Gabe's life as a career criminal
For Gabe to be a criminal is ironic because it goes against his character (it seems). For instance, Gabe helps around the house a lot, and he sacrifices for Tomas and Ika a tremendous amount. For Gabe to be condemned to his life of shame and failure is a tragedy, because Gabe is a good person at heart.
Disenfranchisement
The Filipino family moved to America to find a better life, one would assume. So, it's ironic that their decision to move to America would result in such a terrible situation, but they weren't helped by the father who abandoned them with no resources and no community. Ironically, the father caused more disenfranchisement that their immigrant status did.
The ironic mother
In light of her newfound abandonment, Ika clings to her boys as her lifeline. Uncle Betino alleges that she is not in control of the home anymore, and Gabe's relationship to his mother seems Oedipal in nature. This is ironic, because mother's are supposed to launch their kids into successful adult lives, but instead, Ika wants to hold them back because she needs them.
Love and abuse
Gabe ends up in a gang with Tomas, which means that their relationship is pseudo-familial, which is weird, because they were already family, but for some reason, Gabe goes along with the gang. Also, Tomas beats Gabe up all the time, so the fact that Gabe accepts Tomas's influence is ironic.
The ironic crime of stealing Tomas's car
Gabe seems to believe that his career of criminal activity began because his brother used leverage to twist his arm, but technically, his first crime was (ironically) the theft of his brother's car to escape his brother's criminal life. In other words, Gabe became so desperate that he committed a crime to avoid committing more crimes, and that opened the door to his life as a criminal.
