all the different streets so they can take shelter. (...) Really taking a lot of that influence from Minneapolis and trying to turn it into our own here," said Amanda Alcalde, founder of the Highland Park Community Support Group.

"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," she added.

Alcalde has already distributed flyers to inform neighbors about the alarms, which are expected to be installed by the end of February. For example, one will be located at the corner of Monte Vista Street and Avenue 56, just meters from a bilingual school.

While the measure was not officially endorsed by the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, the Democrat recently implemented a series of measures against ICE. For example, she banned federal immigration officers from using or remaining in any city-owned facility.

In turn, she announced that she would instruct the Planning Department to draft an ordinance imposing a fee on any property owner who cedes control of his or her property to federal immigration authorities.

"Immigration raids across L.A. have not stopped, and neither has our resolve to protect Angelenos from ICE’s campaign of terror. It’s outrageous that federal agents hide behind masks while racially profiling hardworking Angelenos. It’s cowardly and it must end — and so must the presence of ICE in Los Angeles. Together, we will stand united to defend our city and protect one another," Bass said through a statement.