L.A. TACO has fired Memo Torres, the reporter whose daily videos of immigration raids across Los Angeles made him one of the region's most recognizable journalists, after what the outlet describes as repeated violations of its policies and basic journalistic standards. The firing comes amid allegations that Torres had a personal relationship with California state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez while covering her legislative agenda, and claims that she helped write portions of stories published under his byline.
Outlet Says Firing Followed Months of Internal Warnings
In a statement titled “A Letter From Our Staff: Setting the Record Straight,” L.A. TACO said it “fired him for repeated violations of our policies and our basic journalistic standards.” The outlet said the decision followed an internal investigation and “nearly five months of conversations, and real chances to be accountable and do better.” According to the New York Post, which first detailed the relationship allegations this month, L.A. TACO management reportedly confronted Torres this month over a significant journalistic error and what it describes as his refusal to accept responsibility.
L.A. TACO said it believed the two sides had parted on good terms, adding that it offered “to publicly support his next chapter and give him a generous severance.” The outlet said Torres told staff on his final day that he was “ready to go independent, and that it was a better fit for what he wanted to do.” Torres, for his part, has said he was blindsided by his departure and disputed claims that he refused to take accountability for his work, saying he had never refused accountability, according to the Post's reporting.
Relationship Allegations and a Senator's Denial
At the center of the dispute are allegations, raised by sources cited in reporting on the matter, that Torres had a personal relationship with Pérez while reporting on her political agenda, and that she edited or wrote portions of stories that ran under his byline. Pérez, a Democratic state senator and the youngest lawmaker in the California Senate, acknowledged a prior personal relationship with Torres but said she did not write articles or control L.A. TACO's editorial decisions. She said allegations that she authored pieces under his name were an attempt to undermine her work and attack his integrity, per the Post's reporting.
Pérez said L.A. TACO management asked her and Torres to limit their communication about six months before the allegations became public, and that the two honored that request. A source close to Torres rejected the ghostwriting allegations outright. That same source claimed executives knew about the relationship as early as February and alleged the relationship was later used as a pretext to push Torres out amid internal disagreements over the outlet's immigration coverage — a claim L.A. TACO has not confirmed.
A Bill, a Byline and an Award Ceremony
Pérez introduced SB 995, known as the Masuma Khan Justice Act, aimed at strengthening state oversight of private detention facilities in California. According to Cal O News, the bill followed L.A. TACO's reporting that detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center had thrown small hygiene bottles with notes attached over the facility's fences. Torres promoted Pérez's bill in a story and covered her press conference less than two weeks after its introduction, then highlighted the legislation again the following month, per the Post's reporting. L.A. TACO later updated that February story with an editor's note confirming it had been amended to meet editorial standards.
Sen. Pérez's own office confirms the bill's intent: SB 995 would have established a statewide inspection and compliance framework for large involuntary residential facilities, including privately run detention centers, using existing state inspection authority, according to Sen. Pérez's legislative office. The bill ultimately did not make it through the session; in a statement, Pérez said she was “deeply disappointed” that SB 995 did not cross the finish line, according to a release from her Senate office.
In May, Pérez presented L.A. TACO with a journalism award at the Latino Spirit Awards, and reportedly walked arm in arm with Torres onto the California Assembly floor, per the Post's account. Torres had worked at L.A. TACO for seven years after an Instagram food account caught the outlet's attention in 2018, according to the Los Angeles Times. He sold his landscaping business in March to pursue journalism full-time, and his Daily Memo videos documenting ICE deportation raids became, in the Times' words, “an indispensable record” of enforcement actions in the region.
L.A. TACO Vows ICE Coverage Will Continue
L.A. TACO disputed any suggestion that Torres's exit was tied to its immigration reporting, calling the idea that it had turned its back on ICE coverage a lie. The outlet said his departure was unrelated to its coverage of enforcement actions and accused Torres of staying silent while supporters attacked its journalists and newsroom. “L.A. TACO will never stop covering ICE, immigration, and the attacks on our communities,” the outlet said, adding that coverage continues “at full force, as we hire new reporters.”
That coverage has been central to L.A. TACO's identity for years. As NPR has reported, the outlet's journalists document raids, arrests and resistance across Southern California, and the site offers tips on responding to ICE visits along with a list of pro bono or low-cost legal resources, according to NPR. The publication began in 2006 as a lifestyle blog about graffiti, cannabis and tacos before evolving into one of the region's more aggressive chroniclers of immigration enforcement, the network noted.
Since leaving L.A. TACO, Torres has launched an independent publication on Substack, where he describes himself as an “award-winning multimedia journalist covering ICE raids” and a former third-generation landscaper. His newsletter reportedly reached Substack's top three U.S. news charts within days of launching, according to the Post's reporting, as Torres continues building the national profile he developed through round-the-clock coverage of local ICE raids.
