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One year after the Trump administration deployed thousands of federal agents to Los Angeles to arrest and detain people, immigrant rights activists are cautiously optimistic about the success of their organizing efforts. Although arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Southern California have dramatically dropped, organizers expect them to ramp up again in the future.

On June 6, 2025, multiple raids by ICE agents across the greater LA area sowed terror and chaos, resulting in dozens of arrests and spirited protests. Those raids marked the start of a campaign that lasted many months and included showdowns and violent arrests at garment factories and car washes, Home Depot parking lots and swap meets, outside schools and inside courthouses.

As fear spread across the sprawling metropolis, LA’s streets emptied and the characteristic bustle of summer activities came to a near standstill. For graduating seniors and their families, the timing couldn’t have been worse. With many first- and second-generation immigrants becoming the first in their families to graduate high school or university, their planned celebrations turned into grim affairs with low turnout.

Office workers, janitors, lawyers, and tourists stayed away from downtown LA, which is home to several federal immigration offices and courthouses. Instead, regular showdowns between protesters, police, and National Guards ensued, amid building walls and sidewalks festooned with anti-ICE graffiti.

According to Human Rights Watch, the June 2025 LA raids “set the stage for similar and subsequent abuses in cities around the country.”

ICE Separated 145,000 Children From Their Parents Since 2025, Study Estimates

Today, the streets of downtown LA are scrubbed clean, the graffiti painted over. Office workers and tourists jostle for parking spots, and ICE agents are scarce. At a May Day 2026 gathering outside LA City Hall, a young man named Richie who has been active with the Community Self-Defense Coalition explained that ICE agents are less visible now “because we ran them out. They still try to be clandestine, but we ran them out.” Still, Angelinos remain on high alert. Richie added, “We see them, and we let the community know, and the community knows what to do.”

What the activist was referring to was the painstaking work that immigrant rights activists like him did to counter last year’s ICE raids. “We just let them know that we are exercising our First Amendment right to freely assemble, and to let them know that they’re not welcome, that they’re invaders,” he said.

“They’re still trying to kidnap people. Just because the media doesn’t catch it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”

“They’re still trying to kidnap people. Just because the media doesn’t catch it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”

In early 2025, as Donald Trump took office for the second time, local organizations anticipated ICE raids. They mobilized their members and spent months preparing.........

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