My Story Saved Me From Deportation. For Others, Now It Won’t Have To

By Kent Mendoza

Kent Mendoza, center, leading an action of ARC community members to the Board of Supervisors on August 19, 2019, the day the $2 billion jail contract was cancelled as part of the JusticeLA movement.

Six years ago, when I was barely 20, the Sheriff’s Department transferred me to ICE.

My first encounter with the carceral state was at 15, when I was sentenced to a probation camp for 18 months. My second was at 17, where I served a “juvenile life” sentence in the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). In DJJ, I tried my best to make every use of the programs and services it had to offer. Still, after completing my sentence in DJJ, I was sent back to the county jail and because of my immigration status at the time, the sheriffs transferred me to ICE.

Instead of reuniting with my family, I ended up in an ICE holding tank in Downtown L.A. I thought to myself: “I’ve got this. I’ve been through this before. I can handle it.” I was mentally preparing myself for another journey of incarceration — now in the immigration system. Out of sheer luck, I was released after allowing myself to be vulnerable and sharing, with detail, passion, and emotions, my story with one of the ICE agents. I got lucky. I was set free. It was a surreal moment, I couldn’t believe I was actually going home, here in the city and country I grew up all my life since coming here from Mexico at the age of 6. I remember walking out the gate and looking at the downtown buildings. This was my city, this was my home. I walked straight to the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) office in Pershing Square and began my journey as a student and community advocate fighting for the voiceless which has led to this day.

My story is a rare exception though I am not a rare exception. Many others want to rehabilitate themselves, support their families, and support their communities. I was given the opportunity to rehabilitate myself and go home. The story of my own transformation saved me from deportation. It saved me from being torn apart from my family. It saved me from being transferred to Adelanto. It saved me from being stuck in a cell month after month with no real answers or hope. Others should be given the same opportunity I had.

What the pandemic teaches us is that we are truly connected. COVID-19 knows no difference. When I think about the people currently trapped in Adelanto, I think about my friend and fellow advocate Jose Maldonado.

Jose spent a harrowing 46 days in the Adelanto immigration prison after sheriffs transferred him to ICE. A resident of Baldwin Park for over two decades, he was separated from his three kids who were all born in the United States. It was again by luck that advocates found Jose and worked to get him released on bond.

At Adelanto, Jose saw the poor conditions and inadequate medical care firsthand. And this was under “normal” circumstances. Today, Adelanto is a tinderbox for an outbreak.

Kent, center, pictured with his family and ARC founder Scott Budnick the day he was released from ICE custody in April 2014.

Since coming home in 2014, I had always asked myself: Why does L.A. County still transfer people to ICE? In a county that touts progress against mass incarceration and protecting immigrants, why are we transferring people who have already served their time and are due to return home to their families? Why is our county furthering family separation — not at the border — but right here at home?

Years ago, the City of L.A. took a stand against ICE and stopped transferring Angelenos to ICE custody without a judicial warrant. It took years for the LA County Sheriff Department to finally put forward a permanent moratorium on ICE transfers. Impacted community members like me advocated and pushed the Sheriff to finally do so. However, this was not enough because the moratorium could still be reversed or terminated. Today the LA County Board of Supervisors created the necessary layers of protection to safeguard our community members’ constitutional rights by making this moratorium an official county policy.

Today is a historic day. Today we #CheckTheSheriff and end its entanglement with ICE. We are all in this country together.

Kent Mendoza is Manager of Advocacy and Community Organizing at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC).

A version of this story originally appeared on the ACLU SoCal blog.