34-year-old ice cream stand owner in LA raises money for immigrants' rights: 'It means a lot to be able to give back'

Protests are cropping up across the country opposing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and military presence in California. Meanwhile, some Los Angeles business owners are finding their own way to support immigrant, Latino and Hispanic communities targeted by recent federal immigration enforcement raids.
SueEllen Mancini, 34, is the owner of Sad Girl Creamery, an LA-based ice cream business that offers Latin-inspired flavors like chocoflan and guava jam cheesecake. She tells CNBC Make It she's unable to protest because she is her mother's primary caretaker.
"But I figured, 'OK, we can put our heads together and be able to give back, even if it's just a little bit,'" Mancini say. "And I think the biggest way I could personally give back is monetarily."
On Sunday, Mancini says she will donate 20% of sales from her pop-up at downtown LA's Smorgasburg event, including all tips, to The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, an LA County-based immigrant rights group.
Mancini launched Sad Girl Creamery from her home in 2021 after buying a $300 Whynter ice cream maker. She considers her venture a "microbusiness." Even so, "I think it's important to put your money where your mouth is and really give back to the people who are on the ground trying to make a difference, even if you can't personally be there," Mancini says.
"It means a lot to be able to give back to the people who are going through the same situations we've gone through in the past," she says.
The latest news of immigration enforcement raids is personal. When Mancini was a teenager, she says her older brother, then 18 years old, was deported. He had been born outside of the country, came to the U.S. as an infant and was unaware of his immigration status, Mancini says.
"My brother was only a 1-year old [when he arrived in the U.S.], so America was literally all he knew up until his deportation," Mancini says. "This was before [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]. My mother later had me here in the U.S., making me the only citizen [and] documented in the family for 25 years."
Mancini says she and her family, including her mom and an older sister, are still paying immigration lawyer fees for her brother's return to the U.S., "and it is a painfully long process and really expensive."
Mancini works alongside her mom, Maria Lupes, to run Sad Girl Creamery, which operates out of a commercial kitchen in Culver City and sells pints in stores around the metro area.
"[My mom has] always been really hard-working and very independent [and] a super quick thinker," Mancini says about working with her mom. "I get everything from her, so her great working aspects and creativity definitely rubs off on me."
Mancini, who grew up in Houston, says moving to LA in 2018 helped her embrace her family's roots in Uruguay and Chile.
"When I visited the first time I immediately saw how Latino-focused it is, the whole community, and that made me feel close to my own culture," she told the LA Times in 2023. "That made me want to be closer to that side of myself that I had never paid attention to. ... I come from an immigrant family, I grew up that way. I share all those experiences, but I had never expressed it."
Roughly 10 million people call LA County home, and some 49% identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census data.
Mancini uses her platform around Sad Girl Creamery to raise awareness for mental health issues, too, which she says are still stigmatized in many areas of U.S. Latino culture. Many Latinos face barriers to care.
As for her upcoming efforts to raise money for local immigrant groups, "I really hope that we get a lot of people to show up [and] help put more more money towards helping these people," Mancini says. "Come and enjoy ice cream that's literally inspired by these cultures."
"Maybe the ice cream might make you feel a little better," Mancini adds. "Things are really scary out there, but as long as we support one another, we can get through this. We're a strong community."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

American Press

an hour ago

• American Press

Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from immigration detention

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released Friday from federal immigration detention, freed after 104 days by a judge's ruling after becoming a symbol of President Donald Trump 's clampdown on campus protests. The former Columbia University graduate student left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday. He is expected to head to New York to reunite with his U.S. citizen wife and infant son, born while Khalil was detained. 'Justice prevailed, but it's very long overdue,' he said outside the facility in a remote part of Louisiana. 'This shouldn't have taken three months.' Email newsletter signup The Trump administration is seeking to deport Khalil over his role in pro-Palestinian protests. He was detained on March 8 at his apartment building in Manhattan. Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. 'Petitioner is not a flight risk, and the evidence presented is that he is not a danger to the community,' he said. 'Period, full stop.' During an hourlong hearing conducted by phone, the New Jersey-based judge said the government had 'clearly not met' the standards for detention. The government filed notice Friday evening that it's appealing Khalil's release. The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on the social platform X that the same day Farbiarz ordered Khalil's release, an immigration judge in Louisiana denied him bond and 'ordered him removed.' The decision was made by Judge Jamee Comans, who is in a court located in the same detention facility from which Khalil was released. 'An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained,' the post said. Khalil was the first person arrested under Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel's devastating war in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Khalil must be expelled from the country because his continued presence could harm American foreign policy. The Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be deported as it considers their views antisemitic. Protesters and civil rights groups say the administration is conflating antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to silence dissent. Farbiarz has ruled that the government can't deport Khalil on the basis of its claims that his presence could undermine foreign policy. But the judge gave the administration leeway to continue pursuing a potential deportation based on allegations that he lied on his green card application, an accusation Khalil disputes. The international affairs graduate student isn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. He served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists and wasn't among the demonstrators arrested, but his prominence in news coverage and willingness to speak publicly made him a target of critics. The judge agreed Friday with Khalil's lawyers that the protester was being prevented from exercising his free speech and due process rights despite no obvious reason for his continued detention. The judge noted that Khalil is now clearly a public figure. Khalil said Friday that no one should be detained for protesting Israel's war in Gaza. He said his time in the Jena, Louisiana, detention facility had shown him 'a different reality about this country that supposedly champions human rights and liberty and justice.' 'Whether you are a U.S. citizen, an immigrant or just a person on this land doesn't mean that you are less of a human,' he said, adding that 'justice will prevail, no matter what this administration may try to portray' about immigrants. Khalil had to surrender his passport and can't travel internationally, but he will get his green card back and be given official documents permitting limited travel within the country, including New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances and Washington to lobby Congress. In a statement after the judge's ruling, Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, said she can finally 'breathe a sigh of relief' after her husband's three months in detention. 'We know this ruling does not begin to address the injustices the Trump administration has brought upon our family, and so many others,' she said. 'But today we are celebrating Mahmoud coming back to New York to be reunited with our little family.' The judge's decision comes after several other scholars targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri. ___ Marcelo reported from New York. Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York.

Los Angeles Times

an hour ago

• Los Angeles Times

Protesters gather after immigration raid targets car wash in L.A. County

Protesters gathered in southeast Los Angeles County Friday evening, facing off with masked men in fatigues after federal agents detained at least three people at a car wash in the city of Bell, according to witnesses, and visited another car wash in neighboring Maywood. The immigration action in Bell took place at Jack's Car Wash and Detailing, located in the 7000 block of Atlantic Avenue, just north of Florence Avenue. Security camera footage reviewed by The Times shows masked men wearing olive vests chasing a car wash employee, who was wearing a bright green uniform and cap. The video shows another employee — wearing a bright green cap, a white long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans — surrounded by the masked men, his hands restrained behind his back. The employee is tackled to the ground as customers and others gathered, with some taking out their phones to record videos. The man in the white-long sleeved shirt is a car wash worker who is a U.S. citizen, according to the employee's brother, Jesús Rafael Cervantes. He said his brother, who lives in Bell Gardens, wanted to defend a coworker— an action that, Cervantes said, prompted agents to detain his brother. 'Just for defending someone, they came and knocked him down. As you can see in the videos, they came and knocked him down like that, just like that. And that's unfair, that they come and grab a person like that as if he were an animal or something,' Cervantes told The Times. Protesters gathered to confront the agents in the area, which is about 6 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. In one video shared with The Times, a protester sprays white paint on a silver SUV and a voice can be heard saying, 'Get the ... out of here!' while others jeer. People can be seen hitting the vehicle. Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment. In a statement posted on social media, the agency said Border Patrol vehicles 'were violently targeted during lawful operations' in Bell and neighboring Maywood. The Department of Homeland Security said one vehicle was rammed and had its tires slashed on Atlantic Boulevard. On Slauson Avenue, a civilian struck a federal vehicle, totaling it, according to the department. The statement included photos showing silver vehicles with cracked or shattered windows. One silver SUV was shown with dented doors and scratched paint. 'The driver was arrested for suspicion of vehicular assault as a mob formed and slashed additional tires,' the department said. 'Federal law enforcement is facing an ever-escalating increase in assaults—but we will not be deterred,' the department said. 'If you assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted.' The statement did not indicate how many were detained on immigration-related matters. The protest in Bell, a city with a large Latino and Lebanese community, comes as the federal government continues its campaign in Los Angeles to find and capture undocumented immigrants. The actions have spurred backlash from local and state officials and have forced some residents into hiding. 'We're not sure who these armed men are. They show up without uniforms. They show up completely masked. They refuse to give ID. They're driving regular cars with tinted windows and in some cases, out of state license plates. Who are these people?' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a briefing Friday night. 'If they're federal officials, why is it that they do not identify themselves?' Bass asked. Around Atlantic and Brompton avenues, crowds of people gathered, taking videos and looking at the agents — armed individuals wearing balaclavas, some carrying long weapons, wearing vests and camoflauge pants. They stood in the street near a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. The crowd and agents were separated by yellow tape. One woman with a bullhorn hurled obscenities at the agents and President Trump; others waved a Mexican flag and an upside-down U.S. flag, traditionally a symbol of protest or distress. 'Losers!' another woman called out. 'Go fight a real war!' Another shouted, 'Shame on you!' Elsewhere, one of the armed people wore a U.S. flag on his vest, and some onlookers called out to them. 'Are you a bounty hunter? How much is the bounty for an illegal right now?' someone on the street yelled. Cudahy Mayor Elizabeth Alcantar Loza was in Bell as the crowds gathered, and said the mood on Atlantic Avenue shifted when suddenly an unmarked silver SUV drove toward her and other people standing near her, angering the crowd. Some began to hit and throw objects at the SUV. A second unmarked vehicle attempted to do the same thing moments later, she said. 'It felt like there was a point being made to incite violence,' Alcantar Loza said. 'People were peacefully protesting, and it became something completely different because of the vehicle that was trying to drive into the crowd.' 'We've seen it across the board, folks show up to an immigration activity and then violence is enacted upon them. Then they respond and we're shown as violent protesters—when in reality folks were calm, they were chanting, they were protesting. And they tried to run people over,' she said. Just after 8 p.m., peaceful protesters waving Mexican and American flags gathered around Jack's Car Wash in Bell, as motorists honked their horns in support. 'ICE out of everywhere!!!' one sign said. 'Immigrants built this country,' said another. There was another immigration action that appeared to focus on a car wash in Maywood on Friday, according to Maywood Councilman Eddie De La Riva. Ultimately no one was taken from that business, he said. At one point, there was considerable commotion near the car wash. Video shared with The Times shows a minor collision between a blue BMW and a blue SUV with at least three agents inside, all wearing green vests. One of the passengers in the SUV opens his door in front of the slowly moving BMW, causing the BMW to hit the SUV's door. Agents detained the BMW's driver, who was later released, the councilman said, after onlookers shouted at the agents to let the driver go. By then, a crowd of protesters had formed. Fernando Botello, 39, was driving back to Maywood after picking up his girlfriend's 14-year-old son when he got an alert on his citizen app that people suspected to be immigration agents were spotted in the area. Moments later, he said, he learned that the agents were at an Xpress Wash at Slauson and Alamo avenues, just blocks from his home. When Botello got close to the intersection, he could see several vehicles were blocking the roadway. Unable to move, he got out of the car and watched the scene. He said the crowd started screaming to let the man go. He could hear people asking for the agents' badge numbers. After five minutes, he said, local police arrived. It was at that point, he said, the agents got in their vehicles and threw tear gas at a group standing on a corner near a park. A video taken by Botello shows an armed masked man standing from the ledge of an open door of a black SUV slowly driving along a street near Maywood's Riverfront Park. The video shows the agent throwing an object toward a crowd of people, and a loud bang can be heard as he gets back in the vehicle. Botello said the object was a flash bang grenade, and was tossed at people who were taking video. 'They knew what they wanted to do,' he said. As he recounted the situation, Botello paused, trying to hold back tears. 'I was upset because the people were exercising their right. They weren't hitting the officers' vehicles, they weren't in the middle of the street,' he said. 'You're punishing people for standing up for their neighbors and yourself.' 'It feels surreal. I don't know how long this is going to last.'

USA Today

2 hours ago

• USA Today

L.A. Dodgers commit $1 million toward families of immigrants 'impacted by recent events'

One day after Department of Homeland Security officers infringed upon their home amid nearly two weeks of heightened tension in Los Angeles, the Dodgers on Friday announced a $1 million "commitment" toward financial assistance for families of immigrants "impacted by recent events in the region." Los Angeles has been roiled by aggressive raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which have honed in on workplaces frequented by immigrants. Marines and the National Guard have been dispatched to Los Angeles in the wake of protests that have seen heavy use of tear gas and projectile weapons by law enforcement. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been heavily criticized for both action and inaction from their heavily Latino fan base. Manager Dave Roberts stated he didn't have enough information to opine on the situation, and the club came under more scrutiny after R&B singer Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium, and posted videos and correspondence showing it was against the Dodgers' wishes. Veteran utilityman Kiké Hernández posted a message of support on Instagram, and in the days following the club indicated it would soon show support for the area's immigrant population. Then came Thursday's caravan of DHS vans and vehicles to the Dodger Stadium gate, where they apparently hoped to use the grounds for staging. Protestors arrived and DHS officials were eventually escorted out a separate exit by the Los Angeles Police Department. But many remained and turned their grievances toward the Dodgers for staying largely neutral at a time the community was reeling. The Dodgers' statement nodded non-specifically toward events in the area while not referencing ICE, DHS or other outside forces. "What's happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,' said Dodgers president Stan Kasten, whose club generated an estimated $752 million in revenue last season and is valued at nearly $7 billion. 'We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.' Mayor Karen Bass indicated the external infringement on the community has had an impact. 'These last weeks have sent shockwaves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy," Bass said.