Day laborers in Los Angeles protest noise machines installed at Home Depot store in Cypress Park
CYPRESS PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm about a high-pitched noise they say is coming from machines installed outside the Home Depot in the Cypress Park area of Los Angeles.
Day laborers say the machines were put in place to drive them away amid immigration raids at the store.
City officials and advocates gathered earlier in the week to protest these alleged noise machines. They claim that a loud piercing sound has been emitted for months.
The L.A. Times reported that this is an effort to push day laborers out of the area. Advocates claim the machines have caused day laborers headaches and even nausea. They’re calling for Home Depot to remove these machines.
A Home Depot spokesperson responded to the allegations in a statement to Eyewitness News that said:
“The Home Depot has several initiatives we use to keep our stores safe, including human and technology resources. This is a unique location – we do not have this particular technology at any other stores in the LA area. We also installed K-gate barriers at this location, as it’s critical to remain clear due to the CalTrans facility overhead. Both measures are intended to deter and prevent illegal overnight parking in the area.”
However, the statement did not directly admit to the use of any high-pitched sound machines.
Jose De La Torre has been working as a day laborer in the area for some 25 years, before the Home Depot was built.
“It wouldn’t hurt you, but you can feel it in your bones,” De La Torre said about the noise.
He said the piercing sound started coming out of the speakers about a month ago. He’s now wearing ear plugs whenever that noise starts blasting through the parking lot.
He said it’s been tough trying to get regular work amid immigration raids and now having to deal with the noise.
“It’s hard. We’re scared, we’re afraid,” De La Torre said. “It’s a hard time to find a job. There’s hardly any people who come and hire us at the job center. So it’s tough.”
ABC7 reporter Madison Weil was outside the Home Depot store in Cypress Park early Friday morning and said she was not able to hear any sound being emitted from the alleged machines.
Devices like these have been reportedly used in the past to deter homeless from specific areas.
Home Depot stores nationwide have been targets for immigration raids. In November, federal agents detained a man at the Cypress Park location.
In Hollywood this weekend, activists are planning to urge customers not to shop at the Home Depot.
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