Los Angeles is grappling with ‘collective grief and frustration' amid protests

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ALTADENA, Calif. – On the outskirts of Los Angeles, where the scars and scorched landscape from wildfires remain, uncertainty keeps rising.

Sergio Hernandez said he felt it this week while standing on the lot where his family home of 44 years burned down six months ago from the deadly wildfires − and roughly 13 miles from where protesters set fire to self-driving Waymo taxis in downtown Los Angeles.

Now, Hernandez's grief is compounded. The protests sparked by controversial raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement taking place across Los Angeles County are further heightening fears in America's largest county, a place still recovering from the wildfires tragedy.

"I thought COVID was bad," Hernandez, 43, told Paste BN. "But, no, I was wrong. This is much worse."

Down the road, Eduardo Escobedo, 40, who runs his second-generation, family-owned tree trimming service, shares a similar sentiment.

"There's so much uncertainty," said Escobedo, observing his crew throw branches into a shredder where another home once stood. "A lot of people don't feel safe."

In a year that's already been punctuated by the devastating wildfires that will take years to rebuild, an emotionally weary Los Angeles County is back in an unwanted spotlight due to nearly a week of anti-ICE protests that are testing its character.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is blaming President Donald Trump for purposely fanning the flames in the county, accusing him of "pulling a military dragnet" on Los Angelenos by adding thousands of troops in the area, imperiling peaceful protesters and targeting hardworking immigrant families.

"Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities — they’re traumatizing our communities," Newsom said. "And that seems to be the entire point."

During his address on June 10, the governor added that the president has chosen "theatrics over public safety," and Trump is hurting many in the process.

"This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even our National Guard at risk," Newsom said. "That’s when the downward spiral began. He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder. And the president, he did it on purpose."

Meanwhile, the president has countered and said he sent the National Guard in to control whom he called "paid insurrectionists, agitators, or troublemakers."

"This should never have been allowed to start, and if we didn’t get involved, Los Angeles would be burning down right now," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 10, while also quipping about the deadly wildfires. "Just as the houses burned down."

For Los Angeles native Christian Arana, when he was younger, "it’s almost a tradition" to attend protests and advocate for their immigrant family members.

"And now, more than 30 years later, I’m doing the exact same thing, except we're being met with a militaristic response," said Arana, vice president of civic power and policy at the nonprofit Latino Community Foundation. "While the White House might call this chaos, within this pain and sadness, I see hope. We want to see better from our government."

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'It's already sad enough'

This area here is still rebounding from the Palisades and Eaton fires that swept through Altadena and the Pacific Palisades regions earlier this year, killing at least 29 and burning over 37,000 acres, or 57.8 square miles. Now comes the ICE raids on undocumented residents and the uproar and uncertainty from the protests that have led to occasional violence.

It's been a lot to bear, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.

"There’s no question that we are grappling with collective grief and frustration," Barger told Paste BN. "But, this isn't the first time."

The supervisor rattled off residents persevering through the civil unrest after the Rodney King riots in 1992, and then the George Floyd protests in 2020 amid the unprecedented public health crisis brought on by COVID-19.

"Each time, it felt like we were standing on the edge. And each time, Los Angeles County pulled through, strong and determined to move forward," Barger said. "We are a region defined not by the challenges we face, but by how we respond to them."

But even the optimistic supervisor who added whether it's fighting wildfires, cleaning up after protests, or "simply showing up for one another, that spirit and resolve is what gives me hope" knows it won't be easy.

Pulling up his black bucket hat to rub his face, Hernandez, the son of Mexican immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1970s, said he’s trying to help rebuild his family's Altadena home. There will be permits to obtain and bills to pay if they move forward.

"I'm not sure what the future will hold," he said. "But I think we can make it happen."

Yet, the self-employed screen printer said he's extremely concerned about possible deportations of close family friends.

"Even though my immediate family is not at risk of being deported, I know a lot of people who could potentially be deported," he said somberly. "I hope we can figure something out. It's just not right."

Hernandez said seeing images of the ICE arrests and watching and hearing sounds from the destructive protests disturbs him. It triggers flashbacks from the wildfires as Hernandez points down to the thick black marks on his family home's driveway. He recalled the crackling and booms of exploding cars, ignited by the flames when the Eaton Fire tore through his town.

“Just sirens the whole night," Hernandez said about the recurring pain. "…I don't think I've had time to recover from the fire."

It’s catastrophic to deal with the loss of a home, but for some families who face possible separation from undocumented relatives it may even be more unbearable, said Patty Porter, an insurance inspector who was knocking on doors of those whose homes were spared in Altadena. 

"It’s already sad enough," said Porter, 65. "Imagine if you’re a 12-year-old child and you’re separated from your parents. It’s not good to separate families. You don’t have to do all of this."

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Palpable fear and pain

On the same day Hernandez shared his grief with Paste BN, 700 U.S. Marines arrived in Los Angeles. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes 10,000 new ICE agents and billions of dollars to carry out a million deportations a year.

Los Angeles city and county become a ripe target for those pushing for the crackdown and reform. About a third of Los Angeles County's 10 million residents were born in another country, and nearly one in 10 lack documentation to remain legally, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

And many of those undocumented parents have children who are U.S. citizens, about 16% of the county's child population, according to a 2023 University of Southern California study. These stats make Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement unwarranted in this haven of immigrants, Arana said.

That same USC study also shows that if there were a roadmap to U.S. citizenship, it could bring a projected $1.5 to $2.6 billion boost to the annual income of the currently undocumented.

A 2024 study showed undocumented Californians paid nearly $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, according to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The figure includes the sales and excise taxes paid on purchases, property taxes paid on homes or indirectly through rents, individual and business income taxes, unemployment taxes, and other types of taxes, the study said.

Despite their contributions and support, this is all in jeopardy, Arana said before attending a prayer vigil for them featuring Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and local clergy on June 10.

"You have to understand (the undocumented resident's) fear, it’s a palpable fear and pain," Arana said. "They don’t want to leave their homes, show up to work, send their kids to school, miss scheduled doctor's appointments, even go grocery shopping. This fear all forces them into the dark corners of society."

While that fear is felt in places like Los Angeles and elsewhere, many Americans support a tougher deportation policy. A CBS News/YouGov poll earlier in June said 54% of Americans supported Trump's deportation policy, and 50% approved of how he's handling immigration. Additionally, more than 40% of Americans polled also said they think Trump's crackdown is making the country safer. The poll was conducted just before Trump ordered National Guard troops to L.A.

Escobedo believes that ICE's widespread targeting, instead of focusing on undocumented criminals and public safety threats, is affecting Hispanics from all walks of life.

"I believe if you're really doing bad, there should be consequences, but to go after the working class, those who are trying to support their families, is way overboard," Escobedo said. "That's where I disagree."

He said what makes Los Angeles so unique is its diversity, not divisiveness.

"Everyone's perspective is appreciated here," Escobedo said. "Even if we don't agree with one another, that's what makes Los Angeles so beautiful. We can agree to disagree and still respect each other. What's wrong with that?"

While their resilience is being tested, Barger said the county has found the strength to pull through.

"This year has left scars and is creating new ones," Barger said. "But I truly believe Los Angeles County will come out on top. We always do."