LA Day Laborer Centers Face Underfunding Amid Rising Federal Raids

Across Los Angeles, day laborer centers have become frontline battlegrounds in the ongoing immigration crackdown. Federal agents, often masked and armed, have repeatedly raided these centers, detaining workers and even pointing guns at staff on private property. According to Maegan Ortiz, executive director of IDEPSCA, which runs five of the city’s seven centers, agents have violently disrupted operations, including throwing a site coordinator to the ground during a raid in Cypress Park last fall.

Since then, at least 136 workers have been captured in 23 raids across centers in Cypress Park, Westlake, the Fashion District, Harbor City, Hollywood, North Hollywood, and Van Nuys. Many of those detained have “disappeared” into detention facilities, forcing centers to track their whereabouts and provide critical support to their families.

Despite these escalating attacks, the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26 allocates just $1 million for all seven day laborer centers combined. Advocates say this figure falls woefully short of what’s needed to ensure basic security upgrades like cameras and reinforced doors, and to cover the growing costs of rent, food, and legal aid for affected workers. IDEPSCA alone has provided over $400,000 in emergency assistance since the raids began.

“We are seeing increases to the police department budget … Meanwhile, the day laborer centers combined have had more than 100 people kidnapped,” Ortiz told Boyle Heights Beat. She emphasized that these centers are not just immigration issue hubs but economic and climate disaster recovery centers as well. After the January 2025 LA wildfires, day laborers were essential in cleaning and rebuilding efforts, with the centers acting as critical support and resource hubs.

At a recent budget and finance committee hearing, advocates from IDEPSCA and CARECEN, which runs the Westlake center, testified that the current $1 million allocation is insufficient. Jorge Nicolas of CARECEN warned, “Our response cannot remain the same while the crisis grows,” calling for a tripling of funds to $3 million.

Joshua Erazo, a CARECEN organizer who has witnessed four raids at the Westlake center, described the palpable fear these actions instill but also the resilience of the immigrant community. “Regardless of these attacks, all the day laborer centers remain open so the community could have a space for healing,” he said. “We are grateful to be in the proposed budget … The amount is just not enough.”

Los Angeles City Council will continue budget hearings through mid-May, with final approval and the mayor’s signature due by July 1. As federal immigration enforcement shows no signs of relenting, the city faces a stark choice: adequately fund these centers that serve as lifelines for vulnerable workers or leave them exposed to further raids and community destabilization.

Boyle Heights Beat has reached out to Mayor Karen Bass’s office for comment. We will update this story if a response is received.

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