“We’re here to speak for those who can’t,” says a young high schooler in Redwood City. “We’re the future of this country,” her classmate adds, both speaking in halting Spanish, as a throng of students file past. “If we don’t act now, when will we act?”

The pair, part of a student walkout in protest against ICE’s presence in the city, spoke to Ramiro Miron, an unlikely journalist whose work has earned him a growing following here. 

Unlikely because Ramiro Miron is a puppet.

Gerardo Ortiz of Peninsula 360 Press, a Spanish-language news outlet covering this heavily immigrant and Latino enclave about 30 miles south of San Francisco, describes himself as Ramiro’s “chauffeur and bodyguard.”

With the smartly dressed and mustachioed Ramiro sitting by his side, Ortiz explains, “He was made in Mexico.  He’s an immigrant, like us.” 

Over the past year and a half, Ramiro has become an integral part of the P360 team. 

“There was a lot of political apathy in the community. People weren’t paying attention,” says Ortiz, explaining part of the inspiration behind Ramiro. “We wanted to find a way to break through.” And it appears they’ve done that. 

Ortiz says he spends a portion of every day reviewing messages from the community sent to Ramiro via social media. The messages, many of which deal with reported ICE sightings, are sent to Ramiro directly. They’re addressed to him, personally. 

Ramiro’s backstory is a tale worth telling in itself. According to Ortiz, he hails from Durango, in northwest Mexico, about 500 miles north of Mexico City. “It’s a place where a lot of journalists have risked their lives to do the work they do,” says Ortiz. “Many have given their lives to the profession.”

Data from the UN suggests that up to 89 journalists have been killed in Mexico for their work between January 2016 and December 2025. Ramiro, he says, “is a way to honor that legacy.”

It was Ortiz and his brother, Manuel — who launched P360 several years ago — who first came up with the idea. “We were both interested in magic as kids, so it kind of evolved from there.”

There is, acknowledges Ortiz, a “touch of humor and irony” in Ramiro’s reporting, much of which covers topics not typically given to such treatment, whether ICE’s detention or deportation of neighbors or family members, or the widespread fear that now exists across communities.

Ortiz says that fear is so prevalent that he often hears from community members who tell him they wanted to give a “like” on a video with Ramiro — who goes under the handle @NorteadoUSA — but were “too afraid of having their accounts surveilled” by immigration.

Which is why, he continues, Ramiro’s presence and the inherent humor that underlies his otherwise professional, journalistic demeanor is so critical at this moment. “It helps break the tension and cut through the fear,” says Ortiz.

In early October, the Trump administration launched a renewed immigration enforcement surge across California. The operation has to date led to the detention of hundreds across the state. In San Mateo County, where Redwood City is located, there has been a notable increase in ICE’s presence, part of what sparked the student walkout last week.

“It was amazing to hear these young students, some of whom spoke only limited Spanish, speaking out on behalf of their parents,” recalls Ortiz.

He adds that unlike the massive raids seen in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago or Minneapolis, in Redwood City operations have been more targeted. “We’ll get a message from someone about ICE, but by the time we arrive often all that’s left is an abandoned vehicle.”

Ortiz, who grew up in Mexico City, holds a blackbelt in Taekwondo, which he’s been studying for over 40 years. When he’s not out reporting with Ramiro, he can be found at Casa Circulo, a community non-profit run by his mother, Veronica, giving classes to neighborhood kids.

On the day of our interview, he was preparing for a trip the following day to China to participate in a gathering of taekwondo referees as part of preparations for the coming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. And, when it comes to working with Ramiro, that training comes in handy.

Ortiz often works solo, juggling a microphone and tripod with one hand as he manipulates — sorry Ramiro, no offense — his colleague with the other, all while conducting interviews or reporting on events.

“It’s tricky, trying to make sure the camera is focused on Ramiro and that I’m off screen while doing the ventriloquism,” admits Ortiz.

In another Instagram post we see Ramiro in the parking lot of a Dollar Tree store as ICE agents take someone into custody. “One of the major complaints we hear from the community are these Flock cameras,” Ramiro tells his audience, noting the cameras — which have drawn intense public backlash nationwide — are often used as part of ICE operations to target individuals for arrest.

Beyond ICE, Ramiro’s reporting has covered election turnout and rising gas prices, among other topics. “And with this we’ve crossed the line with AI,” he says in another post featuring an AI generated image of Melania Trump slapping her husband, seen apparently flirting with the entertainer and Trump supporter, Nikki Minaj.

Ortiz studied philosophy in college and entered into journalism on the urging of his brother. He says he’s learned a great deal about the work of being a journalist through Ramiro.

“He’s been a good teacher,” admits Ortiz. Ramiro nods approvingly.

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