ICE Raids Spark Protests Across Downtown LA, Inglewood, and Compton
The alarms didn’t just go off in the streets—they rang in the hearts of every family that’s ever feared a knock at the door. On the morning of June 6, 2025, ICE agents descended on neighborhoods across Los Angeles in what authorities described as a “targeted enforcement operation.” But to communities in downtown LA, Inglewood, and Compton, it looked and felt like war.
Backed by federal troops and aided by military-style equipment, ICE arrested over 40 individuals, most of whom were taken from their workplaces and homes with little warning. Word spread fast, and by midday, hundreds had gathered in protest. What began as peaceful demonstrations quickly turned tense. Police in riot gear clashed with protestors near South Broadway and Hill Street, while in Compton, tear gas choked the air and flash-bangs lit up residential blocks like fireworks no one wanted.
President Donald Trump took to social media to brand the demonstrations an “insurrection,” authorizing National Guard deployment by nightfall. Tanks rolled into LA the way they did in D.C. in 2020, but this time the message was clear: silence your outrage or risk being labeled a criminal.
For Black communities, the raids stirred old wounds. Los Angeles has a long history of state-sponsored over-policing—from Watts in 1965 to the Rodney King uprisings in 1992. This time, the face of fear was immigration, but the undercurrent was familiar: trauma, surveillance, and suppression.
Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the raids as “militarized theater,” asserting that California would not stand by while its residents were terrorized. His statement followed growing criticism from civil rights groups who decried the disproportionate targeting of Black and brown neighborhoods.
For those in Inglewood and Compton, these events weren’t just headlines. They were lived realities. Mothers held their children tighter. Small businesses shuttered early. And for a city that already carries the weight of systemic racism, this federal invasion only deepened the divide.
But something else rose, too: resistance. Community leaders like Dr. Melina Abdullah of BLMLA mobilized quickly, setting up legal aid stations, hotline resources, and mutual aid funds to support detained individuals and their families.
This moment is more than politics. It’s a reminder that Black and immigrant communities are always the first to feel the reach of unchecked power. And yet, they are also the first to rise.
