Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published November 24, 2023 5:00 AM
Crispy potato taquitos bathed in crema and a savory gravy verde, topped with pickled onions and cilantro from Chef Ryan Gariltos of Santa Ana’s Le Hut Dinette.
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Ron De Angelis
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Topline:
Thanksgiving leftovers can crowd up your fridge, and no one wants to eat the same thing over and over. So we asked some of our favorite chefs in L.A. and O.C. about what they do with turkey day leftovers. You'll find plenty of inspiration!
Why it matters: Throwing out leftover food contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Don’t do it!
What they suggest: Hand pies made with leftover pie-crust scraps, turkey tortas and taquitos. You'll thank us when you're feeling peckish over the long holiday weekend.
With Thanksgiving over, you might have more leftovers than you know what to do with. Fear not: we have a plan for you. Sure, it's easy to reheat turkey and stuffing on repeat, but there's a whole world of leftovers out there waiting to be reinvented.
We asked some of Los Angeles and Orange County's top chefs for their tips. From turkey tinga and hand pies to crunchy turkey carnitas tortas, mashed potato taquitos and a stellar sangria recipe, they offer multiple ways to get creative with what's in your fridge.
Turkey tinga + Turkey a la Mexicana
File photo of taquitos. At right: Elvia and Alex Garcia from Evil Cooks.
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Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández/Unsplash, courtesy Elvia and Alex Garcia
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Elvia and Alex Garcia, husband-and-wife duo of Evil Cooks, are among the leading taqueros in Los Angeles, where they can be found slinging memorable dishes at their brick-and-mortar location in El Sereno.
Their inventive blend of black-metal iconography, creative tacos and other Mexican dishes has made them sought after in the Los Angeles taco scene. Evil Cooks felt like the perfect fit for crafting something yummy on the fly, using what you have on hand.
Here's how Elvia would do it: "I like to do turkey tinga. I usually have all the ingredients at home, which are onions, chipotle, cabbage, tostadas, crema, mayonesa, pico de gallo and salsita."
Here's how Alex would do it: "A la Mexicana means to make a guisado with the Mexican mirepoix (onions, tomatoes and cilantro). We add some shredded turkey and we put it in taquitos. We put it in a torta. You have some of those leftover panecitos (dinner rolls), so why not put them in there, add some gravy, maybe some mashed potatoes. That way you don't waste anything."
Thanksgiving hand pies
File photo of a pie. At right, baker Kristin Colazas Rodriguez
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Fruit & Flour, courtesy Kristin Colazas Rodriguez
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Kristin Colazas Rodriguez has been an outlier in the Long Beach bakery scene for over a decade, leading the charge behind the baker's bench and providing a fair and equitable workplace for her employees.Colossus Bakery is known for its pies this time of year, so using what she has on hand makes for a perfect bite of flavors.
Here's how she would do it: "My idea for your Thanksgiving leftovers is to make hand pies," she said. "So, you're just gonna take the pie scrap, the dough you left over from your pies ... Roll it out to your desired thickness, but it should be pretty thin cause you're gonna have two layers of pie dough."
Cut out circles of dough, then chill them in the fridge while you prep your Thanksgiving leftovers. "This is where you can kind of have some fun. You're gonna pair your favorite things," she said. "Maybe turkey and a spoonful of cranberry sauce. I think green beans or brussels sprouts would be really good, too."
Carefully spoon some of your mixture in the middle of one piece of dough, and top it with a second piece. Don't overstuff. "Crimp the edges with a fork." If you want to get creative, you can add a flourish, like a decorative cutout. "Cut some cute little vents in there ... You can do a little egg wash on top, and then you're just going to bake those in your oven."
About 350 degrees should do it, but the time will depend upon your oven and the size of your pies. Keep an eye on it and bake until just golden brown.
Turkey carnitas tortas
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Courtesy Aaron Melendrez
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Owner-chef Aaron Melendrez is is known for churning out some of the best sandwiches in town at his humble sandwich shop in Uptown Whittier, Uptown Provisions. So it was no surprise that he gave us a delicious torta recipe for his leftover idea. (A bolillo roll would be ideal for this sandwich, but so would leftover holiday rolls. Use what you've got.)
Here's how he'd do it:
1 pound of leftover dark meat
1 cup of Sunny Delight or orange juice
1 cup of water
4-6 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 chili arbol
Cumin, kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove meat and shred. Discard bay leaves. Continue to reduce the sauce for a few more minutes. Broil shredded meat for 3 to 4 minutes until as crispy as you like it.
To serve: Cut open a toasted bolillo roll, add a slather of mashed sweet potatoes if available, and top with turkey carnitas. Optional toppings include pickled red onion, a squeeze of lime, diced cilantro, shredded lettuce lightly tossed in white wine vinegar, cotija cheese, crushed pepitas, mayonnaise, crema and avocado. And some of that sauce.
Mashed potato taquitos with gravy verde
Chef Ryan Garlitos of Le Hut Dinette in Santa Ana displays his mashed potato taquitos with gravy verde, a creative take on Thanksgiving leftovers.
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Ron De Angelis
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Chef Ryan Garlitos, executive chef at Santa Ana's Le Hut Dinette, is known for his innovative comfort food and commitment to seasonal ingredients. He brings this creative approach to Thanksgiving leftovers, drawing inspiration from his family traditions.
His wife is Mexican, and her family usually makes turkey taquitos with leftovers, but since Garlitos is a fan of potato tacos, he has incorporated leftover mashed potatoes into the taquito tradition in recent years. He also makes a "gravy verde," a delicious mash-up of Mexican and American holiday flavors.
Here's how he'd do it:
Leftover mashed potatoes
Corn tortillas, whatever size you prefer
Oil for frying
Add oil to your desired frying vessel (a medium sauce pot or Dutch oven) and preheat to 325 degrees, or use a deep fryer if you have one.
Preheat a medium-sized frying pan over low heat to warm tortillas, making them more pliable to work with.
Take a warm corn tortilla and place enough mashed potato on top to slightly overfill the taquito. If you need to get rid of turkey, too, there's no harm in adding some shredded turkey to the taquitos as well.
Roll to a medium tightness and secure closed with a toothpick or skewer.
When the oil reaches the desired temperature, gently place the taquitos into the oil. Hold them shut with a pair of tongs for about 30 seconds to help keep them from unraveling.
Fry until tortilla is golden and crispy, about 3-5 minutes. If some of the mashed potato filling falls out during frying, just fill the taquitos with more warm mashed potatoes to top them off.
For the gravy verde (yields 1 quart):
2 cups leftover Thanksgiving turkey or chicken gravy
2 cups tomatillo salsa (homemade or store-bought)
If you want to do this the most pain-free way possible, use your favorite store-bought tomatillo salsa; otherwise, making your own isn't too difficult, either, as long as you have a blender.
Tomatillo salsa recipe:
2 cups peeled and cleaned tomatillos, cut in half
1/2 cup Anaheim chile, stem and seeds removed, chopped
1/4 cup jalapeños, stem and seeds removed, chopped
1/4 cup white onion, julienned
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
Salt to taste
Char the ingredients over a barbecue grill (or even a stovetop burner) until charred, or toss them in oil and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, then purée in a blender for added depth of flavor.
Once you have your tomatillo salsa, measure out equal parts leftover gravy and tomatillo salsa (in this example, 2 cups of gravy and 2 cups of salsa). Next, combine the sauce and salsa in a small sauce pot or sauté pan, whisk together and bring to a simmer — season with salt to taste.
The finished "gravy verde" can be used as a salsa or dipping sauce, or you can cover your taquitos with it if you have a lot of gravy to use up.
To finish:
Place a healthy pile of taquitos on a plate. Smother with gravy verde until the taquitos are resting in a pool of sauce. At this point, you can dig in, or you can top with sour cream, queso fresco, pickled onions and cilantro for pizzazz. They'll be tasty either way.
The Catalina wine mixer
Chef Johnathan Benvenuti with his Catalina Wine Mixer, a sangria cocktail that's regularly on the menu at Bar Becky in Long Beach.
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Courtesy Bar Becky
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Chef Johnathan Benvenuti, owner and chef at Bar Becky in Long Beach and an alum of TV's Hell's Kitchen, is known for his inventive takes on seasonal vegetables and pasta dishes. This time, he suggests a way to use up any leftover wine by turning it into a drink on Bar Becky's menu called The Catalina Wine Mixer. It’s his creative take on a classic sangria, using hibiscus, which adds a hint of "what the heck is that?" to keep you sipping until the next one.
Here's how he'd do it:
Red wine syrup:
1 cup wine
1 cup sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
1/2 cup dried hibiscus flower
1 clove
Sangria:
1 ounce red wine syrup
1 ounce red wine
1 ounce vodka
.75 ounce lime juice
1 ounce sparkling water (or champagne)
Garnish with ice and any leftover sliced fruit.
"Food is subjective. Unless it's burnt, there's nothing wrong you can do," Benvenuti said. "Add what you want. If you have some white wine open, feel free to add it to your syrup. If you have champagne, use that to top your drink instead of sparkling water. Add fruit or any leftover warm baking spices you have. If you want to shake the syrup, wine and vodka, then you get extra credit. If you don't, then your drink will taste just as great."
Construction laborers work on a housing project in Valley Center on June 3, 2021.
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Mike Blake
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Reuters
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Topline:
Voters rejected a measure that would have weakened California’s landmark environmental law by fast-tracking reviews for some projects.
Details: With about 76% of votes counted, voters rejected Prop. 45 by 55.7% to 44.3%.
Why it matters: The vote maintains the status quo under the state’s Environmental Quality Act, which since 1970 has required public agencies to review project developments that could have harmful environmental impacts, and mitigate those harms.
Voters on Saturday rejected a measure that would have weakened California’s landmark environmental law by fast-tracking reviews for some projects.
With about 76% of votes counted, voters rejected Prop. 45 by 55.7% to 44.3%.
The vote maintains the status quo under the state’s Environmental Quality Act, which since 1970 has required public agencies to review project developments that could have harmful environmental impacts, and mitigate those harms.
“Californians have sent a clear message to corporate developers, utilities and data center builders that they will not stand for a broad assault at the ballot box on state law protecting our air, water and natural resources,” No on 45’s Woody Little said. “We were outspent but not outgunned.”
Supporters had said the changes would reduce building costs. The California Chamber of Commerce sponsored Proposition 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, which would limit the length of environmental reviews for projects deemed “essential” to 365 business days and require courts to resolve litigation in 270 calendar days. Those projects include housing, water, broadband and transit developments.
Proponents said the savings from building more quickly would pass to consumers and spent $41 million campaigning for the measure. The Building a Better California political action committee was the largest donor, giving $10 million to the campaign. The organization is funded partly by current and former Google executives Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt. Two of the largest investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison, together donated $4.4 million.
Environmental groups argued the measure would go too far in weakening a law meant to protect people from environmental harms. Opponents, including a coalition of environmental, health and union organizations, spent $30 million trying to stop it. Wendy Schmidt, a Democratic philanthropist, was the largest donor, giving $10 million to the campaign. The political action committee Clean and Healthy California Sponsored by Environmental Organizations contributed $7 million.
The California Democratic Party opposed the measure. The California Republican Party supported it, while county Republican groups were split.
Deborah Sivas, an environmental law professor at Stanford University, said Prop. 45 would radically change current law. It would shift power “away from local governments and to developers by giving them some new tools … and limiting what courts can do in terms of reviewing decisions that agencies and local governments make,” she said.
CEQA and housing
California’s environmental review law, signed in 1970, requires agencies to assess the environmental impacts of developments and help mitigate them.
Over decades, developers have raised concerns about the process, arguing litigation and bureaucracy slow down construction.
State legislators have tried to fix the problem by passing laws that exempt or streamline certain projects from environmental review. In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws that exempt many urban housing projects from the full review process.
But some supporters of Prop. 45, including the California Building Industry Association and the California Council for Affordable Housing, say those changes don’t go far enough.
“It’s an important piece of the puzzle, but (that type of housing) does not produce quickly or at scale,” said Jennifer Hernandez, an attorney who helped write the measure. “We need quicker, at scale, affordable housing.”
Supporters say Prop. 45 would help California redevelop large, unused sites like malls and parking lots into housing and make it easier to build away from urban areas.
Pro-housing groups, public agencies divided
Pro-housing and local government groups usually support CEQA reform, but Prop. 45 has divided many of them.
Housing advocates in the Bay Area, including East Bay for Everyone and the Greenbelt Alliance, oppose the measure. Other Yes in My Backyard groups are neutral, including Abundant Housing Los Angeles and both California YIMBY and YIMBY Action — the movement’s two flagship advocacy groups.
The split between pro-housing groups lies in whether California should keep building outward onto undeveloped land or promote construction in urban centers. Some supporters, including Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, have said the state needs all types of housing.
Others say building away from urban centers would make it harder to address climate change.
“We believe we can (and must) solve the housing and climate crises simultaneously. That means building communities with denser housing and alternatives to automobile dependence,” wrote Max Dubler of California YIMBY in a blog post explaining the group’s neutral stance on Prop. 45.
Public agencies and local governments that could benefit from the building rules were also divided.
The California Municipal Utilities Association opposes the measure. But most other groups representing local governments, including the League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties, remained neutral.
Financial impacts for Prop. 45
Prop. 45 supporters argued that streamlining development would make life more affordable for Californians, but the long-term financial benefits are unclear.
An analysis by Blue Sky Consulting Group, commissioned by the California Chamber of Commerce, estimated the measure would produce $1.5 billion in savings and additional revenues for public agencies over 10 years that would reduce overall housing costs.
But the measure would initially cost local governments and public agencies more as they adjust to the measure’s rules, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, a nonpartisan adviser to the Legislature.
Democrats have done well in recent elections when they win young voters by a margin of at least 20 points. On Tuesday, they carried Gen Z — those under 30 — by nearly 50 points, according to exit polling.
Why it matters: It's a stunning shift from 2024, when the party lost critical ground with young people. Long seen as a part of the Democratic base, voters under 30 shifted right towards Donald Trump, motivated by his pledge to better their economic prospects.
Why now: But this week, the youngest generation of voters issued a strong rebuke of Republicans, taking another chance on Democrats and their change-focused message at a moment when many of them feel as though the American Dream is out of reach.
Democrats have done well in recent elections when they win young voters by a margin of at least 20 points. On Tuesday, they carried Gen Z — those under 30 — by nearly 50 points, according to exit polling.
It's a stunning shift from 2024, when the party lost critical ground with young people. Long seen as a part of the Democratic base, voters under 30 shifted right towards Donald Trump, motivated by his pledge to better their economic prospects.
But this week, the youngest generation of voters issued a strong rebuke of Republicans, taking another chance on Democrats and their change-focused message at a moment when many of them feel as though the American Dream is out of reach.
How young voters powered Democrats to victory
Americans ages 18-29 have a history of turning out at lower rates than older voters, and this year was no exception. Gen Z made up 11% of the total vote on Tuesday.
However, where young Americans may have made the greatest difference is on the margins in House and Senate races where Democrats flipped seats.
The Texas Senate race is a key example. Democrat James Talarico won the state by 12 percentage points; however, when looking at just Gen Z, he won it by 60 points.
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Explaining the massive shift from 2024
When assessing gains more broadly, Democrats argue the party's strong slate of candidates helped drum up increased enthusiasm.
But another motivating factor remains strong opposition to Trump. Throughout his second term, Gen Z increasingly soured on the president, with some arguing he failed to make good on a number of core campaign promises — from pledging to lower prices and repeatedly vowing "no new wars," to calling for a crackdown on federal corruption and the release of the Epstein files.
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Much of that disappointment was reflected in exit polling. Economic issues were the top concern for a plurality of 18- to 29-year-olds, at 43%, and these voters expressed broad frustrations with Trump's handling of the issue. More than eight in 10 said that Trump's policies have worsened economic conditions, with similar shares opposing his tariff strategy and the decision to go to war with Iran.
The young voters Trump lost
Early analysis from CIRCLE indicates that 15% of young people who backed Trump in 2024 voted for a Democratic House candidate in this year's midterms.
Democrats made gains with some young voters who backed Trump two years ago, including white men and Latino men, two blocs that narrowly voted Republican in 2024 and then voted blue on Tuesday by double digits. Democratic candidates also narrowed the margins with young rural voters and people without college degrees.
Some of those gains may have been helped by young Trump voters who chose to sit this election out, but it's unclear how many of them there were.
How the election results broke down by age
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The midterm results underscore how neither of the two major parties owns Gen Z, according to John Della Volpe, a left-leaning pollster who's extensively studied the politics of young Americans.
"The cohort of younger people in this cycle had a different set of experiences than the cohort of people two years ago, or four years before that," he said. "Every candidate, every party has to earn their votes."
Della Volpe, who runs the Harvard Youth Poll, notes that in the latest survey, released in October, there was a sizable enthusiasm gap between young Democrat and young Republican respondents. While half of Democrats said they definitely planned to vote, just a third of Republicans and less than a quarter of Independents said the same.
"I also think we shouldn't overread what's happened," he added. "Clearly a significant historic rebuke on the party in office — that's obvious — however, I think we need to more fully, kind of understand, the contour of the electorate, who showed up and who didn't show up."
"Young adults can make a difference," said Elizabeth Matto, who serves as the director of the Center for Youth Political Participation at Rutgers University.
"They do care about politics. They can sway the outcome of elections. And they're a voting bloc worth paying attention to."
Copyright 2026 NPR
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With control of Congress, Dems could launch probes
By Meg Anderson | NPR
Published November 8, 2026 7:21 AM
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Tim Evans
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AFP via Getty Images
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Topline:
The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during the ICE surge in Minneapolis last winter was a pivotal moment for the country. After Democrats' sweeping wins this week, their deaths at the hands of immigration agents will likely be the targets of renewed investigations.
What's next: With a majority in Congress, Democrats can issue subpoenas to the major players in Trump's mass deportation plan, compelling them to testify under oath before the legislature.
The morning after Tuesday's midterms was gloomy and rainy in Minneapolis, but people still gathered at the place where Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a VA nurse and U.S. citizen, last January. All week, community members have come here to place their "I Voted" stickers at the memorial.
Nicki Adams, who dated Pretti and was his close friend for nearly 17 years, watched quietly as a woman added her sticker to a street lamp completely covered in the red decals.
"I wanted to see all the stickers. I just wanted to be here," she says. "It just means a lot to me. I think it would mean a lot to Alex, too."
A few blocks away, people left their stickers where an ICE officer killed Renee Good, a mom of three and a U.S. citizen, just a few weeks before Pretti's death. In Houston, they left them where an ICE officer killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father of three and a Mexican immigrant, in July.
Adams says these stickers, and the election results this week, send a clear message to Congress: "You work for us, and please carry on these values that we care about … We want to be seen and heard and taken care of and have our neighbors taken care of."
The deaths of Pretti and Good during the ICE surge in Minneapolis marked a pivotal moment for the country, sparking intense public backlash to President Trump's aggressive deportation efforts. But federal law enforcement officials have given little indication they're progressing in investigating their deaths, or the deaths of at least seven other people killed by federal immigration agents since Trump took office again last year. DHS did not respond to an NPR request for the status of those investigations.
Now, after Democrats' sweeping wins this week, their deaths at the hands of immigration agents will likely be the targets of renewed investigations. With a majority in Congress, Democrats can issue subpoenas to the major players in Trump's mass deportation plan, compelling them to testify under oath before the legislature.
That could include White House Border Czar Tom Homan, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, among others.
Congress can also demand internal documents, like use-of-force reports.
"They can dissect these individual shootings, and really unravel the story of what happened," says Naureen Shah, who leads the ACLU's immigration policy work.
Democrats have already held shadow hearings on the ICE shootings, during which they've called in family members and witnesses to testify.
But Shah says now Congress can ask key questions of top decision makers: What orders were given to immigration officers in the field? What was training like for these officers?
"It's like we can turn the faucet on and actually find out so much more," Shah says. "There's an aspect of this that is really about a kind of reckoning with how it's possible that things that seemed unthinkable could happen on American streets. How do you have that reckoning if you don't actually have the ability to force people to explain themselves?"
Democratic leaders have already said that's the plan.
Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is expected to lead the House Judiciary Committee, told NPR in a statement that Congress will use "every tool" at its disposal to investigate ICE and that it is time for the agency to "start answering to the American people."
California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, vowed to take on DHS and ICE abuses in a two-word statement: "Lawyer Up."
Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, expected to lead the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter on Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, demanding the agency "comply with all document preservation requirements."
Illinois Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez wrote on social media that Noem, Miller, Homan, Bovino and Mullin should "clear" their schedules.
In response to that, DHS general counsel James Percival said Democrats are "more interested in political shenanigans than in governing" but said the agency is prepared to "deal with this nonsense."
There are key limitations to what Democrats in Congress can do with their majority when it comes to ICE accountability, says Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
Major changes, like clawing back funding for the agency, would require a veto-proof majority, something the Democrats don't have.
"You still have a president who has shown a complete lack of interest in accountability for federal agents and in fact, a great deal of knee jerk defensiveness about their conduct," Moran says.
In a statement, a White House spokesperson told NPR "if Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people."
Democrats, the statement added, "should be reminded that we still control the federal government and all of its powers."
But that's not true. Congress has its own powers, one of them being the ability to compel testimony. Moran says a deeper probe into the shootings could still serve important purposes, like making evidence available for states to use in their own criminal investigations.
Minnesota officials, for instance, have been fighting with the federal government to get evidence related to the Pretti and Good killings.
Brent Ganger, Renee Good's brother, says learning more information about his sister's death will be hard to hear, "but I think it's also super important for us to understand what happened that day. I don't want history to keep repeating itself."
It was painful, he says, to watch immigration agents kill more people after his sister. He thought her death would be a turning point.In a way, it might have been the start of one. After the surge in Minneapolis, most Americans said ICE had gone too far.
Ganger, who considers himself a moderate, was happy to see the Blue Wave this week. On election night, he was scrolling Instagram when he saw a photo of his sister's memorial site, with all the "I Voted" stickers.
"I was very grateful to see the repudiation of this administration from the country. It felt very supportive of my entire family," he says.
The next morning, in his home in Colorado, he got up and made biscuits and gravy, his sister's favorite breakfast.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Protesters rally outside Adventist Health White Memorial in Boyle Heights on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 as local leaders demand that the hospital not cooperate with federal immigration agents.
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Steve Saldivar
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Residents, clergy and organizers faced off with federal immigration agents outside Adventist White Memorial on Friday night into Saturday morning, after reports of ICE presence at the Boyle Heights hospital.
Read on ... to learn how Boyle Heights neighbors and immigration activists mobilized on Friday night.
Abraham Zavala was born at Adventist White Memorial. So were his kids. So late Friday, when he heard federal immigration agents were at the Boyle Heights hospital, and that local youth were out blowing whistles to warn neighbors, he went.
“To me that’s sacred ground,” said Zavala, an organizer with Unión del Barrio.
“I’m a dad,” he said. “I wanted to be there to support the youth.”
He was among the Boyle Heights residents who converged on the hospital and stayed in a standoff with federal immigration agents into the early hours of Saturday. Agents detained at least two people, according to rapid response groups.
Neighbors alerted each other with noisemakers and fireworks. A woman pounded her pots and pans. Teenagers ran across Mariachi Plaza, shouting that ICE was in the area and urging residents to lock their doors.
“Even though we’re afraid, you know we’re still showing up,” said Myra Vasquez, a Boyle Heights resident who rushed to White Memorial after hearing reports of ICE in the area. “We’re not going to allow them to just come into our communities and terrorize us because they’re the real terrorists causing harm.”
Myra Vasquez, a Boyle Heights resident and co-owner of Espacio 1839 rushed to White Memorial after hearing reports of ICE.
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Alejandra Molina
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Boyle Heights Beat
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The confrontation peaked around 11:30 p.m. Video shared with Boyle Heights Beat shows agents pushing back protesters who had moved toward them, and the two sides begin shoving. Agents appear to pepper-spray people on the sidewalk. One agent then tackles a man and pins him to the ground, while a second person is pulled from the crowd. Both were detained.
The standoff continued past midnight. Zavala said agents got out of their vehicles and formed a line in front of the parking lot where paramedics enter, blocking an emergency exit. “They literally became White Memorial’s private security detail,” he said. Zavala said he and another person were sprayed with Mace.
Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights.
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Steve Saldivar
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The LA Local
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The Dept. of Homeland Security declined to comment about the incident in Boyle Heights, and, in a statement, the agency said they would “not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations.”
The spokesperson instead said that obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime.
“ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches,” the statement said, despite the large turnout of protesters who encountered the masked agents at the hospital.
Father Brendan Busse, who pastors nearby Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, rushed to White Memorial after seeing reports from the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network of ICE at the hospital.
Busse, a Jesuit priest, said he witnessed people caring for each other and tending to those suffering from pepper spray. People there advocated for them to find treatment at White Memorial, Busse said. Community members, he said, “were obviously doing their best, not just to communicate their feelings, but to push, to instigate the dispersal of this ICE presence.”
As clergy, Busse said their presence can help combat a narrative of those advocating for immigrants as “somehow dangerous, or violent, or vulgar.”
“Just to be there is a sign that that’s not the only version of what this looks like,” he said.
Initially, Busse showed up wearing a hoodie, but he decided to change into his green stole he had in his car as things appeared to get tense. “Just try to do what I could to bring a presence of maybe a little moral authority,” he said.
“It’s bad enough that people have to lift up their voices to say something so obvious, that their lives matter, that our communities are sacred, that families belong together,” Busse said. “It’s bad enough that they have to be out at 3 a.m. in the morning to tell anybody that.”
“It’s even worse if they would have to suffer the consequences of retribution and violence that comes from speaking out in that way,” Busse added.