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AAPI leaders demand end to ICE raids in Los Angeles
“We will not allow our communities to be targeted, traumatized, and torn apart,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance.
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Staff Reporter - Mon, 23, Jun 2025
- 16:18 EDT
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FILE PHOTO: Orange traffic cones with the word "ICE" are seen at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Miramar, near Miami, Florida, U.S. July 14, 2019. / REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
Prominent Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders across Los Angeles County will gather on June 26 to denounce recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and call for the immediate withdrawal of ICE from the region, the AAPI Equity Alliance announced.
The press conference, scheduled to take place at Terasaki Budokan in downtown Los Angeles, will bring together community advocates, elected officials, and service providers amid growing alarm over what AAPI leaders have described as “military-style” operations targeting immigrant workers in agriculture, hospitality, and food service sectors.
Also Read: Rep. Krishnamoorthi demands ICE facility access after being blocked
“We will not allow our communities to be targeted, traumatized, and torn apart,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance, a coalition of more than 50 community-based organizations serving the 1.6 million AAPI residents of Los Angeles County.
In a previous statement, Kulkarni called the raids “unconscionable and destabilizing,” and said that masked federal agents arresting people without due process is “not public safety.”
Scheduled speakers include John Kim, president and CEO of Catalyst California; Chanchanit Martorell, founder and executive director of Thai Community Development Center; Peter Gee, co-executive director of Little Tokyo Service Center; Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California; and Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado (14th District).
Participants are expected to share accounts of family separations, sudden detentions, and widespread fear across immigrant neighborhoods. In-language legal resources will be distributed at the event.
The scheduled press conference follows a June 16 reversal by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which reinstated guidance for ICE agents to resume workplace immigration raids after a brief pause. The renewed enforcement has already led to over 40 arrests in Los Angeles earlier this month, according to reports.
The raids—carried out in coordination with DHS, FBI, and DEA—have drawn criticism for the use of stun grenades and early morning arrests at locations including the fashion district and major retail outlets. Community leaders and civil rights groups have described the operations as “oppressive” and “paramilitary.”
In the days since, AAPI neighborhoods across Southern California have reported shuttered storefronts and empty public spaces, as fear spreads even among lawfully present immigrants.
The AAPI Equity Alliance is urging city and county officials to formally request ICE's withdrawal and invest in legal aid and community support services.
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