A year after federal agents detained more than 40 Ambiance Apparel workers in Los Angeles, families say the raid’s fallout still shapes their lives—therapy sessions, lost work, borrowed money, and ongoing immigration cases. Community advocates are now pushing
On the morning of June 6, a year ago, federal agents descended on Ambiance Apparel, detaining dozens of workers in one of the largest workplace immigration enforcement actions Southern California had seen in years.
By day’s end. more than 40 workers—many of them from Zapotec Indigenous communities—were arrested in an enforcement operation that became an early flashpoint in a summer of immigration protests across Los Angeles. On Saturday morning, outside the Ambiance Apparel workplace in the Fashion District, a news conference marked the anniversary. The event wasn’t just remembrance. It was a reckoning with what hasn’t ended.
Lazaro. who chose not to disclose his last name due to ongoing concerns over his safety. described the moment detention ripped through his life. A member of Lucha Zapoteca, he was among those detained and is now free. “It was a nightmare,” Lazaro said. “Me, as well as our family members who are behind me, were separated from our family members.”.
That separation, he said, didn’t stop when he walked out. “Our fight is not done yet,” Lazaro said. “Our liberation from detention doesn’t mean that we are free. We are still facing a lot of challenges and restrictions. We are still fighting to survive, and our families are continuing to deal with the trauma of the separation.”.
In the days after the raid, Lucha Zapoteca formed as workers and families pushed for the release of people held after the operation. The group raised more than $300,000, found legal representation, and helped free 11 people held in the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
But a year later, many former workers say the consequences are still unfolding. Some have been deported, others remain in immigration proceedings, and many families continue to wrestle with both economic strain and lasting emotional damage.
At Saturday’s event. the impact was laid out in the daily language of families trying to keep their lives intact. One man—who asked not to be identified out of fear of the impact it could have on his pending immigration case—said he’s come to rely on his two oldest children to help support the household. He said he is unable to work due to his pending case.
He also described how quickly the raid’s aftermath turned into a financial emergency. His family had to borrow money from loved ones as recently as this year to help pay rent and bills.
“Right now, my hands are tied. I can’t really do anything for my family,” he said. “I basically depend on them. They’re the head of the family now. It doesn’t seem fair to put so many responsibilities on them at such a young age.”
He wasn’t alone in that fear. Yurien, the daughter of Mario—an Ambiance worker who was also detained—spoke at the press conference and also chose not to use her last name. She said she watched her father shackled at the ankles.
Yurien said her younger brother. who has a disability. spent months asking for their father. unable to understand why he was no longer at home. “Watching my father be detained while we stood powerless was one of the most traumatic experiences of our lives. ” Yurien said. “The emotional and mental impact of the day stayed with our family long after the rate ended. And even after his liberation.”.
For one detained man, the trauma still lives in therapy rooms. Two of his sons are still in therapy to deal with the trauma stemming from the day he was detained.
Among the people gathered to press for new state support was the California Network for Immigrant Worker Justice (CNIWJ). Veronica Alvarado, with CNIWJ, said the group is asking lawmakers for $500 million from the state budget to create an emergency fund for immigrant workers affected by the raids.
“Families like Yurien and everyone impacted by Lucha Zaopteca should not have to count solely on their families to figure out how they’re going to eat,” Alvarado said. “This community contributes to our economy and supports our economy.”
Alvarado also criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for investing money into California’s rainy day fund. saying the immigration situation is an emergency that needs attention. “We’ve been asking for $500 million from the state budget to create an emergency fund for our immigrant workers affected by the raids. ” Alvarado said. “These lawmakers have an opportunity to support workers by providing financial aid when they see themselves impacted by the raids.”.
The raid followed an earlier trigger inside the workplace. According to the Department of Homeland Security. Ambiance Apparel landed on ICE’s radar after the agency initiated a workplace audit last February. A Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency found that 46% of the workforce of Ambiance and its related companies were working illegally in the U.S.
Benjamin Gluck. a lawyer representing Ambiance. told the Times that Ambiance “complies with federal and state laws when it hires employees. including laws about how it may screen candidates and documents. Ambiance has always only hired people it believes have the legal right to work in the United States.”.
Homeland Security did not respond to questions about how many workers were arrested that day, though some estimates placed the number at more than 40.
For families at Saturday’s event, the legal paperwork and policy arguments have a human price. Yurien tied her father’s experience to a wider failure she believes persists in the community. “We lived in a city that claimed to be a sanctuary. yet. on and since June 6. it has continued to fail its immigrant and indigenous communities. communities whose labor and contributions help the city drive. ” she said. “What happened that day was an injustice. A federal injustice.”.
As word of the raid spread, protests grew outside the warehouse. Among those arrested during the demonstrations was David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union in California. Huerta was arrested and accused of obstructing federal authorities during the operation. He is still awaiting trial in the case.
One 46-year-old father who spoke at Saturday’s event said he has lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years. He described being held in Adelanto for three months before being released on bond in August, with the help of the group.
“I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on my worst enemy,” he said. “I came out traumatized.”
He said he worked at Ambiance for nearly five years—first stacking boxes of clothes and then moving into shipping. Like many of the workers arrested, he described himself as the primary breadwinner for his family.
When he was finally released from detention. he said he was unable to return to work as his immigration case proceeded. “It’s like I’m still confined, I can’t do anything,” he said. “My hands and feet are tied. I can’t work, I don’t leave home out of fear of encountering [ICE] again. My kids are supporting me.”.
His 23-year-old daughter said she stepped in because she felt she had no choice. “I kind of just had to step into his role,” she said. “It’s a lot of responsibility, but we don’t like to see it that way, because we’re doing it because we want to be able to help.”
He said his two youngest children, now both in high school, started therapy last year to cope with the uncertainty. “They’re the ones who suffered most,” their father said. “My biggest concern right now — aside from my case, you could say — is my children. It’s a trauma that remains. It’s difficult to overcome that experience.”.
As he awaits an upcoming immigration hearing this summer, he described feeling stuck in uncertainty. “I don’t know if they’re going to let me stay or deport me,” he said. “I don’t want to separate from my family. I’m doing everything I can to stay with them.”
Some workers detained that day are now free. Lazaro said—but he and others in Lucha Zapoteca framed the anniversary as the beginning of a longer fight. “Our resilience didn’t start with this raid, and it’s not gonna end here,” Lazaro said. “We want to keep fighting against the detentions and deportations and making sure that everyone is free.”.
Ambiance Apparel raid ICE workplace enforcement Lucha Zapoteca Adelanto ICE Processing Center Zapotec Indigenous workers California Network for Immigrant Worker Justice emergency relief fund Gavin Newsom David Huerta immigration proceedings
A year later and it’s still messing with people’s lives, crazy.
I don’t get how this is called a workplace raid if they’re just randomly grabbing people. Like were they even doing anything wrong? Seems like “immigration enforcement” turns into trauma for everyone involved.
Therapy sessions, borrowed money, immigration cases… that’s wild. But also I heard somewhere it was more about employers than the workers? Idk, it’s always confusing, they never explain the whole thing on the news.
My cousin said federal agents did that kind of thing because they were “looking for documents,” but then people get hit with stuff that lasts forever. How is that justice? If they detained 40+ that fast, sounds like somebody had the list already… and then families pay the price while politicians fight about it. Also I don’t even know where Zapotec fits in the story but it sounds like more than just paperwork.