By Alina Ta and Maya Carrillo SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND STAFF WRITER
Multiple sightings of unmarked vehicles operated by ICE–U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement–were confirmed Sunday and Monday in East Side San José.
The first incident was between the intersection of South White Road and Tully Road and the intersection of King Road and Story Road on Sunday afternoon, according to an Instagram post from the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network.
The network is a community defense project created to protect and support immigrant community members from deportation threats, according to a webpage from Sacred Heart Community Service. It provides this support during and after a community member is arrested or detained.
ICE agents were spotted in the area at 12:30 p.m. Sunday behind a Target on King Road and Story Road, according to the Rapid Response Network. By 3:30 p.m., ICE was no longer present in the area.
On Monday at 7:30 a.m., the county’s Rapid Response Network received a hotline tip about a potential ICE activity in a parking lot behind a Lucky store on West Capitol Avenue.
Volunteers from the network quickly arrived at the scene to confirm there was a white van and verified that the vehicle belonged to ICE.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, according to a webpage from the department.
ICE enforces federal laws regarding the border, customs, immigration and international trade.
By around 8:30 a.m. Monday, a second van was spotted at Alum Rock Ave and South Jackson Avenue.
Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents District 5 in East San José, said he was at the scene on Sunday afternoon.
“Our community was in a state of fear,” Ortiz said.
He said he received a notification from the county’s Rapid Response Network and said there were ICE vehicles spotted in his district at the local shopping center on the corner of King Road and Story Road, a well-known hub for the Latino community.
He said that the Target store in the area was collaborating with ICE to help detain a female Colombian national.
“The community was in shock and frightened,” Ortiz said. “Unfortunately, a lot of the members of the community downplayed and didn't really take into consideration just how bullish Trump (and the) Trump administration was going to be with their deportation activity.
Now we’re starting to see that Trump is going to be giving ICE agents quotas.”
Sharat G. Lin, a San José resident and a volunteer for the county’s Rapid Response Network, said he also saw the notification when the network announced the ICE sighting on Sunday afternoon, but did not visit the scene.
Lin said typically the network alerts volunteers that there has been a sighting by texting volunteers the general location
where ICE was spotted and other additional information including vehicle descriptions and nearby landmarks.
“Well, of course, it’s scary but it's also infuriating,” Lin said.
“I really feel that as someone who is privileged in the sense that I’m a citizen, I have some privilege to go to the scene and not fear that I’m going to be kidnapped (by) federal agents.”
Ortiz said he and the city are unable to comment on the reason why the individual was arrested because city officials are not collaborating with ICE.
to the memorandum.
The memorandum also states that no city employee will cooperate with any immigration enforcement actions that target San José residents.
Huy Tran, the executive director for Services, Immigration Rights and Education Network said that there are limits to the actions immigration officers can take.
“As federal agents, they have the right to operate in any kind of public space,” Tran said.
“The rights really kick in when they’re trying to gain access
The community was in shock and frightened. Unfortunately, a lot of the members of the community downplayed and didn’ t really take into consideration just how bullish Trump (and the) Trump administration was going to be...
Peter Ortiz
San José District 5 councilmember
agents absent a judicial order, meaning a subpoena, meaning a warrant,” Tran said.
Ortiz said he and other volunteers from the Rapid Response Network shot photos and videos of the ICE officers using Target’s private property to detain the individual from Colombia.
“We have photos of them using Target’s private property, which is sad, because King (Road) and Story (Road), those shopping centers and those businesses rely on the Latino and immigrant community for sales,” he said.
Ortiz also said he and the other volunteers followed four unmarked cars being operated by ICE into different nearby neighborhoods.
The four cars traveled separately into the Tropicana neighborhood, a residential area at the intersection of Tully Road and South King Road, one neighborhood in Capital Park and the Foxdale Village apartments.
He said he was also unable to comment on whether or not employees at the Lucky store on West Capitol Avenue collaborated with ICE on Monday morning.
The city of San José reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the “safety and dignity (for) all of its residents” regardless of an individual’s legal status or national origin by passing a memorandum, according to the city’s meeting minutes from Jan. 15.
The city of San José also reaffirmed its position to not have officers from the San José Police Department arrest a person based on their immigration status, according
to a place that is normally not open to the public. So that's where, for example, the most obvious and clear example is your home,”
Universities such as SJSU do not allow officers or unauthorized personnel in certain areas requiring keycards, pins and passwords due to privacy reasons.
An FAQ about CSU immigration actions says, “Public access is limited in certain areas of CSU universities and property because of privacy concerns, operational needs, or safety considerations.”
“Universities can choose not to comply with any kind of order or request from immigration
Ortiz said the Colombian national was taken to an ICE office in Morgan Hill to be sent later to a detention center but he and the city do not know which one.
“There’s an instinct in me that says I need to do something to distract these ICE agents, (either) verbally or just distract them just to say that, ‘Look, you're not welcome in this community,’ ” Lin said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF SAN JOSE DISTRICT 5
Five ICE agents gather in front of a house on a driveway in a neighborhood in East Side San José around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon on Jan. 26.
Aloha rink says goodbye to San José
By Israel Archie SENIOR STAFF WRITER
After six years of business, Aloha Fun Center, which contains one of the last indoor skating rinks in San José, is rolling out of the Eastridge Center.
Despite the closing, owner Liz Ruiz voiced her gratitude for having the opportunity to own and manage the rink for as long as she did.
According to a Jan. 19 article from San José Spotlight, the rink started out as a two-month popup when it originally opened in 2018, but because of a six-year contract extension, it was able to stay active longer. The contract officially ended this year.
“I was never meant to stay here permanently,” Ruiz said. “So the fact that I squeezed six years out of a two-month contract is really quite a blessing.”
The rink is scheduled to officially close down on Feb. 23, according to Ruiz. While the future seems a little uncertain for her, she said she is determined to find a new spot and start another skating rink.
“I wish that we could say that we’re moving, but unfortunately we’re not prepared to have a new spot so fast,” Ruiz said. “It depends on how much work is needed at the new spot whenever we finalize where that is going to be.”
Along with Ruiz, employee Lisette Munoz has been working at the skating rink since its
opening and is a little sad about the rink closing down.
“I think it’s sad that we’re leaving, but I know Liz is on to bigger and better things,” Munoz said. Because of the closing, the rink staff is encouraging the community to come to the events and put on the skates for the last few times at Aloha Fun Center. Much of the outreach has come from putting up signs around the city and social media posts, according to Munoz who addressed the importance of outreach in the community.
Some of these events included an Emo-Goth
Night on Jan. 19 and a Decade Night on Jan. 24. Jan. 26 was originally supposed to be the last day for them to do events, but were able to extend some events into February which can be seen on their Instagram page.
According to Ruiz, the extension occurred because the project that is going to replace Aloha Fun Center ran into some delays with permitting.
Some of the events in February include a Rock & Roll Night on Feb. 2 and a Disney Day on Feb. 21 and can also be seen on their Instagram.
“We’re getting people from Morgan Hill, Milpitas and Piedmont,” Munoz
said. “So I think the posting is very important. That’s how we keep getting more customers.”
Some of these customers take skating classes taught by employee Maricus Jones, who started skating in 2021 and was eventually hired by Aloha Fun Center to teach people how to skate.
“It definitely holds a really sweet spot in my heart because I’ve put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears into skating here and it is my primary hobby,” Jones said.
With the impending closure of the rink, Jones remains optimistic that a new site will be found soon.
“Skating doesn’t disappear just because this location shuts down,” Jones said. “I’m looking forward to the next chapter to be honest because it may open up new opportunities to try new things at a different location or different audience than what we’re normally used to.”
While most of the staff have voiced their sadness about the closing, maintenance worker Mike Montello, said that he was heartbroken to see the place go.
Montello manages the quality of the skates in addition to teaching people how to skate.
“It’s painful for me,”
Montello said. “I skate here every day, I’ve got hundreds of new friends and I can’t believe it’s going away.” Montello said he credits roller skating as a major contribution to his life changing for the better.
“Skating changed my life and it will change anybody's life if you give it a chance,” Montello said. “It brought a whole new perspective to the way I look at life because of the roller rink. It’s a beautiful thing and I’m hurt to see it go.”
Arnold Monteon and his 6 year-old-daughter, Aubrianna, skate around in circles at the roller rink inside the Aloha Fun Center on Saturday.
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
A Grand Century Lunar New Year
People offer money to the lion dancers as they make their way through Grand Century Mall’s Lunar New Year Parade.
A man at a Vietnamese calligraphy stand draws characters during the Lunar New Year Parade.
Chloe Le, Miss Vietnam of San José, waves to the crowd during the ‘Mom and Me’ event.
Military veterans and family using incense to pay respects to an altar wishing for good luck for the Lunar New Year.
Cal VSA Lion Dance Team, UC Berkeley’s Lion Dance team, performs on stage for onlookers.
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PHOTOS BY DONOVAN NOCHE
I
don't fear my TikTok algorithm
But here is why the United States government does...
Was the TikTok ban a power play by President Donald Trump or competitiveness that another country is dominating in our field?
TikTok is a social
Nageena Shinwari STAFF WRITER
security threat and a vehicle for espionage, according to a Jan. 19 CBS article.
But the app allows you to talk about all of your ideas, lip-sync to famous audios and save your favorite edits.
The app was founded by a Chinese
The app prioritizes content that is engaging to users rather than followers and popularity, according to an April 19 Agorapulse article.
Are all of these factors truly viewed as a vehicle for espionage? No, I see it as an excuse.
It is fun, exciting and enjoyable to be on the app because the whole focus of the app is to be aligned to you.
The algorithm is fast and can get up to speed
TikTok should not be banned in the United States because it goes against our rights to express ourselves, and the ban would only allow the American government to make us more vulnerable to their power.
media app that allows people to show off creativity, feel seen in niche subjects and express freedom of speech.
TikTok is seen as a communication tool the younger generation relies more on the app than they do with other media outlets or news outlets.
Lawmakers fear an app not owned by American businessmen would make it harder to push their agendas on the American people.
They are not able to push or force something on you, making it harder for them to push their ideas on you.
The ban showcases the disrespect the American government has towards the population in hopes we follow them blindly.
entrepreneur, Zhang Yiming, and the CEO is a Singaporean business executive, Shou Zi Chew.
The American government motioned TikTok as a national
on your wants and needs for your entertainment.
The TikTok algorithm allows people to become viral very quickly compared to many other social media apps.
TikTok stumbled into the American people's hands and became the fastestgrowing social media platform since 2020, according to a Jan. 22 Business of Apps article. Users are under 20
years making TikTok have more Gen Z users than Instagram, according to a Jan. 21 Exploding Topics data set. not surprising that Gen Z users looked to TikTok when it came to world problems because of its visual fast-paced platform.
was a national security threat, according to a Jan. 19 AP News article.
ers t h an cord ing x pl o d ing Topics d ata t. It was ot hZ
On TikTok you can come across more small accounts, people who are doing something they love. Many users have stumbled upon small news accounts that report on anything from entertainment to politics.
This appeals more to the younger generation because they deem these smaller accounts more trustworthy than journalists working for bigger companies.
In 2020, President Trump advocated for a TikTok ban because it
When the conclusion came to ban TikTok in 2024, Trump started began advocating against the ban to fuel young Americans to vote for him.
Throughout his campaign, he promised to keep the app, according to a 2024, Nov. 12 PBS article. Making the TikTok ban was a way to manipulate the public, for voters, and for agendas to be pushed.
TikTok should not be banned in the United States because it goes against our rights to express ourselves, and the ban would only allow the American government to make us more vulnerable to their power.
