Magdalena Lopez would describe herself as a loner, but when families in Kern County face immigration enforcement, she makes sure someone is there. Sometimes that someone is her.

Born in Los Angeles and raised across Southern California, Lopez joined the military at 18, in search of health insurance and a way to support her child. She spent eight years in the Navy as a firefighter, including three years as a firefighting instructor in San Diego.

Lopez became involved with the Rapid Response Network of Kern after the immigration raids in January. At the time, she wasn’t part of any organization. She simply began showing up and standing outside courthouses with a handmade “Know Your Rights” sign, handing out information cards, and attending protests on her own.

Rapid Response volunteers assist with accompaniments to immigration appointments, investigate reports of possible ICE activity, act as legal observers at community events, and help distribute food to families impacted by detention or fear of enforcement.

“I wish I would have gotten involved sooner,” she said. “But it’s good that I’m here now.”

Before Rapid Response, her idea of helping often meant standing alone. When she lived near a women’s clinic in downtown Bakersfield, Lopez regularly positioned herself outside to counter aggressive protesters. 

“I just wanted people to know they weren’t alone,” she said. “That there was support.”

After seeing a Rapid Response phone number shared on social media, Lopez reached out and began attending meetings. Once involved, she didn’t limit herself to one role. She cross-trained, volunteered with other community groups like the United Farm Workers (UFW) Foundation, and responded wherever she was needed.

Her flexible work as an esthetician allows her to rearrange her schedule quickly. If a call comes in, she adjusts her day. If a family is too afraid to leave their home, she brings food to them. If someone has an ICE check-in, she goes with them so they aren’t facing the unknown alone.

Lopez also stated that, for her, this work can be personal even though no one in her immediate family has been detained. 

Her mother came to the United States with her father without legal status, raising four children while navigating life without English or permanent security. Lopez said her mother only became a U.S. citizen a few years ago.

“My mom came here with my dad. She had four kids, didn’t know English, and wasn’t documented,” Lopez said. “She had her papers, but it’s not the same.”

Looking back, Lopez said she often thinks about how fragile her family’s situation once was and how easily their lives could have changed.

“Thinking back and realizing how different it could have been really pushed me. There could have been any hiccup at any moment where we would be living a completely different life,” she said. “Seeing kids being torn apart from their families really hits home. I’m glad my family is okay, but it’s not the same for everybody.”

Lopez added that a moment that affected her the most was during her first accompaniment. She was accompanying a man with no warrants or record, and while attending what should have been a routine ICE check-in, he was detained without warning. He never came back out. He left behind a wife and a baby daughter.

Lopez said this has become a common pattern in Bakersfield.

“That’s how they’re getting people here,” she said. “We haven’t seen raid activity, but what we have seen a lot is that they get them at their check-ins. They will detain them at their check-in, even if they have no prior warning.”

She said that reality makes accompaniments especially important, not because they can prevent detentions, but because they ensure families aren’t left in the dark.

“That’s why the accompaniment is very crucial,” Lopez said. “Families can’t go into the check-in. His wife and daughter couldn’t see him off. They just never saw him again.”

The man was transferred between facilities and eventually deported. Lopez believes he is now back in Peru.

Lopez said the experience nearly made her step back from the work.

“I wanted to take a little bit of a break,” she said. “But the community is really big.”

She stayed connected, attending a Rapid Response gathering and helping with a food distribution that same day. She continues to check in on the family and brings them food when possible.

Lopez is clear about the limits of her role. She isn’t an immigration attorney. She can’t follow families past checkpoints or stop detentions.

“There’s only so much we can do,” she said. “But families shouldn’t just be left wondering where their loved one is.”

Finding community through Rapid Response has also changed her. Though she still considers herself a loner by nature, being part of a collective has shifted how she moves through the world.

“It’s easier on your mental health knowing you’re not alone trying to fight the world,” she said.

When she’s not responding to calls, Lopez’s days are full and unpredictable with lash appointments, delivery routes, and visits with her mother over coffee. She’s almost always in motion.

“I guess I take after my mom,” she said. “We have to be doing something. So I might as well be doing it for good.”

As the holidays approach and fears of increased immigration activity rise, Lopez hopes people remember one thing: help exists. The Rapid Response Network is volunteer-run and always looking for more people.

The Rapid Response Network of Kern can be reached at 661-432-2230.