Eastside communities, officials condemn ICE detentions on first day back to school

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Jan. 12, 2025.

Elected officials, school leaders and community advocates condemned federal immigration enforcement across Eastside neighborhoods on Monday, as families returned to school following the Los Angeles Unified School District’s winter recess.

Community members reported immigration activity in El Sereno, Eagle Rock and Highland Park. According to the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, three street vendors were detained before 10 a.m. at York Boulevard and Figueroa Street in Highland Park, including a father of three LAUSD students who is the head of his household. The network also confirmed that another person was detained at Division Street and Cypress Avenue in Cypress Park.

Two additional people were detained near a commercial strip mall in El Sereno, according to Council District 14 spokesperson Alejandra Alarcon.

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At a news conference in front of Eagle Rock Plaza, where federal enforcement vehicles were spotted earlier that day, attendees held signs that read, “Education not deportation,” and “ICE out of Eagle Rock.”

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, whose 14th District includes several Eastside neighborhoods, said the timing of the enforcement actions was particularly troubling.

“Let’s be clear about what happened today,” Jurado said. “Parents were taken, community members were taken, workers were taken and this all happened on the first day of school.”

Jurado acknowledged that households are losing breadwinners due to immigration enforcement, and urged families to seek support from her office.

LAUSD school board member Rocio Rivas represents District 2, which includes neighborhoods such as Boyle Heights, East L.A., El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, Highland Park and Cypress Park. She said these areas have been heavily impacted by immigration enforcement over the past few months. She also denounced the recent deaths of Keith Porter and Rene Good, who were killed by immigration agents.

“The result is predictable and devastating. People are dying, families are being torn apart and being shattered and communities are traumatized,” Rivas said.

Some LAUSD families received an automated robocall on Monday informing parents that the district was aware of federal enforcement activity in the area.

On Monday, federal enforcement vehicles were also reported at the Home Depot in Cypress Park and Dollar Tree in El Sereno, according to the BHIRN. They were also seen at a Costco in Los Feliz and the Glendale Galleria, according to CD14 spokesperson Alejandra Alarcon

At the news conference, Jurado said the council district plans to launch a text alert service, similar to one used by Council District 1, to notify constituents about federal immigration enforcement activity.

Jurado also announced the creation of the Eagle Rock Development Task Force, which will work to ”make sure that development in our neighborhood lines up with our values,” she said.

The task force was created in response to a new Home Depot that is slated to take the spot of a former Macy’s in the Eagle Rock Plaza. Home Depot locations have often been sites of immigration enforcement operations targeting day laborers and street vendors.

“When your name becomes synonymous with the cruelty of federal enforcement, here in Eagle Rock, we say no more, not here, not in our community,” Jurado said.