The LA Local is documenting a year of raids, resistance and community since federal immigration enforcement surged in Los Angeles. Read the full series here.
The day laborers and street vendors at the Cypress Park Home Depot have spent the past year on high alert.
After multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations at the site since last June, workers have learned to scan the parking lot for suspicious vehicles, fearing masked agents could return at any moment.
On a recent Sunday morning, however, the atmosphere shifted, and for a few hours, they were able to relax.
A group of about a dozen volunteers set up folding tables and a canopy where the workers gather each day to look for jobs. They brought hot coffee and pastries, green enchiladas and pasta salad. For one day laborer who’s been coming to the Home Depot for over 20 years, simply having the volunteers show up allowed him to breathe a little easier.
“Uno se siente protegido,” said the day laborer, who asked not to be named over fear for his safety. “We feel protected, it feels good that there are people who care about you because the situation is sad.”
Nearly a year after immigration raids intensified across Los Angeles, many neighbors and organizations have shifted from emergency response to sustained forms of mutual aid. Across the Eastside and Northeast LA, volunteers are feeding day laborers, helping families stay housed, coordinating grocery drop-offs and even organizing neighborhood run clubs to patrol their neighborhoods on foot.
“I think it helps with the workers because there’s more of a presence there when we show up,” said Katherine Carreño, who started the community feed events in December 2025. “I think it relaxes them a little bit.”
Carreño and many of the volunteers helping organize the events have been on the frontlines of countless protests against federal immigration enforcement, where some have been hit with rubber bullets and pepper spray. Others are plugged into their local rapid response network, showing up minutes after ICE is spotted in their neighborhood.
But for Carreno, the community feeds offer a different kind of support.
“It’s very important to have a space where it’s not just violence all the time,” Carreño said. “It’s just another way to be there for our community, with community, but in a way that is safe and lighter than the protests that we have been doing since the raids began.”
Carreño and the group have already traveled to Home Depots in Westlake and South Central to provide meals for the day laborers there, but she hopes to continue organizing the food distributions across the city.
The Cypress Park Home Depot has become one of the areas most impacted by immigration enforcement since the raids began. In November, federal agents descended on the site for at least the third time and detained six people, including a father and his 1-year-old daughter. An employee from the nearby day laborer center was also injured.
The fear from those raids continues to shape daily life for day laborers and many say they’ve lost work because of it.
“Any help is welcome; food is very expensive now and there’s little work available,” said another day laborer who also did not want to share his name over safety concerns.
Since the raids kicked off last June, Eastside locals have shown up to support their community in many ways. Student volunteers with Raices con Voz have delivered groceries, toiletries, and other donated items to families who are too afraid to leave their homes. The El Sereno Community Care Collective has organized street vendor buyouts to help vendors stay safe at home during the raids. The N.E.L.A. Patrol Runners have found an alternative way to get runners on the street to do ICE patrolling in their neighborhoods.
Together, these groups showcase that community support can look different and still have an impact.
In Boyle Heights, community groups have also been helping families cover rent and connect them with resources after losing work because of the raids.
Paula Hernandez, who lives in Boyle Heights with her two children, stopped selling fruit out of fear she would be detained.
“My son has told me, ‘Mom, what if you go out on the street and don’t come back?’ It’s very difficult,” Hernandez said. By April, she was four months behind on rent when she sought help from Proyecto Pastoral, a local community-building and social justice nonprofit founded by Dolores Mission Church.
“There are times when I can’t even sleep because I’m thinking about the expenses, the rent, and how right now the money, honestly, just isn’t enough,” Hernandez said. The rent relief would take a huge weight off her shoulders.
Salvador Mendoza, a case manager at Proyecto Pastoral, would meet with one to two families per week who had been affected by immigration raids, helping them access rent assistance through the organization’s Community Support Fund. The fund, which raised nearly $50,000 since the raids began, was exhausted last month.
Mendoza has worked with the Dolores Mission’s men’s and women’s homeless shelters for 19 years. He said understanding the struggles of others can be mentally draining, and over time, he has learned to prioritize his mental health.
“I don’t want to project my stress or whatever I’m feeling to the family that’s coming to look for help,” he said.
On his days off, he goes hiking or on bike rides. Because of his busy schedule, Mendoza has not joined a local rapid response network, though he said he stays informed so he can share updates with families who come to him for assistance.
“Sometimes I wish the day had more hours,” he said. “I try not to do too much because then I feel that I’m not giving my 100% … Just knowing that I’m helping a family stay housed, especially when there’s minors involved, is a very rewarding job.”
How to get involved:
Those interested in volunteering at the upcoming Community Feed events can reach out to Katherine Carreño on Instagram here.
The N.E.L.A. Patrol Runners host a run in neighborhoods across northeast LA every Friday at 6 a.m. To find their next run, visit their Instagram.
The El Sereno Community Care Collective and Raices con Voz post regularly about events, fundraisers and community health resources on Instagram.
