{"id":151673,"date":"2026-01-27T14:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/151673\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:54:09","slug":"a-call-for-even-stronger-action-against-trump-ice-raids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/151673\/","title":{"rendered":"A call for even stronger action against Trump ICE raids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The nation\u2019s focus understandably locked on Minnesota after federal agents shot and killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti. But the sense of unease hardly felt distant here in California.<\/p>\n

You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n

A day earlier, just blocks from my home in the San Gabriel Valley, a Latino worker watched apprehensively as another set of uniformed agents tried to open the door at the Mexican restaurant where he works. The place hadn\u2019t opened and the worker observed from a distance as the men gave up and drove away.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the cooks were nervous. They wanted to go home early,\u201d said the counterman, an American citizen whom I have seen on many late-night dinner runs. \u201cEveryone was kind of shaken up by them just showing up. The owners agreed and they closed up early. It was kind of scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as the Trump administration hinted it might be decreasing its presence in Minneapolis and moved out Gregory Bovino, the controversial head of the operation, Californians continue to worry about what will come next.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnchecked federal power threatens people in cities across the country,\u201d Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a mass email Monday afternoon, \u201cand we must all stand up against these authoritarian tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The restaurant worker, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, noted that the restaurant lost half a day of business. \u201cWe are trying to be extra cautious now,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see these things and they appear on the internet. But you never think it\u2019s going to happen to you.\u201d Until it does.<\/p>\n

Trump and his aides have insisted their immigration enforcement targets only the \u201cworst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.\u201d Independent reviews have concluded that a large majority of those detained have not been convicted of violent or serious crimes.<\/p>\n

In a region as vast as Southern California, it would be easy to miss the still-significant presence of immigration operatives at work here. But the L.A. Taco website continues to report the presence of federal agents in granular detail<\/a>. On Friday it detailed instances of uniformed forces operating in South Pasadena, South Gate, Lynwood, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and at multiple locations in Anaheim, Fullerton, Santa Ana and San Bernardino.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might not see them out there, but they\u2019re out there somewhere, hitting it hard,\u201d said Memo Torres, a producer and director at L.A. Taco, which has been maintaining a running account of immigration actions in Southern California. He said the site counted about 15 raids a day in the new year.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike yesterday, the agents were everywhere, it seemed like, but we had like only four people reportedly taken,\u201d Torres said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the [community] responders having an effect. It\u2019s a constant cat-and-mouse game now between them, trying to outmaneuver each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anti-Trump No Kings coalition held a video training session Monday evening \u201cto equip community members with the skills to document enforcement actions, legally and as safely as possible, providing a critical layer of defense for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 75,000 people nationally appeared on the video chat. They were taught to keep a safe distance from agents and follow orders but keep filming as long as they\u2019re in a public space. Participants said they believed pressure from the public helped force Bovino\u2018s exit from the Minnesota operation. Organizers encouraged more people to join peaceful protests and write to their senators to demand a cut in funding for the aggressive actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network<\/a> asked activists to go to places where immigrant workers gather, such as day labor centers and car washes, and keep watch over them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe victims of this violence are not abstract numbers. They are our relatives, our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends,\u201d Alvarado said. \u201cWe cannot look away. This moment demands that we move from indignation to action. … Only the people can save the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s top stories \"Kaiser <\/p>\n

Kaiser Permanente workers strike outside of the company\u2019s medical center in Downey during a five-day strike in October. The unionized healthcare professionals launched a new open-ended strike Monday.<\/p>\n

(William Liang\/For The Times)<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers launch an open-ended strikeTens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in California and Hawaii walked off the job early Monday<\/a> in the latest work stoppage to roil the nation\u2019s largest not-for-profit medical provider.The workers previously held a five-day walkout, with marches and picket lines in rainy weather, in October.The union that represents the workers said it called a new strike because contract talks stalled.California\u2019s iconic Highway 1 is fighting a losing battle against climate change. Can it survive?Highway 1 through Big Sur fully reopened after a three-year closure from landslides, the road\u2019s longest shutdown in its 90-year history.Scientists warn that climate change intensifies coastal hazards<\/a> \u2014 stronger storms, erosion and wildfires \u2014 making future closures more likely along California\u2019s iconic, 650-mile highway.As officials grapple with mounting repair costs, questions loom about whether the scenic route can sustainably withstand increasingly severe climate impacts.Response to Minneapolis ICE shootingsGrammy AwardsMusic\u2019s royalty will gather Sunday night to find out what fresh justice or outrage might be served up during the 68th Grammy Awards<\/a>.Kendrick Lamar leads the field<\/a> with nine nominations, followed by Lady Gaga and the producers Cirkut and Jack Antonoff, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Leon Thomas and the recording engineer Serban Ghenea.The telecast, set to air live on CBS from Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, will be hosted by Trevor Noah.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning\u2019s must readOther must readsFor your downtime \"illustration <\/a> <\/p>\n

(Lily Padula \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Going outStaying inA question for you: What\u2019s your biggest recycling gripe?<\/p>\n

Chris Stanford said, \u201cMy gripe is when tenants place metal, plastic, or glass into the compost container and\/or fail to empty food jars into a paper or compost bag. Composting is easy but these folks just do not get in step, so I am constantly fishing undesirable matter out of the compost. There is a bonus too: When no plastic enters the compost bin, the smell is not foul, as nature naturally begins to break down food matter producing heat and moisture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n

And finally … your photo of the day \"Rams <\/a> <\/p>\n

Rams superfan Poko Taufahema shows off his team spirit on the Amestoy Avenue pedestrian overcrossing above the 101 Freeway in Encino.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s great photo is from Times photographer Myung J. Chun of Poko Taufahema, aka Freeway Fan, the Rams\u2019 traffic-preaching inspiration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nation\u2019s focus understandably locked on Minnesota after federal agents shot and killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":{"0":"post-151673","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-civic-revolt","12":"tag-covid","13":"tag-covid-19","14":"tag-days","15":"tag-essential-california","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-l-a","18":"tag-los-angeles-times","19":"tag-may","20":"tag-pandemic","21":"tag-part","22":"tag-president-biden","23":"tag-red-county","24":"tag-san-diego","25":"tag-state","26":"tag-time","27":"tag-years"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}