Several hundred people gathered at La Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles this afternoon in solidarity with protesters nationwide who are calling for immigration agents to get out of their communities.
The eclectic crowd of Angelenos included high school and college students; veterans; clergy members; unions; local politicians; and parents who took the day off from work.
At a rally in the historic center, several people held up signs calling for “Justice for Renee Nicole Good,” the woman shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis earlier this month. Other protesters carried signs bearing the names and faces of those who’ve died in immigrant detention centers during the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort. One protester held up a sign that simply read: “Due Process. Google it.”
Impact on families
Centro CSO, a local grassroots organization, made sure students participating in the protest made it safely from school to La Placita Olvera.
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“We were getting messages from parents asking if we can help their children get safe passage to get here because the organization that set this up, [they] were calling for students to walk out, but [they] weren’t really providing any guidance or protection,” said Verita Topete, co-chair of the group’s immigration committee.
Students see immigration enforcement activity taking place locally and in other states, and they want to get politically involved, Topete added.
Students from Roosevelt and Mendez high schools joined the march. Both campuses are on the Eastside of town, where raids have been rampant.
That was the case for 11th-grader Jazz, who said she walked out of school Friday to speak up for those who can’t.
“My mom is very brave. Ever since I was little, my mom has never once backed down from a fight,” Jazz said. “And to see her hide away for the first time in her life really spoke to me. It made me really upset.”
Laura Pastor, a freshman at Cal State L.A., said she’s been inspired by anti-ICE activism across the country, especially among students.
“I’m holding a sign that says ‘Justice for Renee Nicole Good,’” Pastor said. “Not only did she represent an American citizen, but a white American citizen. That means that anybody could be a target now, and I think more people are starting to see that.”
Good’s death and those of people held in detention centers moved Pastor and others at the event to call for changes to enforcement policy.
For some, the demonstration Friday was a family affair. Tina Ponce joined the call to action along with her 17-year-old daughter, Loki.
“Everything that’s going on, it’s too close to home. It feels like my ancestors went through this, and it’s just a repeat,” Ponce said. “We have to do better.”
What’s the point of protest?
Following the rally at La Placita Olvera, the protesters marched to the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrant detainees are often taken for initial processing. There, organizers asked everyone to face northeast, toward Minnesota. Then, as some of them kneeled, they sang “Hold On” in unison.
At the event, some protesters resolved to boycott Home Depot until the company agrees to intervene with the arrests of people in and around their stores. Others, including state Sen. Renée Pérez, vowed to ensure a state law that requires immigration agents to unmask is fully implemented.
Raúl García, an elementary school teacher in East L.A., said he knows a single protest won’t change the nation’s immigration policy — but he did not find it futile.
Laura Pastor, a freshman at Cal State L.A., made time to participate in the protest before heading to her internship.
He said he recently asked his students to write about what they’re afraid of. When he gathered their response, one student wrote: “I’m scared ICE will take my mom.”
“Then I saw multiple entries [with] similar sentiments,” he added. “I was heartbroken.”
For García, it was enough to meet like-minded people and continue organizing.
Updated January 23, 2026 at 6:02 PM PST
This story has been updated with more activity from throughout the protest.