The Brief

For decades, L.A.-based cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz has been creating one-panel editorial cartoons that condense complicated political issues into straightforward images.

That’s what he did with a recent cartoon for Caló News that depicted a federal immigration agent with a block of ice for a head, on the run from a group of people screaming and protesting, and the words “ICE OUT OF LA!” superimposed.

Cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz for Caló News in response to ICE raids.

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Courtesy Lalo Alcaraz

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“I think people want to feel solidarity, and I am happy to try to provide any kind of bridge, an image that brings us all together in anger… and feel like we're not alone,” he said.

This week he finished an acrylic on canvas painting of a photo that went viral. The photo depicts a paleta (popsicle) cart on the sidewalk in a residential neighborhood. Missing: the vendor.

The paletero was detained by agents in Culver City. Alcaraz is selling prints of his painting to help the man’s family.

Alcaraz is one of dozens of trained and experienced visual artists who are lending their skills to create images for the recent movement against the immigration raids in Southern California.

It taps into a long history of art as social protest, such as posters for the Black Civil Rights Movement, Keith Haring’s paintings for AIDS awareness in the 1980s, and Yolanda Lopez’s “Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?” used in 1990s Chicano Movement protests.

Strong visual images give people a way to express their feelings

In recent Southern California protests some participants held up a small poster-sized image showing a large hand coming out of a school building. Above it are the words ¡NO PASARÁN! (they will not enter) .

Some two thousand of these prints were created in the last few months in Los Angeles.

Linocut created by John Fleissner for people protesting ICE raids in Southern California.

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John Fleissner

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“¡NO PASARÁN! is a slogan that originated in the Spanish Civil War, when the democratically elected government had to fight off the fascist insurrection,” said John Fleissner, the creator of the image.

He’s a Milwaukee high school art teacher who was brought to L.A. by a labor union to organize a screen printing event at “Summer of Resistance” — a month-long event at Olvera Street in downtown L.A. where the silkscreen prints were made.

He’s inspired by artists like Jose Guadalupe Posada, who created graphic art during the dictatorship of Mexico’s Porfirio Diaz at the end of the 19th century.

“A poster, an image, a striking image, really hits you in the face and gets you to understand and elicits that emotional response in a split second,” Fleissner said.

Venting anger through profanity

Two of the most common phrases you can find on handmade signs and banners are: “F*** ICE” and “Ch**** la migra”. Both essentially mean the same thing.

The artist Dewey Tafoya used an image of the late writer Octavia Butler, who wrote about a future in which authoritarian governments limit people's rights.

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Courtesy Dewey Tafoya

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“That is like our … slogan and war cry for these protests," said Savannah Rosas, a student at Otis College of Art and Design. "That simple phrase, I feel like, has brought so many people together to really speak out and to help our immigrant community and just bring our voice back."

Before the immigration raids, Rosas said she created work that evoked childhood and hyper-femininity. She grew up in Bakersfield in a working-class family. Seeing people detained who looked like her parents and grandparents shook her to the core.

She created a digital print that depicts a bag of ice with those phrases on the bag.

“Us being depicted by the government as these villains was just so enraging,” she said.

Using Labubu, Snoopy and other characters to protest ICE

The artist Dylan Jagielski says he's influenced by underground artists like Sand One and OGBillyTheKid.

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Courtesy Dylan Jagielski

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Artists are also using well known pop culture characters, such as Snoopy and Labubu to send a message opposing ICE actions in L.A.

The artist Erica Friend used the Labubu character to communicate a message protesting ICE raids.

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@insomniart

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Courtesy Erica Friend

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Some Latino artists have used the chancla (a slipper, flip flop) to communicate anger.

“The chancla represents that brown matriarchal power,” said Gilda Posada, a printmaker based in Lynwood. “It's a symbol usually of moms or brown aunties being frustrated and throwing their shoe at you.”

Posada printed 200 copies of an image she created showing a hand holding a chancla and pointing it at a law enforcement officer.

According to reports of detentions, people who appear to be of Latin American descent have been the principal targets for federal agents, but Asian Americans are also concerned.

Asian American cartoonist Sam Nakahira created two “ICE OUT OF LA” pieces.

Art as spiritual work

Artist Joel Garcia used a mountain lion image, similar to L.A.'s late P-22, to communicate a connection to the indigenous origins of the L.A. area.

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Courtesy Joel Garcia

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Some visual artists are using the moment to remind people that the anxiety, disruption, and family separations resulting from detentions are happening on indigenous lands.

In one work, a mountain lion resembling L.A.’s famous P-22 looks straight at the viewer under the words, “I.C.E. FUERA DE TOVANGAAR – LOS ANGELES” (I.C.E out of Tovangaar, the indigenous name of the L.A. area).

“The [mountain lion is] walking down from the heavens… like where our ancestors are and it's coming down as a protector,” said Joel Garcia, who created the image.

He wanted to create work that didn’t use hyper-masculine imagery, like a raised fist or muscular male figures.

“Artists, they do spiritual triage," Garcia said. "They assess where the work is needed, where creativity can help support the spiritual, mental, emotional wellbeing of people."

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.