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ICE in Los Angeles: One Year Later
This weekend marks one year since protesters and federal agents clashed for weeks across Southern California streets.
One year after federal immigration agents raided a downtown Los Angeles garment business, families of workers detained that day returned Saturday to the site where the operation unfolded, saying the effects of the enforcement action continue to shape their lives.
The gathering outside Ambiance Apparel marked the anniversary of one of the most high-profile immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles. Family members, immigrant rights advocates and elected officials used the event to remember those taken into custody and to call for the release of individuals who remain in federal detention.
Organizers with Lucha Zapoteca, a grassroots advocacy group that has supported affected families since the raid, said the past year has been defined by court hearings, detention center visits and efforts to reunite relatives separated by immigration enforcement.
"We have secured the liberation of 11 of our 14 family members who were kidnapped by the federal government," one organizer told the crowd during Saturday's event.
Among those attending was Yurien Contreras, whose father, Mario Romero, was detained during the operation.
"Watching my father be detained while we stood powerless was one of the most traumatic experiences of our lives," Contreras said.
She said the arrest was especially difficult on her younger brother, who has a disability and struggled to understand why his father had disappeared.
Although Romero has since been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, Contreras said the family continues to deal with the emotional fallout.
"The emotional and mental impact of the day stayed with our family long after the raid ended and even after his liberation," she said. "Watching my father be released with an ankle shackle was absolutely horrifying."
The June 2025 operation became a flashpoint in Southern California's immigration debate. In the months that followed, federal agents conducted enforcement actions at workplaces, courthouses and public spaces across the region as part of broader immigration enforcement efforts by the Trump administration, which said it was targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds.
The operations prompted demonstrations, legal challenges and renewed political debate over immigration enforcement practices.
Speaking Saturday at a separate event marking the anniversary, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said community opposition played a critical role in pushing back against the raids.
"Can you imagine if we hadn't been protesting?" Bass said. "Can you imagine if we sat back in silence when this egregious attack happened? Our protest is absolutely critical, and we have to continue that."
State lawmakers have since introduced proposals aimed at increasing oversight and accountability of federal immigration enforcement activities in California.
For many families gathered Saturday, however, the focus remained on loved ones still being held in immigration custody.
Later in the day, demonstrations continued near a federal detention facility in downtown Los Angeles. Authorities declared an unlawful assembly shortly after 8 p.m. following another round of protests. Police said several arrests were made, though the total number of people taken into custody was not immediately available.
Advocates say one of the biggest changes since the Ambiance Apparel raid has been the development of a more coordinated response network. They now operate hotlines, deploy volunteers to monitor enforcement activity and work with legal teams to locate people quickly after they are detained.
Even with those resources in place, many families say the fear remains.
Advocates and relatives of detainees said immigrant communities across Los Angeles continue to worry that a routine trip to work, school or the grocery store could result in a loved one being taken into custody and not returning home.