On August 18, 2025, while the San Fernando Valley buzzed with 818 Day celebrations, a different kind of gathering unfolded outside Van Nuys City Hall. Here, dozens of demonstrators—representing a coalition of pro-immigrant groups—rallied under the banner “All Eyes on the Valley,” calling for an immediate end to federal immigration raids that have swept through the predominantly Latino communities of the 818 area code. The message was clear, and the mood, though defiant, was tinged with fear and frustration.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be on 818 Day than in these streets,” declared Carla Orendorff, an organizer with Aetna Street Solidarity and the San Fernando Valley Homeless Union, according to San Fernando Sun. “Because we have so much to fight for, we have so much to live for and our resistance is life.” Her words captured the urgency felt by many who have watched as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have ramped up operations since early June, targeting day laborers, street vendors, and even students.
Between June 6 and July 20, 2025, Panorama City emerged as the epicenter of these raids, according to data from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) LA Rapid Response Network. The pattern was unmistakable: federal agents, often masked and lacking clear identification, arrested people off the street—many without warrants. The focus, activists say, has been on areas where day laborers gather, especially outside home improvement stores like Home Depot. Megan Ortiz, executive director of the Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), told San Fernando Sun that of the twelve raids on day labor centers co-located with Home Depots, half occurred at the Van Nuys location.
The consequences have been harrowing. In Pacoima, a tamales vendor suffered a heart attack after Border Patrol agents grabbed her from behind. In San Fernando, a day laborer broke his leg while fleeing ICE agents. And in Van Nuys, CBP agents reportedly broke windows and dragged laborers out of their vehicles. The toll has not just been physical; it’s been psychological and deeply personal. On August 14, Roberto Carlos Montoya, a day laborer, died while fleeing ICE agents in Monrovia—he was handcuffed when struck by a car.
“Two federal judges have said that this is illegal,” said Cal Soto, workers’ rights director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). “Today they continue to illegally arrest people on the corner based on the color of their skin, the language they’re speaking and the type of work they’re seeking. Shame!” Despite a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by a federal district judge and upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the raids have persisted, leaving many to question both the city’s and federal government’s willingness—or ability—to enforce the law and protect vulnerable residents.
Ortiz, whose nonprofit runs several day laborer centers, voiced her frustration at the city’s seeming inaction. “I would like to know from the office of the city attorney if I can obtain a protective order against my day labor centers,” she said. “Every year, you make us tell you how we help thousands of day laborers get jobs across the city. You make us fill out a thousand reports telling y’all all the money that day laborers are bringing to the city economy. Yet you are allowing, day by day, for these workers to be disappeared and stolen from our neighborhoods, from their families.”
The reach of these raids has extended beyond day laborers and into the lives of students and their families. On August 14, outside Arleta High School, nearly a dozen masked Border Patrol agents detained and handcuffed a 15-year-old San Fernando High School student with mental disabilities, only to release him later after realizing their mistake. A CBP spokesperson later claimed the operation was aimed at a “criminal illegal alien,” whom they had mistaken the child for. In another incident, an 18-year-old rising senior at Reseda Charter High School was detained while walking his dog and remains in custody, awaiting deportation. “He is like many students who come here with a dream to do better. He should be starting his senior high school year right now, and instead, he is in detention, where he is afraid,” said Lizette Becerra, an LA Unified School District educator.
Demonstrators at the rally demanded the release of those they say are being illegally detained, an end to family separations, and for Mayor Karen Bass to take concrete action to protect immigrant Angelenos. Calls for a ban on ICE at schools and the cancellation of rent and mortgage payments for those affected by the raids echoed through the crowd. “We will organize, and we will defend, and we will fight back,” Orendorff vowed. “We will not accept any more kidnappings or abductions. No more killing of our people.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Karen Bass has stepped into the fray, publicly demanding an end to ICE worksite raids at fruit stands and car washes in Los Angeles, which she called “un-American.” On August 20, Bass posted on X, “ICE raids at fruit stands and car washes must end,” emphasizing that she “will never accept these tactics as a new normal,” as reported by Breitbart News. Her statement came just as ICE agents arrested Claudio Reyes-Vasquez, an undocumented immigrant with a long criminal record—including child molestation—at Chapman Car Wash in Orange County, not far from Los Angeles. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials described Reyes-Vasquez as “one of the worst of the worst,” highlighting the complicated and polarizing nature of immigration enforcement in the region.
The tension between local efforts to shield immigrants and federal enforcement actions is playing out in other arenas, too. On August 15, Metro bus operator Sean Broadbent was fired after telling LA Public Press he would refuse to allow ICE agents to board his bus. Broadbent, who had worked for Metro since February 2024, said he was terminated for violating the agency’s communications policy by speaking out without management’s permission. He claims his actions were justified, citing a federal court order that prohibits ICE from targeting individuals based on race or ethnicity and using unconstitutional tactics. “It hurts, you know, because this is a job that I have really cared about and has felt really meaningful because I’m being of service to other people,” Broadbent told LA Public Press. “The termination feels not only retaliatory but in violation of my First Amendment rights to free speech.”
Metro, for its part, said it has not received credible reports of ICE attempting to board buses or trains, and that law enforcement must show a judicial warrant to enter ticketed areas. Still, Broadbent’s termination has sparked debate about the rights of workers to speak out and the responsibilities of public agencies to protect both employees and riders. Ritu Mahajan Estes, an attorney with Public Counsel, argued that Broadbent has a legal right to express his views on political issues, especially when they concern public safety and civil rights.
Union activism has surged in response to the raids. On July 10, the LA County Federation of Labor hosted what was billed as the largest direct-action training in county history, equipping over 1,000 workers with skills to respond if ICE agents attempted to enter their workplaces. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11, whose members attended, described the training as a way to “resist government oppression” and counteract “unconstitutional ICE raids.” LA Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez addressed the crowd, with Soto-Martinez later stating, “We are living through unprecedented times, and nonviolent direct action is one of the greatest tools we have to fight back against Trump’s increasingly authoritarian agenda.”
The Department of Homeland Security, however, has made it clear that enforcement will continue. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told LA Public Press, “DHS will continue enforcing our immigration laws across the Greater Los Angeles area. Our operations focus on criminal illegal aliens at targeted locations.” She declined to address whether the agency is complying with court orders or whether Metro would be targeted in future operations.
As the debate rages on, the data remains sobering. According to a Los Angeles Times investigation, about 68% of the 2,031 people arrested by ICE in Southern California between June 1 and June 26 had no prior criminal convictions, and 57% had never been charged with a crime. The stories emerging from the San Fernando Valley and beyond are not just statistics—they are lived experiences, marked by fear, resilience, and a stubborn hope that change might yet be possible.
In the end, the streets of Los Angeles have become a battleground for competing visions of justice, safety, and belonging, with the fate of many hanging in the balance.
