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Federal immigration raids have shaken the city of Inglewood this week, with multiple arrests captured on camera across residential streets and commercial corridors. In a city where over half the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, the presence of ICE agents has stirred deep fear and outrage. While protests and legal challenges erupt across Los Angeles County, Inglewood residents are demanding answers from local leadership, many of whom have yet to comment publicly, as the national guard and 700 marines attempt to quell the small amount of civil unrest occurring in pockets of LA County.
Community advocates and local residents say the raids are not just about immigration, they’re about fear. With ICE seen patrolling neighborhood blocks and commercial areas, including high-traffic corridors like La Cienega and Century Boulevard, families and mom-and-pop business vendors are staying indoors, skipping work, and avoiding public spaces. For the folks who rely on street vending to survive, the heightened enforcement makes it even harder to provide for their families.
As fear and uncertainty permeate throughout the county, local officials have begun speaking out against the federal immigration raids and the broader climate of intimidation they’ve unleashed. At this week’s Inglewood City Council meeting, District 3 Councilmember Eloy Morales responded to the federal actions, calling for strength and unity in the face of rising panic: “Right now we have a community Black and Brown and we cannot allow a culture of fear to dominate us. These are families that have to live their life walking to school, going to the supermarket, going to work, being able to come home and feel safe. We all come from immigrants. I’m the proud son of two immigrants that came in the late ‘60s and I can tell you that those are folks that are here to work hard and should not be judged. So this culture of fear has to go away.” Inglewood Unified School District Board Member Ernesto Castillo, representing Trustee Area 5, emphasized the need for schools to act as sanctuaries: “Our schools must remain a safe place for all students and families. No child should fear coming to school because of their immigration status or that of their loved ones.”
The deployment of 700 U.S. Marines and the National Guard into Los Angeles by former President Donald Trump has ignited comparisons to some of the city’s most turbulent moments. For many Angelenos, particularly Black and Brown communities, the presence of military personnel on local streets evokes memories of the 1992 LA Uprising, when the National Guard was last deployed in large numbers in response to civil unrest after the Rodney King verdict. The difference now? This time the troops weren’t requested by the governor. Trump invoked Title 10 of the U.S. Code, a rarely used federal authority that allows a president to bypass state permission and deploy troops directly into domestic situations. Critics, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, have called the move a dangerous overreach and a political stunt aimed at escalating tensions rather than resolving them. “The militarization of our communities doesn’t make us safer,” Newsom said in a recent press conference. “It makes us more divided.”
According to Time Magazine, the last time a U.S. president used this kind of unilateral authority to send troops into a domestic situation without state consent was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson dispatched federal forces to Alabama in response to violence against civil rights marchers in Selma. That action was widely seen as necessary to protect citizens’ constitutional rights; Trump’s current deployment, by contrast, is being viewed by many legal scholars and elected officials as an abuse of power.
As a curfew takes effect across a one-square-mile section of downtown Los Angeles, officials hope to stabilize tensions. But in Inglewood and across LA County, the fear stirred by federal immigration raids is still raw. Amid this uncertainty, one thing remains clear: communities must protect each other.
Local leaders are urging residents to know their rights, especially during interactions with ICE or law enforcement. If you choose to protest, stay safe, stay informed, and surround yourself with trusted allies. Most importantly, if you witness immigration enforcement activity, report it by calling the National Immigrant Assistance Hotline at (888) 624-4752.
In times like these — when national strategies aim to instill fear and sow division — we must be stronger than ever. That strength is not just in resistance, but in care: checking on neighbors, supporting families, and refusing to let intimidation define our communities. Whether you’re marching, organizing, or simply surviving — your presence is powerful. We are Inglewood. We are family. We are not alone.
