From Fire to ICE, Angelenos Show up for Each Other
Just a few months ago, Los Angeles was fighting fires. Now it’s fighting ICE. From one man-made disaster to the next, the city is under immense strain. But if there’s one constant in this city, it’s this: Angelenos show up for each other.
Whether it’s historic fires or kidnapping raids by federal agents, grassroots community organizers and activists are the first to respond. And with the National Guard deployed on our streets, it’s more important than ever to strengthen the networks that care for this city: our communities.
When ICE agents began conducting mass raids across LA on the morning of Friday, June 6, a dark cloud settled across the city. LA is home to 4.4 million people born outside of the U.S — a third of the total population. Immigrants aren’t just a part of LA’s identity, they are LA. But with ICE in the city, LA’s immigrant population has been gripped by fear, to go to work, bring children to school, or even walk down the street.
As news of the mass raids traveled on Friday morning, communities immediately sprang into defensive action. Organizers shared and set up rapid response networks to spot ICE operations, coordinate witnesses, and provide legal support to detainees. Thousands of Angelenos took to the streets, too, chanting “ICE out of LA,” and demanding the release of David Huerta, the president of SEIU California and SEIU-USWW, who was arrested during an anti-ICE protest on Friday. Momentum continued to build throughout the week, and on Saturday, June 14 (coined “No Kings” day) hundreds of thousands of Angelenos marched in protest to the raids and Trump’s severe federal overreach.
Online, the response was just as quick. Organizers and local non-profits shared infographics with mutual aid opportunities, from jail bond funds to grocery delivery services for families too terrified to leave their homes. Instagram stories filled with reposts featuring legal resources, “Know Your Rights” workshops, and safety tips for protestors.
The outpouring of community support mirrors what we saw in January, when historic wildfires tore through LA, displacing over 150,000 residents. In the week after the fires, grassroots organizers were quick to respond with extraordinary coordination of volunteers, food, and supplies. Some drop-off sites were so overwhelmed with support that they had to turn people and resources away.
If 2025 has taught us one thing for sure, it’s that another crisis is just around the corner. And while we know that while LA communities will show up, we need to be actively investing in systems, spaces, and networks to strengthen them. We ask ourselves: what is resilience in this moment? How can the built environment help protect communities by facilitating closer bonds and creating space to gather in protest and in celebration?
One way Festival Trail hopes to build physical and social infrastructure is through a network of strategically located ‘Resiliency Hubs,’ designed by and for LA communities. These hubs will include climate resilient infrastructure, like hydration stations, shade structures, and places to rest. They will also be vibrant centers of community life, with stages for performances, walls as canvases for art, posters and stations to exchange resources and communicate critical information.
The north star guiding the design and implementation of the ‘Resiliency Hubs’ — and the Festival Trail initiative itself — is ensuring that the benefits from mega events coming to LA are realized by our communities. When 15 million people descend into LA in 2028, our hope is that visitors won’t just uber between Olympic Venues, Hollywood Boulevard and their hotels. The Trail is about creating ways for Angelenos and visitors alike to see and experience our multifaceted, culturally rich metropolis. We are done with the passé emblems of Los Angeles: palm trees, celebrities, and traffic-choked freeways. We are a vibrant, complex city, shaped by the everyday resilience of immigrants, artists, organizers, and tight-knit communities.
But the greater risk in 2028 isn’t that visitors leave with a shallow impression of LA — it’s that these megaevents become a global showcase for Trump’s authoritarianism and racist ethos. Since returning to office, Trump’s extreme federal overreach and breach of the separation of powers has thrust the U.S. into a constitutional crisis. And while we can't know what 2028 will look like, we must start grappling with difficult questions: What does it mean to host world visitors when we can’t guarantee basic freedoms and rights for Angelenos? How do we represent a nation in deep political fissure? What does it mean to celebrate the Games in this context? How do we build upon the movements of resistance and fights for justice that are the true roots and pride of American history? What does resilience look like now?
These answers won’t come easy. But we can start by bringing together and strengthening the community networks that are already working — the ones showing up, holding the line, and providing care to all Angelenos.
Because that’s the Los Angeles we’re proud of.