The Los Angeles Worker Center Network (LAWCN) condemns the recent wave of ICE raids that have terrorized immigrant communities across Los Angeles County. These coordinated actions, carried out by federal agents, many in tactical military gear, have targeted innocent civilians, forcibly disappeared workers from their job sites, and shattered families without notice.
Since June 7th, our member organizations including the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, Garment Worker Center, Warehouse Worker Resource Center, and others have responded to emergency calls, attempted to identify the location of workers, connected families with legal support, and held community actions to resist these unjust and inhumane raids. Workers have been taken from laundromats, sidewalks, parking lots, and their places of employment, many without being informed of their rights or where they were being taken.
Let us be clear: This is orchestrated, state sanctioned violence perpetrated by authoritarian and dictatorial government that seek to intimidate, oppress, and when possible, disappear residents and citizens of this nation.
We denounce the use of federal intervention and American tax dollars to disappear people from our communities under the guise of public safety. We denounce the lack of transparency, the scope of these raids, lack of accountability, the trauma inflicted, the violation of human rights, and the irreparable harm done to children, families, and essential workers.
LAWCN demands the following immediate actions:
- Immediate Cessation of ICE Operations in Los Angeles County: Including the withdrawal of any federal personnel, tactical agents, military and military-style enforcement units deployed to our neighborhoods.
- Full Transparency and Public Accounting: Including a detailed list of those detained, their current locations, and the basis for each arrest. Families deserve to know where their loved ones are.
- Commitment from Local and State Officials: We call on the Mayor of Los Angeles, the Board of Supervisors, and the Governor of California to continue to publicly oppose these raids, prohibit local agency cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and ensure local resources are used to protect—not endanger—residents.
- Guarantees of Legal Representation and Due Process: All detainees must be granted immediate access to legal counsel, family notification, and public hearings.
- An End to Workplace Raids: Targeting workplaces undermines labor rights, emboldens wage theft, and creates a climate of fear that silences vulnerable workers.
LAWCN has spent the last three years building systems to uplift worker voices, advocate for just policies, and advance community-led enforcement models that protect low-wage immigrant workers from exploitation. From the creation of community defense protocols, to successful campaigns advancing wage theft enforcement, labor standards, and the dignity of undocumented workers, we have demonstrated that safety comes not from militarization, but from empowerment, legal protections, and economic justice.
The federal government is wasting 100’s of millions of dollars in political theater to advance political objectives at the expense of everyday military workers, laborers, children, immigrants, and American tax payers. Our communities are not warzones. Our workers are not criminals. Our city must not be complicit and fight! We will not be silent. We will not stand down.
We call on all Angelenos, residents, community leaders, union allies, and elected officials to join us in fighting for the safety and dignity of every person who calls Los Angeles home.