Claudia Aragon was headed home after dropping her puppy off at obedience school when the first text came in early on Friday, June 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cIce showed up at the Home Depot in cypress park. Want to make sure we can help people,\u201d an immigrant service provider texted her. \u201cthis is awful claudia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aragon, who has directed Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 Office of Immigrant Affairs since March 2023, had been sick and was planning to stay home that day. <\/p>\n
But she lives only a few miles from the Cypress Park site and decided to drive over.<\/p>\n
She arrived outside the Home Depot in the aftermath of the raid \u2014 an environment she described as akin to \u201ccalm after the storm\u201d in the wake of a natural disaster. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s kind of trying to find their bearings and looking around like, \u2018What happened?\u2019 Some of the food vendors that were there were sort of putting things back,\u201d Aragon said.<\/p>\n
There would be little calm for Aragon over the next days and weeks.<\/p>\n
Within an hour or so of getting home that Friday morning, Aragon\u2019s phone rang again, with someone telling her that federal authorities were at a sprawling fast-fashion warehouse<\/a> in the Garment District. <\/p>\n Far from being isolated incidents, the Cypress Park Home Depot raid and the arrests at Ambiance Apparel were initial blasts in what would be much broader upheaval, as the Trump administration\u2019s immigration enforcement teams descended on Los Angeles and a military deployment soon followed.<\/p>\n Through it all, Aragon\u2019s phone kept buzzing, as she connected with activists and a host of immigrant service providers.<\/p>\n The next few hours were a surreal and overwhelming frenzy, as Aragon, immigrant advocacy groups and the city all tried to piece together what was happening with little communication from the federal government.<\/p>\n Aragon, who worked in Bass\u2019 congressional office before joining the mayor\u2019s office, has known and collaborated with many of her community counterparts for years.<\/p>\n Those relationships were battle-tested early in Aragon\u2019s city tenure, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending buses of migrants<\/a> to Los Angeles in 2023. Aragon was responsible for coordinating the response, as the city, faith and nonprofit partners helped situate the new arrivals.<\/p>\n A day or two after Donald Trump was elected to a second term in the White House, Aragon also sat down with the mayor\u2019s senior staff to strategize on how the city could prepare for potential immigrant raids, since Trump had made no secret of his intentions during the campaign.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s immigrant affairs office is currently a lean two-person team, with Aragon and a language access coordinator. The department was first created<\/a> under Mayor James Hahn and then resurrected<\/a> by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti.<\/p>\n Aragon herself is \u201ca very proud immigrant,\u201d having come to the United States from El Salvador when she was 7.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be here with Mayor Bass, having the opportunity to elevate the immigrant community through policy, through funding to provide support for providers who champion the community \u2014 my community, for families that are like mine \u2014 is amazing and an honor,\u201d Aragon said.<\/p>\n It can also be painful at this particular moment in history, when the promise of the immigrant American dream that made her life possible now seems in existential jeopardy and so many are living in fear. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople can\u2019t even go down the street without being detained \u2026 I can\u2019t even look at them and tell them they\u2019ll be okay,\u201d Aragon said.<\/p>\n Newsletter <\/p>\n You\u2019re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter<\/p>\n Sign up to make sense of the often unexplained world of L.A. politics.<\/p>\n Enter email address <\/p>\n Sign Me Up <\/p>\n You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. <\/p>\n State of play<\/p>\n \u2014 THE CHAOS CONTINUES: <\/b>Federal immigration raids continued across L.A. County this week, reaching into Hollywood<\/a>, Pico Rivera<\/a> and other locations<\/a>. In San Fernando, L.A. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez <\/b>and San Fernando Vice Mayor Mary Solorio <\/b>went on Instagram<\/a> Thursday to spread the word about residents being swept up from the areas around a Home Depot in San Fernando and a Costco in Pacoima, in hopes of alerting their families.<\/p>\n \u201cWe only have first names of some of the individuals,\u201d Solorio said. \u201cThose individuals are Omar, Elmer, Antonio, Saul and Ramiro.\u201d Rodriguez read out contact information for immigrant defense groups, saying: \u201cWe need to protect one another in these very scary times.\u201d<\/p>\n In Hollywood, L.A. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Mart\u00ednez<\/b> voiced his fury over a raid in his district at the Home Depot on Sunset Boulevard.<\/p>\n \u201cDespicable doesn\u2019t even begin to describe what this is,\u201d he told The Times<\/a>. \u201cYou hear about this happening in military dictatorships and totalitarian governments. To happen here in the second-largest city in America is \u2014 I don\u2019t have words, just outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 \u2018PROFOUND HARM\u2019: <\/b>Several people were also detained at a bus stop<\/a> near a Winchell\u2019s Donut House in Pasadena, evoking angry responses from County Supervisor Janice Hahn <\/b>and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu<\/b><\/a>. Hahn, who chairs Metro\u2019s transit board, worried that residents will be too afraid to go to work, attend church and, now, hop on public transit. \u201cThe fear they are spreading is doing profound harm in our communities,\u201d she said. Metro officials underscored those concerns<\/a>, saying the transit system has seen a 10% to 15% drop in bus and rail ridership since immigration enforcement activities began.<\/p>\n \u2014 BEHIND THE MASK: <\/b>County Supervisor Kathryn Barger <\/b>voiced fears<\/a> this week that some of the masked men pulling over Angelenos may not be immigration agents but rather \u201cbad players\u201d impersonating federal law enforcement. \u201cI tell you this story because we don\u2019t know if they were ICE agents or not,\u201d she said at Tuesday\u2019s board meeting. Hahn wasn\u2019t convinced, replying: \u201cMake no mistake about it: It isn\u2019t people impersonating ICE. It is ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 DODGER MANIA:<\/b> Yet another part of the city caught in the uproar was Dodger Stadium. Raul Claros<\/b>, a community organizer now running for an Eastside seat on the City Council, held a press conference<\/a> Wednesday to demand that the team do more to help families devastated by the raids. \u201cThe largest economic engine in this area is silent!\u201d he told ABC7 and other news outlets. \u201cWake up! Do better!\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers later signaled<\/a> the organization was willing to help<\/a>. Before the team made its announcement, federal law enforcement agents were spotted outside the stadium<\/a>, generating new protests. \u201cPeople are out here because they don\u2019t want to see their families torn apart,\u201d Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez<\/b> said in an interview with NBC<\/a>. The team, in a statement on X<\/a>, said it had denied entry to those agents. (Dodgers referred to them as ICE, federal officials said they were from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.) <\/p>\n \u2014 DOWNTOWN SETTLES DOWN: <\/b>Confrontations between law enforcement agencies and anti-ICE protesters tapered off this week, prompting Mayor Karen Bass <\/b>to scale back<\/a>, and then repeal<\/a>, her curfew order for downtown, Chinatown and the Arts District. But those showdowns have caused legal and financial shock wages.<\/p>\n \u2014 RISING PRICE TAG: <\/b>For example: City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo <\/b>reported<\/a> Friday that the costs of the protests to the city had jumped to more than $32 million, including $29.5 million in costs to the LAPD. The City Council voted 12-3 on Wednesday to loan the LAPD $5 million from the city\u2019s reserve fund to cover the associated police overtime. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado<\/b>, who represents downtown, voted no, as did two of her colleagues: Hernandez and Soto-Mart\u00ednez.<\/p>\n \u2014 A NEW GIG: <\/b>Former Mayor Eric Garcetti <\/b>(who, until recently, was serving as U.S. ambassador to India) has been named <\/a>Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy on behalf of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.<\/p>\n \u2014 HEADING TO COURT: <\/b>Free speech advocates have begun filing lawsuits<\/a> to stop what they call the \u201ccontinuing abuse\u201d of journalists covering protests in L.A. One federal lawsuit, which targets the city, described instances<\/a> where journalists have been tear-gassed, detained without cause and shot with less-lethal police rounds.<\/p>\n \u2014 THROUGH THE ROOF:<\/b> The overall cost of legal payouts reached a new peak <\/a>for City Hall this year, driven in large part by lawsuits over policing and \u201cdangerous conditions,\u201d such as cracked or damaged streets and sidewalks.<\/p>\n \u2014 TOURISM TURMOIL:<\/b> The battle between tourism workers and a coalition of airline and hotel groups intensified this week, with the hotel employees\u2019 union launching a pair of new ballot measures<\/a>. Unite Here Local 11, which recently won approval of a $30 minimum wage hike<\/a> for its members, proposed an ordinance to require voter approval for any hotel project that adds 80 or more rooms. Union co-president Kurt Petersen<\/b> portrayed the measure as a response to an ongoing effort by the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, a business group, to repeal the $30 wage<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 THAT\u2019S NOT ALL:<\/b> Unite Here also unveiled a ballot proposal to hike the minimum wage for employees in non-tourism industries. Under city law, hotel employees currently receive a minimum wage of $20.32 per hour, compared to $17.28 for most non-tourism workers. The union\u2019s new proposal would bring every worker in L.A. up to their level, jumping first to $22.50 and eventually reaching $30 in 2028.<\/p>\n \u2014 ALL ABOARD:<\/b> Officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plan to lease 2,700 buses<\/a> to get people around the city for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The agency needs $2 billion to make that happen \u2014 and is hoping to secure the funding from the federal government.<\/p>\n \u2014 COLE FOR THE SUMMER: <\/b>Chief Deputy Controller Rick Cole <\/b>is stepping down on July 11 from his job with City Controller Kenneth Mejia. <\/b>In his announcement on LinkedIn<\/a>, Cole called Mejia an \u201cinspiring young leader\u201d who \u201cblazed a new path for transparency and accountability.\u201d He also acknowleged the demands he\u2019s faced since winning a seat on the Pasadena City Council, which he called a \u201cmore-than-part-time role.\u201d \u201cKenneth has been incredibly flexible and supportive but I recognize that I couldn\u2019t do justice to both jobs indefinitely,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n MAKING THE ROUNDS<\/p>\n In the wake of the protests and weeklong curfew, L.A.\u2019s mayor has been offering support to businesses in Little Tokyo, the Civic Center and other areas hard hit in downtown by vandalism, graffiti and theft. Bass spent about half an hour on Wednesday visiting restaurants on 1st Street, whose windows were covered in plywood.<\/p>\n Bass dropped into Far Bar, Kaminari Gyoza Bar and other spots, chatting up the proprietors and posing for photos with customers. Afterward, she made an appeal to Trump to withdraw the U.S. Marines, saying things were safe and stable.<\/p>\n \u201cIn light of the fact that L.A. is peaceful, there are no protests, there isn\u2019t any sign of vandalism or violence, I would call on the administration to please remove the troops,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bass was quickly interrupted from Clemente Franco<\/b>, an Echo Park resident who said he was frustrated with the state of the city \u2014 dirty streets, broken sidewalks, streetlights that are out because of copper wire theft.<\/p>\n \u201cA year and a half with no lights,\u201d he told deputy mayor Vahid Khorsand<\/b>, who attempted to form a buffer between Franco and Bass. \u201cA year and a half the lights have been off. They took the wires. The whole street is black.\u201d<\/p>\n Khorsand asked Franco to provide him a list of problem locations.<\/p>\n QUICK HITS<\/p>\n Stay in touch<\/p>\n That\u2019s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com<\/a>. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here<\/a> to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n \n