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UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS PREPARE TO CLEAN UP L.A.’S FIRES AMID ICE
RAIDS  
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Hilary Beaumont
February 12, 2025
Capital and Main
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_ As fear of ICE raids and deportation mounts, day laborers risk
arrest to help the Los Angeles rebuild and to support their families.
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In late January, a day laborer helps to clear debris from the high
winds that accompanied the Eaton Fire, photo by Jeremy Lindenfeld

 

In the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that tore through Los
Angeles last month, undocumented day laborers will likely make up a
significant portion of the workforce tasked with clearing debris and
rebuilding homes. As they navigate the environmental hazards of this
work, they’re also facing the Trump administration’s escalating
crackdown on immigrants.

The threat is real. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump
declared a national emergency at the border, paving the way for
military operations in the borderlands. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement swiftly followed with raids, arresting thousands
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cities including Chicago, New York, Miami, Atlanta and San Diego. In
Los Angeles, ICE worked with other federal agencies in an enforcement
operation
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Federal law enforcement agencies are planning “large scale”
immigration raids by the end of February, according to a leaked memo
obtained by the L.A. Times
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before Joe Biden left office, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted a raid
in Bakersfield, Calif.

For day laborers in Los Angeles and beyond, anxiety is mounting, said
Nadia Marin Molina, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer
Organizing Network (NDLON). At a recent “Know Your Rights”
workshop at the Pasadena Community Job Center, workers expressed
concern. “People were saying they were worried,” she said, noting
that their fears were intensified by social media posts warning of
raids, not all of which are accurate. (The job center serves as a hub
for immigrant workers seeking employment, including those who are
undocumented.)

Instilling fear is a central element of the crackdown, she said. Yet
the undocumented workers preparing to clear debris from the Eaton and
Pacific Palisades fires face other pressures — chief among them, the
need to make money for themselves and their families. Workers
interviewed for this story said those pressures have kept them focused
on the work ahead. They also say they want to give back to the country
that has offered them a tenuous refuge.

Luis, who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear
for his safety, said he plans to apply for a job to help clear debris
from the fires — so long as he has the proper protective equipment.
After a climate disaster, large national companies will often hire
local day laborers through subcontractors. “We’re available,
we’re here, ready to help,” Luis said in Spanish.

But even as he prepared to help with the process of rebuilding, Luis
had a heavy heart. Four days after the Eaton fire, his family in
Mexico called with the news that his sister had died. Because of his
immigration status, he cannot return home to mourn with them. Leaving
would mean risking his ability to return to the U.S., where his wife
lives. “It makes me feel bad, but I have to keep my mind busy
because of that,” he said.

Luis has been alarmed by Trump’s rhetoric and his pledge to remove
undocumented  immigrants from the country. As he campaigned for
office, the president called
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immigrants “migrant criminals” and “gang members” who are
“poisoning our country.” “Yes, I feel fear, but at the same
time, I feel a desire to move forward and work,” Luis said in
Spanish.

Not all day laborers feel frightened by the Trump administration’s
aggressive actions against people without legal status. Jonathan, who
asked to be identified only by his first name for safety, still plans
to wait outside Home Depot for work — despite the risk of ICE raids.

The Ecuadorian crossed the southern border in May 2024 and is seeking
asylum, though he has no long-term permission to stay. He fled after
witnessing gang members murder his boss over a debt. Fearing for his
life, he moved to another city, but after receiving a threatening
message demanding money, he decided to leave Ecuador.

Jonathan traveled to Juárez, Mexico, climbed the border wall —
cutting his fingers on razor wire — and was briefly detained by ICE
before being released with an ankle monitor, which was later removed.
He then took a bus to Los Angeles, where he now lives and works.

At first, Jonathan believed Trump would only deport immigrants with
criminal records — but ICE raids quickly proved otherwise. On Jan.
26, agents arrested nearly 1,200 people
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a single day; nearly half had no criminal history, according to NBC
News.

Jonathan calls the arrests unjust. “There are many people without
papers who are helping make this country better,” he said, though he
agrees that those with criminal records should be deported.

Still, he isn’t afraid. He hopes to stay and continue sending money
home. “If God allows, I’ll stay,” he said in Spanish. “If not,
I’ll leave if the state tells me to.”

Los Angeles will likely need his help. Across the country, immigrant
labor — much of it undocumented — plays a critical role in
rebuilding efforts after natural disasters, which are becoming
increasingly common due to climate change. In California, an
estimated 40%
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construction workers are foreign-born, many without legal status.
Nationally, more than a third
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workers in some trades, such as drywalling and roofing, are
undocumented. 

Marin Molina said people who are calling for mass deportations may not
realize how much the country relies on immigrant labor to clean up
after climate disasters. She pointed to how day laborers had rebuilt
communities after Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Hurricane
Sandy hit New York. One in four workers who were responsible for
cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina were undocumented, one study
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Both California and Los Angeles have sanctuary laws
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prevent local police from sharing someone’s immigration status with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement — providing some protection. But
Marin Molina of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network said
sanctuary laws do not remove the threat entirely because the Trump
administration is sending federal agents to those jurisdictions.

However, the situation is even more dire in states like Texas that
don’t have sanctuary laws, and where local authorities have said
they want to work with the new administration. “Immigrant community
members won’t be able to trust their own local police departments to
protect them, and instead, have to be afraid that police or sheriffs
are going to become immigration agents and turn them over. So that’s
definitely a threat to workers in [those] places,” Marin Molina
said.

For now, Jonathan and Luis have joined other immigrant workers in
volunteering with the Pasadena Community Job Center, clearing brush
and distributing water to residents of the mostly immigrant community
impacted by the fires. The job center, which is part of the NDLON
network, has stepped up to provide mutual aid
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the wildfires. “We’re showing gratitude by giving back,”
Jonathan said. “It’s our way of reciprocating to the country that
opened its doors to us.”

_More stories by Hilary Beaumont
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_Capital & Main is an award-winning nonprofit publication that reports
from California on the most pressing economic, environmental and
social issues of our time.​ Its mission is to educate the public on
matters of importance such as economic inequality, climate change,
health care, threats to democracy, hate and extremism and immigration.
We produce investigative reporting, news features and analysis in
California and across the country. Capital & Main’s stories are
co-published in hundreds of media outlets, including The Guardian, USA
Today, Fortune, Fast Company and Rolling Stone. Donate.
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* Immigration
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* Deportation
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* wildfires
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