By Manuel Ortiz
LOS ANGELES – The residents of Monrovia, California, are in mourning following the death of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old Guatemalan day laborer who died after being struck by a vehicle while fleeing federal immigration agents.
Community members are demanding justice and say Montoya’s death was a direct result of President Trump’s aggressive immigration policies.
“He was very calm,” fellow day laborers at the local Home Depot parking lot where Montoya went daily looking for work told Peninsula 360. “He was always willing to help,” “He didn’t speak much. He came here to work.”
Montoya, a father of four, hailed from Jutiapa, a town in eastern Guatemala on the border with El Salvador where, according to official data, 56 percent of the population lives in poverty, while 39.8 percent suffer from extreme poverty. Friends say Monrovia had been in the U.S. for five years.
He is the second person to die during ICE operations. In July, Jaime Alanis died after falling from a 30 foot ladder during a similar ICE raid in the town of Carpenteria along California’s Central Coast.
The morning of August 14 was like any other. Monotya headed early to the Home Depot on Mountain Avenue. “He came like always, looking to earn a few dollars. Here, one works hard and makes little, and that’s how he lived,” recalled another day laborer, his voice trembling, who asked not to be identified.
At around 9AM that morning ICE agents arrived masked and heavily armed. Surprised, like many there, Montoya tried to flee, crossing Interstate 210 which runs alongside the Home Depot. He was struck by an oncoming SUV and was declared deceased after being transferred to a nearby hospital.
Today an altar in Montoya’s memory stands near the entrance to the Home Depot. Neighbors and relatives bring flowers, candles and white crosses, praying, crying, or standing silent, but also reflecting on this political moment. Many shared their thoughts on condition that they remain anonymous, a reflection of the widespread fear that now permeates immigrant communities.
“They treat us as if we are animals, rodents or cockroaches, as if they can smoke us out,” said one woman, with flowers in her hand and accompanied by her children. “How is it possible that there is no one beyond the president who can put a stop to this? Persecuting our community simply because of the color of our skin is racist, it is illegal.”
Referencing her children, she continued. “The raids really are affecting our kids. They live in fear; they are afraid to go to school. They are going to carry this with them for years to come.”
“People here are in panic; they are afraid, they don’t want to go out, they wonder when they may be attacked,” said another day laborer who knew Montoya personally. “I feel as if I’ve lost a member of my own family.”
He added, “A part of our own community is responsible for what’s happening, and that can’t be denied. We need to think carefully about who we support with our votes next time.”
Asked to clarify, he compared Latinos voting for Trump to “spitting into the wind. It just lands back on your face.”
Monrovia resident Carolina Martínez also came bearing flowers. “He died because he was looking for work, because of the raids. They took his life. We want justice.”
Martínez and others gathered around the altar discussed ways to support Montoya’s family. “I came here to pray for him, to ask that God take him, and to ask that we help his family.”
The day of Montoya’s death, hundreds gathered for a vigil and protest outside the Home Depot. The National Day Laborers Organizing Network has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to support Montoya’s family.
