It was 3 in the morning on May 13 when Lara Valdez, 70, woke up terrified by a deafening sound. Federal immigration agents were trying to enter her home in Ventura County, California.

“I was in a deep sleep, and I remember hearing what sounded like a bomb in my bedroom,” said Valdez in Spanish. “I got up shocked, and at that moment my son, Leo [Martinez] came in and said, ‘I’m turning myself in. They’re coming for me.’”

Valdez barely had time to put on a robe when she heard the agents cocking their weapons.

“They broke our door down, then pointed two rifles at me as they took me outside. They put me in a van and had an agent keep watch over me,” she said.

After a few seconds, she saw agents taking her son out, his hands zip tied at the wrists. The two, mother and son, were placed across from each other in the van.

That same morning, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents conducted raids on the homes of two other individuals. Both — like Valdez and her son — are known in the community as pro-immigrant activists. Agents also raided her son’s business.

All four are U.S. citizens and members of VC Defensa, which Martinez founded in November 2024. The rapid response network organizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) patrols. It also operates a hotline and other community support efforts for immigrant families in the county.

‘It was a disaster’

Sitting in the van that morning, Valdez saw that her entire street had been cordoned off. Through the partially drawn curtains of her bedroom window she saw agents ripping through her belongings.

They rummaged through every nook and cranny of her small home. Laura estimates that there were nearly 40 agents outside her house, and about 14 inside.

“They left our house devastated. The mattresses were overturned, clothes torn out of closets and thrown everywhere. It was a disaster. They even went through bottles of vitamins,” she recalled.

Eventually, agents left with Valdez’ cell phone and that of her son’s, as well as her computer. From her son’s business, agents also took with them expensive translation equipment used as part of know-your-rights workshops that VC Defensa conducts.

Valdez says the aggressive overnight operation was an invasion of her privacy.

“I felt like the worst kind of criminal, but despite the excessive violence they used to search the house, they won’t intimidate us,” she said.

Valdez oversees food distribution for needy migrant families at VC Defensa.

“They shouldn’t be subjected to so much violence. The only crime many of these people have committed is migrating, which at worst is a civil offense, not something that warrants treating them like terrorists.”

Repeated arrests

This is not the first time that Valdez’ son, 43, has been targeted by federal agents.

On October 16 he was detained in the city of Oxnard, about two hours north of Los Angeles, while patrolling an industrial area where he encountered several ICE vehicles. Video released by VC Defensa shows one of the ICE vehicles ramming into Martinez’ truck.

Martinez was subsequently taken to the Downtown Los Angeles Detention Center. While there he was held inside an SUV for hours before being released, pending charges.

“They hit me and later tried to say that I was the aggressor,” said Martinez.

In a statement, ICE said agents were “confronted by a group of agitators,” who proceeded to film while verbally assaulting the agents.

On March 10, Martinez was again detained by federal agents in Simi Valley, in southeastern Ventura County. He had arrived to help VC Defensa members who were alerting the community to ICE’s presence. When he was spotted, he says, between four and five federal vehicles struck his car to force them to stop.

After being arrested, he was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, where he was released hours later.

Nothing to hide

“If, at the end of the day, they were to have access to all the messages and files from the inception of our organization, they wouldn’t find anything criminal,” said Martinez, “because there is nothing we have to hide.”

He added, “Every violent arrest they make against us demonstrates agents’ frustration because we won’t let them do whatever they want in our communities.”

As for VC Defensa — which, according to Martinez, counts around 1000 volunteers — for every member of the network detained or deported, including himself, someone else will be there to take their place.

“If they lock me up, that won’t affect the organization,” Martinez said. “If I disappear, the patrols and workshops will continue providing support to families.” Besides, he added, “If they truly had something against me, they would have arrested me by now.”

Targeting activists

Juan José Gutiérrez, director of the Coalition for Full Rights for Immigrants in Los Angeles, says the Trump administration has unleashed war against undocumented immigrants using repressive tactics that are increasingly being used on American citizens.

“Not only have they arrested and deported undocumented immigrants … but two Americans were also killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by immigration authorities for the audacity of having stood in solidarity with the immigrant community,” he said.

“What occurred in Ventura,” he added, referring to the raid on the home of Valdez and her son, “is extremely grave.”

A New York Times report published in March revealed the existence of a DHS task force investigating groups including VC Defensa, seeking to build criminal cases against the group.

Across the country, hundreds of immigrant advocates have been arrested on charges of assaulting and obstructing federal agents. Prosecutors in most cases have failed to secure convictions as agent testimony has often been contradicted by video recordings made by protestors or bystanders.

A coalition of lawyers, meanwhile, is preparing a lawsuit challenging the searches conducted in Ventura.

“These raids have been taking place ever since the Trump administration decided to terrorize our communities. They rarely result in arrests or formal charges, and when they do, the government fails to meet the burden of proof,” said Reem Yassia, an attorney for VC Defensa.

She described the May 13 raids on the home of Valdez and Martinez as intimidation tactics designed to suppress freedom of expression.

VC Defensa is preparing a federal civil lawsuit targeting the agencies responsible and those who issued the orders.

“VC Defensa operates within the confines of the law, and [agents’] intimidation tactics have failed to yield results over the past year. They will not work now, nor will they work in the future,” said Yassia. “We are strong in Ventura. We are strong in California, and we will not back down.”

This story is part of “Aquí Estamos/Here We Stand,” a collaborative reporting project of American Community Media and community news outlets statewide.