Born and raised in Boyle Heights, Miguel Montes has seen firsthand how federal immigration raids have impacted his Eastside community.
He’s noticed how emptier the aisles at nearby Vallarta Supermarket have been lately, and the neighborhood elotero absent from his typical route.
Along the normally bustling Whittier Boulevard, where armed federal agents rammed a car carrying children on Wednesday, Montes no longer sees the usual crowd at the bus stop early in the morning for work.
“People are staying in their homes,” said Montes, 25. “They don’t want to come out, especially now that they’re targeting schools and churches. Nobody wants to step out.”
This paralyzing fear has spurred Montes and others to act.
Montes has helped rally a network of volunteers to collect and drop off groceries, toiletries, and other donated items to families who are too afraid to leave their homes to conduct their day-to-day errands.
“It’s all hands on,” said Montes, a Cal State L.A. student majoring in public health. “We need to help those that cannot come out because they’re in fear of getting stopped because they’re [immigration agents] everywhere.”
Volunteers are organizing these efforts under Raíces con Voz: Latinos In Public Health, a Boyle Heights-based and student-led collective that Montes founded about a year ago to offer wellness spaces, career support, and health education. The collective pivoted from their usual programming to distribute groceries and other essentials as federal agents began raiding Home Depot stores, carwashes, and other workspaces across Los Angeles.
Social workers, lawyers, and public health advocates are among those who are volunteering to help distribute groceries. Many include students who went away for college and are back home.
“We’re back in our communities and we want to help,” Montes said.
Families interested in receiving groceries and other donated goods can fill out an intake form, which is provided in English and Spanish, asking for their contact information and what kind of materials they’d like to receive (if the form is not accepting responses, it’s because the organization is trying to navigate demand. Check back later).
Volunteers follow up to ask for household size and to gauge whether they should just leave the goods at their doorstep or if anyone will be meeting them outside.
The effort has significantly grown since the beginning of last week, when the collective had about 10 volunteers gathering and sorting donations in neighborhood parks. Since then, more than 500 people have reached out to volunteer.
Raíces con Voz, which screens its volunteers, is working with about 20 people volunteering their services. Food and other essentials have been distributed to more than 200 families, not just in Boyle Heights, but in Compton and other neighborhoods across the city.
More organizations are doing similar work.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles has dropped off items for families who are avoiding public spaces. Several YMCA centers, including the one in Boyle Heights, have served as collection sites and have been assembling care packages. Aqui Para La Comunidad is delivering in the Southeast L.A. area. X’tiosu Kitchen in Boyle Heights helped arrange a grocery bag pick-up over the weekend at the restaurant.
Last Tuesday, several people stopped by Eugene A. Obregon Park to drop off items at a Raíces con Voz collection site.
Many felt a sense of duty. They were either children of immigrants or had family or friends who were undocumented. Others were immigrants themselves who eventually obtained citizenship. Some simply donated because they were concerned for their immigrant neighbors, and saw it as an alternative to protesting.
Monica Sanchez, a volunteer with Raíces con Voz, is seeing “fear coming from all around.”
“It’s fear seeing their neighbors getting picked up. It’s the fear of getting on the bus and seeing immigration there. It’s the fear of even stepping out to go buy some eggs or get some gas,” said Sanchez, who was at the park collecting donations.
Sanchez said they’re working to become more visible to the community to put residents at ease.
The work is personal for Sanchez.
“I come from undocumented parents who crossed over here to give me and my siblings a better opportunity at life, and if my parents had never done that, I would not be able to be standing here today, being able to help other people in the community,” she said.
Elizabeth Vazquez, of Boyle Heights, stopped by the park to drop off canned food, pasta, and other essentials.
“It’s very heartbreaking to see families not only be ripped apart, but also not have the opportunity to go out and buy their essential goods for themselves,” Vazquez said.
“I’m disappointed. I’m overwhelmed. There’s just so many feelings of helplessness, but at the same time, I’ve also seen our community gather. I’ve seen how all of us can unite and still be able to help one another,” she added. “I hope we can get through this. We have before, and we will continue to do so.”
To Sabrina Ketel, of Glassell Park, helping this way was a safer way to show up. She dropped off non-perishable foods and other household goods.
“I’m somebody who loves to go out to protest, but especially with the militarization of it recently, it’s felt a lot scarier,” Ketel said. “This is a great way that you can still contribute and help, without feeling unsafe.”
“Immigrants are honestly the best part of L.A. My heart just really goes out to everybody who’s been kidnapped, taken out of their homes, taken out of their workplaces. We all need to be doing whatever we can,” Ketel added.
Arceo Lopez, of Chuy’s Market, donated a box of sodas from his store after a nearby neighbor stopped by to tell him about the collection site.
“It’s not a lot, but I hope it helps,” said Lopez, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1970s.
In his 50 years in the U.S., he said, “We’ve never seen anything like this.” The raids are harming Latinos, “and it’s not right,” he said. “They’re targeting the working people,” he added.
Lopez, who became a U.S. citizen more than two decades ago, sympathizes with undocumented people.
“I put myself in their place … What they’re doing to them, I feel it,” he said. “You have to look at where you came from.”
Our approach to immigration coverage
At Boyle Heights Beat, we believe local journalism is a public service rooted in care, truth and accountability. In moments like these—when immigration enforcement brings fear, uncertainty and urgency—our mission is to inform, uplift and protect our community through accurate reporting, ethical storytelling and deep listening.
We know we can’t cover everything, but we remain committed to ongoing immigration coverage that reflects the needs and values of our community. We’ll be working closely with community organizations and residents on the ground to help verify information, respond to unfolding events, and ensure our reporting is responsible and informed by those most impacted.
Read more about those efforts here.
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