Council hears testimony on ICE activity in Northeast Los Angeles as organizers urge protections

Los Angeles City Council members and community organizers used public comment time to describe recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Northeast Los Angeles and to press the city for support of neighborhood rapid-response efforts.

Councilmember Jurado told the council she had received reports of ICE presence in Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Highland Park and nearby commercial corridors. "Esta redada es sobre seguridad es teatro político y el punto es traumatizar a las comunidades inmigrantes," Jurado said, describing the raids as harmful to immigrant families and communities. Jurado said parents were being detained after the winter break and that local networks mobilized to document and notify neighbors.

June, who identified themself as an organizer with Tango Migrante, described the group’s monitoring work and recounted a specific report from "Tita Agnes," a worker who alerted organizers after seeing ICE activity in a neighborhood shopping area. "Hemos estado monitoreando nuestros vecindarios y advirtiendo a los vecindarios sobre actividad de ICE," June said, urging the council to "trabajar con comunidades que están haciendo ese tipo de trabajo mediante esta colaboración."

During public comment other speakers—some unnamed in the record—pressed elected officials to take stronger action. One public commenter accused leadership of complicity and called the use of enforcement resources "una payasada" and a misuse of taxpayer dollars; the commenter’s statements were rhetorical and were not supported by additional evidence presented during the meeting.

Council members acknowledged community concern and the role of local rapid-response and mutual-aid networks in documenting enforcement activity. No specific ordinance, budget allocation, or council directive was adopted during the public comment period on this topic; comments were recorded for the public record.

Next steps: Councilmembers said they would continue to hear from community organizations and indicated staff would coordinate follow-up information; no formal vote or directive on ICE-related policy or funding was announced at the meeting.