In Los Angeles, a coalition of immigrant-rights groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and the Service Employees International Union Local 721, have launched a daylong 'community stoppage' in response to federal immigration enforcement tactics. According to FOX LA, the protest, which started at midnight with a fast-food workers strike, included a series of rallies and boycotts of major corporations accused of enabling ICE raids.
As reported by KTLA, the all-day event featured marches to noteworthy locations such as the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration and the Metropolitan Detention Center, along with a boycott urging Angelenos to support local businesses rather than large chains. “If you can’t show up here, don’t shop at these big corporations that won’t speak out about the illegal raids that are happening,” said Simboa Wright, vice president of the SEIU Local 721 to KTLA’s Ellina Abovian.
Companies targeted by the boycott, such as Home Depot, have sought to distance themselves from the issue. "Immigration enforcement agencies are the best sources if you have questions. We aren't notified that these activities are going to happen, and we aren't involved in the operations. We're required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate," a Home Depot spokesperson stated in a release obtained by FOX LA. This action by the advocacy groups comes after a raid on a Home Depot on Wilshire Boulevard saw approximately 16 individuals arrested by ICE agents, a detail noted by various outlets covering the story.
Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a CHIRLA spokesman, voiced concerns about the corporations' role in the enforcement actions. “These corporations whether implicitly or not have allowed their facilities to be used as places where federal agents violated workers’ rights and have inflicted pain and terror in our community and families,” Cabrera told NBC Los Angeles. In addition, participants were encouraged to buy from local street vendors “because they deserve to have an opportunity, in this moment that they are suffering,” stated CHIRLA's executive director Angelica Salas, as noted by NBC Los Angeles.
The protests and boycotts represent a broader dissatisfaction with the recent uptick in immigration enforcement, as numbers from the Department of Homeland Security, shared by FOX LA, highlight a significant increase from the fewer than 1,400 immigrants arrested in the region the previous month, to 2,792 immigrants in Los Angeles County and surrounding counties starting from June 6. CHIRLA and other advocacy groups have signaled that these 'community stoppages' are only the beginning of more actions planned to challenge these enforcement measures.
