Watch as people protest ICE and support strikes in Boyle Heights
The demonstrations followed the shooting deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Preti by federal agents in Minnesota.
There are no jobs. There is no school. No shopping.
The Los Angeles May Day Coalition, made up of more than 50 organizations, is calling for people to join the International Labor Day march on May 1st. They said they were trying to shut down Los Angeles by not going to work or school or stopping spending.
On Wednesday, March 25, speakers gathered outside MacArthur Park in Los Angeles to rally for upcoming marches and emphasize the power that comes when workers and people come together. They pointed to a range of issues, including affordable housing and immigrant rights, at the park, which was flooded with federal agents for weeks after protests against federal immigration enforcement erupted in the city last July.
The announcement comes days before “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration are expected to spread across California and the United States, and follows a “national shutdown” in late January called by various advocacy groups and labor unions in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, called on people to join them on May 1 at MacArthur Park, where a march is planned.
“We will continue to fight for freedom,” she said. “Freedom to be with my family. Freedom to work and earn a decent wage without being persecuted by ICE or Border Patrol.”
She also discussed other freedoms, such as moving away from the persecution of war, thriving, and “transforming our country toward justice.”
“Please join us”: Call small business owners, etc.
The announcement on March 25th coincided with the 20th.th The anniversary marked the day hundreds of thousands of people marched in Los Angeles over immigrant rights, according to the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times. Twenty years later, the fight against attacks on immigrants continues, Salas said.
Other participants calling on the community to join the May 1st march included 15-year-old community organizer and Boyle Heights business owner Nico Avina.
Avina is the owner of Espacio 1839, a gift shop that attracts poets and writers and also has a podcast studio. He acknowledged the history of Labor Day on May 1st, and when asked about issues he thought needed to be addressed, he cited issues such as wars overseas, education costs, and access to health care.
“It’s all very important for us to act in droves and demand justice and demand an end to corporate greed and these laws that benefit corporations rather than actual working-class people,” he said.
The Los Angeles Daily News and KTLA reported that thousands of people rallied in Los Angeles on International Labor Day 2025.
While Avina called on small business owners to join the effort on May 1, Martha Arevalo, executive director of the Central American Resource Center, called on another group of community members.
“But I also want to send a message to people who don’t have to worry about being separated from their families,” Arevalo said.
“To those who have never marched before. To those who live in very different communities across Southern California. To those who have never seen ICE in their communities, as we have seen in immigrant communities, and to those who have not yet, please join us,” Arevalo said.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact pbarraza@usatodayco.com..
