More than a dozen people gathered on a hot Sunday to raise their voices against ICE operations in front of the Home Depot store in Cypress Park. With signs and banners reading “Boycott Home Depot” and “No one is safe, ICE OUT!”, protesters marched along 22nd Avenue. "We've been here almost every Sunday since the beginning of August (2025). Our communities, our neighbors, our people are being targeted, illegally abducted, and put in concentration camps, where some will die, as you can see today," said Mary Linda Moss of the NELA Alliance for Democracy, pointing to signs with photos of people who have lost their lives at the hands of ICE or in immigration detention centers. At the corner, they handed out posters and also made a small memorial, placing more photos of people who have lost their lives at the hands of the federal agency. People like Keith Porter and farmworker Jaime Alanis Garcia, who died after falling 30 feet while trying to escape agents during an immigration raid in a Camarillo field. Another case, the most recent, was that of Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, 48, who was detained at the Adelanto jail and died at Victor Valley Medical Center. His family claims he died due to medical negligence at the detention center. “The first time we held a vigil, there were about 32 deaths,” Moss said. "That number keeps going up. Every day there are more deaths at the hands of ICE; just last week they announced more." In January 2026, six people died in ICE custody at jails in Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California. The NELA Alliance for Democracy has held demonstrations since August of last year outside the same Home Depot. According to Moss, each demonstration is different, but the goal is the same: to draw attention to the arrests of day laborers at the Cypress Park construction store and, on days like that Sunday, to honor the people who have lost their lives. At each vigil, everyone reads out the names of each person on the signs, listing the deaths and who they were. As they do this, cars passing by on the street or leaving the store honk in support. According to the people we spoke with, raids in Cypress Park have been frequent.“They've abducted more than 44 people here at this Home Depot and more than 600 at other local stores in Los Angeles,” said Raul Cancino, a protester. "Those who work for ICE only have in mind arresting bodies and asking questions later. It's terrifying," added Anne, an activist who was attending the store for the third time. Felipe, a street vendor who has had a fruit stand outside the Cypress Park Home Depot for the past three years, says the situation has been tough. He is one of several vendors in the surrounding area who come out to offer fruit and hot food. That day, several people stopped by his stand to refresh themselves with a cup of chopped fruit with lime, chamoy, and Tajin.

“It feels a little calmer now, but we're not letting our guard down; things can change in an instant,” said Felipe, as he cut a coconut in half. "But it was really rough here in Cypress Park. People weren't coming out. There were several times we had to run, and we'd leave the whole stand behind."

A young woman with purple and pink hair attended the vigil with her mother. She explained that it's important to participate in demonstrations to protest because several of her classmates have parents who are afraid to speak out.

“That's why I came today, to be their voice and help say no more to the raids,” said Eva Canizales. “They've killed so many people, and I feel terrible for the families going through this.” The protesters also handed out flyers calling for a boycott of the Home Depot store for not standing with the community and the day laborers who go to the store looking for work. The flyers listed other businesses as alternatives to Home Depot. Moss said one of the reasons they started protesting at that location was because of an incident last year. "There was a raid last year, and some of the day laborers ran inside the store; but instead of closing the door, the store let the ICE agents in," Moss said. She added that they have tried to protest inside the store, but they haven't been allowed to. And although no one was removed when we were there that day, we did notice two men monitoring the group of protesters from the Home Depot parking lot. When we asked the two of them if they were Home Depot security guards, they said no, but they went into the store.

That corner has become an area for various forms of protest against ICE and resistance. Across the street, you can see a giant billboard, paid for by the group Mi Jente, that draws attention to the cost of immigration raids and shows a photo of a woman being detained.

Kimberly Dawn Robertson, a professor in the American Indian Studies program at Cal State Long Beach and co-founder of Metzli Projects, also installed a sewn-on sign that reads “FUCK ICE” as part of a series called “Bead Bombs,” which is placed locations at where raids have occurred.

Members of the NELA Alliance for Democracy said they will continue to demonstrate at that location until the raids stop. Their presence alongside the advocacy groups and the day laborer center has reassured several workers and street vendors in the area.

After this demonstration, they are preparing to join other groups that will participate in a caravan on Saturday, March 14, heading to downtown Adelanto to express their discontent.

“Yes, the ICE situation is tough, but we have to work, and only God knows what awaits us. But we have to keep going,” said Felipe, who emphasized that, “it does help to have people here watching over us and supporting us all.”

Note produced under the California Local News Fellowship program at the University of Berkeley