After a summer full of terror, faith leaders in California are choosing hope — and putting it on wheels.
Indeed, the sound of blessing fell over Los Angeles as faith leaders laid hands on three vans with a singular mission: to protect families living in fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Sept. 20, the Save America Movement (SAM) launched Operation Liberty, a rapid-response effort designed to watch the watchers — and to offer sanctuary where the law has turned its back.
In this season of ICE raids, Operation Liberty puts trained volunteers — lawyers, clergy, videographers, and even veterans — directly on the ground, riding in Liberty One, Two, and Three. Their charge? To document ICE activity as it happens, hold government accountable, and stand shoulder to shoulder with neighbors. It is a movement rooted in vigilance, solidarity, and moral courage.
“Los Angeles will always stand with families under threat,” Mayor Karen Bass said at the launch. “Angelenos are showing the country that when our immunities are targeted, we respond with solidarity, with resources, and with an unbreakable commitment to justice.”
It’s About Democracy
For Bishop William J. Barber II, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, Operation Liberty isn’t just about ICE. “It’s about democracy itself,” Barber reminded the crowd.
“When government agencies target our neighbors in the shadows, we shine a light,” he says. “Operation Liberty is a moral response to immoral actions, and it is what this moment demands of us.”
Barber, a professor at Yale Divinity School and longtime leader in the fight for justice, made it plain: “The local organizations that have come together to welcome these Liberty Vans to Los Angeles will work with the community to send video crews to sites of ICE raids to shine a light on the immoral actions of masked agents and to spotlight the moral response of neighbors who are standing together to say, ‘Not in our name.’”
SAM itself came into being as a counterweight to what it calls the rapidly escalating authoritarian threat posed by the MAGA movement. Operation Liberty, organizers said, is the people’s way of saying there will be no unchecked power, not in their neighborhoods, not in this democracy.
The Human Toll
Speakers like Pedro Perdomo, a plaintiff in a case against ICE, spoke about the threat of being detained, and ultimately deported out of the U.S. to countries they have no experience with.
“What happened to me is happening to many of us. We deserve respect, not persecution,” Perdomo said. “Nobody should be kidnapped from the street like what happened to me. Nobody should live in fear because they want to work with honesty. I know that, in times like this, when the judges and our courts fail, when cruelty becomes law, it’s only the people who can save the people.”
For Nephtalia, a 15-year-old who only gave her first name, the devastation hit home the day her father was swept up with five other workers in a Pasadena car wash raid.
“My dad was our provider, our joy, and our strength. He made sure there was food on our table and always showed his love in small ways,” she said through tears. “And after work, he would bring us little surprises, like candy, chips, and most of the time, without us even asking. And his absence has changed our lives in ways we never imagined.”
Her plea was simple: communities must “adopt” and create safe spaces where immigrants work and gather, such as car washes, corners, and restaurants.
Authoritarianism Will Not Go Unchecked
Fabian Núñez, speaking for SAM’s Steering Committee, issued a challenge with fire: “With Liberty One, Two, and Three now on the road, the message is clear: authoritarianism will not go unchecked.”
And Barber thanked the citizens and the groups who turned out for the launch.
“Operation Liberty is not just a program, it’s a promise,” he said. “Together, we will continue to shine light where there is darkness to protect families, where there is fear, and to fight for liberty, where it is threatened. Thank you all for standing with SAM, for standing with each other and for standing for America’s promise.”
