Workers Caught In The LA ICE Raids: An Interview With The Director Of The Garment Worker Center

On June 6, 2025, ICE conducted its infamous raids in Los Angeles, targeting workers in the garment sector, laborers in Home Depot parking lots, and many others throughout the city. The Trump administration sent in the National Guard and Marines in an obscene show of force to disproportionately deal with any protesters.

Labor 411 editor, Sahid Fawaz, spoke with Garment Worker Center Director, Marissa Nuncio, about the events that day and the ongoing raids.

SF: The infamous June 2025 ICE raids in LA began in the garment sector. Can you tell us a bit about that?

MN: The raid started at a garment warehouse, which is distinct from a factory where apparel is being made. It quickly became apparent that ICE was increasing the enforcement activity and were now targeting worksites in a very specific way. Before that, we saw an increase of anti-immigrant activity with the Trump administration coming into the presidency, but this time it was more targeted.

When we have an administration that is as anti-immigrant as the current one, our concern is are we going to start to see worksite raids? Are we going to see any other sort of enforcement activity in the community? The LA raids showed that we are in a new, heightened state of ICE enforcement.

SF: I’m assuming there were previous ICE raids by the administration. What made that day different? What made that day stand out?

MN: We had not seen ICE raids at a garment warehouse before. Worksite raids have happened in the past around the country. But we did not see that in our industry in many years. And I think what makes it unique is that with this raid we have now seen over a month of sheer terror in the community.

ICE is not only conducting worksite raids but also snatch-and-grabs throughout LA County and Southern California. Literally, roving bands of vehicles are now in residential and in industrial areas that are more heavily prominent for immigrant communities. They just roam around, sometimes in unmarked vehicles, and masked men jump out and pick people up off the street. They throw them in these vehicles and then disappear. It can happen in a literal minute. We saw this day after day after day.

It’s hard to describe how scary that is for people. We saw a lot of it in the Fashion District. And we’ve seen ICE targeting Home Depots, which are known areas for day laborers. They’ve been targeting car washes, which are comprised of a very heavily immigrant workforce. These are workers that are very public and very vulnerable. These are arrests that are made without reasonable suspicion. They are warrantless arrests. By and large, they’re absolutely based on racial profiling. They’re going up to people that fit a profile that appears to be undocumented.

Many people are refraining from going to work, the grocery store, and doctor appointments because ICE is conducting indiscriminate snatch-and-grabs. People don’t know what to expect when they walk out in the streets. We’ve had the National Guard in the streets. We’ve had the Marines in the streets. We had a curfew. We are in a militarized environment.

SF: That seems like a disproportionate response by the administration to bring in the National Guard and military. Are some people wondering if it’s not just immigration enforcement, but instead an intent to terrorize and instill fear in people?

MN: I think that’s absolutely what people feel. We have an administration with leaders like Steven Miller focusing on numbers and telling ICE to grab as many people as they can. There is the rhetoric around Alligator Alcatraz to generate fear. There is strategy of attrition to keep hammering at immigrants and make this an inhospitable environment for them. The use of military power to conduct immigration enforcement against the wishes of local government adds to that atmosphere of fear and terror.

SF: Have there been other raids in the garment industry in LA since that first day that involved a garment warehouse?

MN: None that we are aware of. Our work as an organization is to support the workforce and the community in the best way that we can. We’ve engaged in a lot of rapid response work to inform our members. We’ve helped so many with our Know Your Rights workshops, both in person and virtually. We are collaborating with immigration attorneys to hold immigration clinics so folks can get individual consultation.

Also, businesses are concerned and have a role to play. They’re reaching out to us with questions about how to protect their workforce. And they have a role to play. They can put a plan in place. They can treat whatever area in their business as private. They can make that known and they can uphold their rights to that private space. If confronted by law enforcement, they can deny entry from law enforcement to private areas, if they do not have a judicial warrant. We’ve been getting the Know Your Rights information out to businesses as well, because that helps protect the workforce. This is a moment for all in the community to come together.

Also, we’ve launched the Immigrant Worker Defense Fund. It is available to garment workers, regardless of status, who may be experiencing financial hardship because their factory closed, or hours were reduced, or they were fearful of going there because of ICE activity.

We encourage garment workers to reach out to us. Maybe they have questions about their rights or support that they can receive. And if a family member of a garment worker in LA is detained, we encourage them to reach out to us as well, and we can connect them with legal resources and/or our defense fund. We’re here as a resource. Every case, every situation may be a bit different, but we really encourage folks in the garment community to do that together. They can go to our website, garmentworkercenter.org, or call us at 213-748-5866.

SF: What are some other organizations or allies that the GWC has been working with in response to the raids?

MN: We’re working very closely with the LA Worker Center Network, where we’re an organizational member of that network. Our purpose is to build strength for worker centers as part of the labor movement. We represent several low wage industries in Los Angeles, and we’ve been working very closely together to also fundraise together for a more centralized legal defense fund. We are involved in sharing research, joint mutual aid, and food distribution work.

The LA Worker Center Network filed a lawsuit on July 2 against ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, border patrol, and other federal agencies. It filed the suit along with the United Farm Workers and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights to denounce violations of the constitution.

On July 11, a federal court granted a temporary restraining order. The government and other agencies have filed an appeal against the order. There has been no decision yet in the appeal.

SF: What is the atmosphere in LA now versus about a month ago when the raids began?

MN: It’s fearful. Looking at the Fashion District, for example, it feels less vibrant. We have seen a lot of closed doors. Some businesses closed for a few days out of concern for what’s happening. We also heard from workers that facilities were seeing a decrease in volume.

We hope that it picks up. We are concerned for the communities first and foremost but also the local economy. When the government is targeting workers, it is disrupting the local economy. We have car washes, for example, across Southern California being targeted. We have seen labor being targeted. We had this raid of the garment warehouse. It’s extremely disruptive to local industries and the economy, which in turn harms people’s livelihood and well-being.

SF: Do you feel that the raids brought the garment worker community closer to each other and to the Garment Worker Center?

MN: These moments can strengthen organizing and strengthen community. This is not the way we want to be strengthened, of course, but it is happening. I ran into a member one morning, who was also a leader in one of our campaigns a few years ago, and she said, “Remember, the pandemic made us stronger, and this moment will make us stronger too.”