The way Omar Sierra remembers it, dozens of day laborers gathered in the Kmart parking lot that day more than 15 years ago. A county mobile health clinic arrived with a mariachi band and free food and offered HIV tests to those waiting for work. Sierra got in line and sat for his test. He heard a commotion, turned and saw men running. He thought someone was offering a job and wondered whether he should go with them. Then he saw the immigration agents. And he ran as fast as he could. More than a dozen day laborers were arrested and deported that day in February 1996 in the City of Industry. Those who weren’t, including Sierra, returned to the lot the next day to look for work. This time, they were greeted by an organizer who wanted to enlist workers to fight back. – LA Times 02.20.2012
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