An internal government document leaked through the Los Angeles Times last Friday has revealed a planned large-scale immigration raid in Los Angeles. This operation, spearheaded by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), aims to round up and deport individuals without legal status, utilizing federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI, DEA and ATF to execute mass arrests.
The document exposes the Trump administration’s relentless and unconstitutional attack on immigrants and democratic rights. These attacks, far from being isolated enforcement actions, are part of a broader fascistic agenda that threatens the very foundation of constitutional democracy in the United States. While immigrants are the immediate victims of these attacks, the working class as a whole is the ultimate target.
According to the documents, the various agencies are preparing for one of the largest immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles history before the end of February. The operation ostensibly targets individuals with pending removal orders or those deemed unlawfully present, with assistance from the FBI and DEA.
The deployment of additional personnel underscores the sheer scale of this impending assault. A federal official anonymously acknowledged that “they needed more bodies,” highlighting the aggressive nature of this enforcement effort.
The leaked documents reveal that this raid has been in the planning stages for some time, with specific directives circulating among federal agencies in recent weeks. These documents outline a coordinated effort between ICE and multiple law enforcement bodies, including the ATF, which has been assisting in immigration enforcement actions since January 26.
The documents also confirm that this operation is expected to be one of the largest since Trump took office, with the explicit goal of making a “significant impact” on immigrant communities in Los Angeles. The involvement of agencies beyond ICE is a clear forewarning that this is an orchestrated effort to suppress opposition through overwhelming force.
ICE has ramped up operations nationwide, but Los Angeles has remained a prime target due to its symbolic status as a “sanctuary city”—a designation that, in reality, has been used by the Democratic Party in an attempt to pose hypocritically as defenders of immigrants, while it has meant little protection for them.
These mass raids represent an unprecedented escalation, transforming immigration enforcement into a militarized operation. The brutal crackdown will likely lead to thousands of arrests, tearing families apart and instilling fear in entire communities.
This planned raid must be understood within the broader context of Trump’s assault on democratic rights. His administration has wielded executive power with increasing authoritarianism, seeking unchecked control over immigration policy and law enforcement.
In response to growing opposition, Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” has openly threatened those who attempt to obstruct these crackdowns, saying, “This is not a game, to have this type of interference puts our officers at great risk.” Such statements mirror the rhetoric of dictators who frame resistance as treasonous, laying the groundwork for criminalizing any opposition to state repression.
The expansion of Guantanamo Bay to house immigrants—and even US citizens—further confirms the Trump administration’s intent to operate outside constitutional boundaries. Reports have surfaced indicating that the administration is moving to use Guantanamo as a detention facility for large-scale immigration enforcement. This is an attempt to establish an extrajudicial black site for indefinite imprisonment and an offshore torture compound subject to no legal constraint.
Trump’s threats to deport US citizens to El Salvador add another dimension to this onslaught. His administration has explicitly argued that birthright citizenship is not an absolute protection. The logical extension of this policy is the potential deportation of natural-born citizens under dubious legal pretexts. These actions obliterate any illusion that this regime’s policies are limited to undocumented immigrants. The attack is on everyone.
In the face of this dictatorial power grab, the Democratic Party has been utterly impotent. While California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sometimes posture as defenders of immigrant rights, their actions prove otherwise. Newsom recently traveled to Washington, where he groveled at Trump’s feet rather than opposing his administration’s policies. Bass, for her part, has done nothing to counteract ICE’s presence in Los Angeles, allowing the illusion of a “sanctuary city” to persist while increasing police budgets and enabling federal law enforcement collaboration.
Democrats have long used the plight of immigrants as political currency while failing to offer any genuine resistance. They do not seek to defend the working class but rather to stabilize a system that is rapidly unraveling under the weight of its contradictions. After paving the way to a second Trump administration, their silence in the face of mass raids exposes their alignment with the capitalist state and its mechanisms of repression.
Despite the overwhelming state repression, resistance is mounting. In Los Angeles, thousands of students have already taken to the streets in defiance of Trump’s mass deportation strategy. Protesters have blocked freeways, shut down major intersections and marched to City Hall, demanding an end to these draconian raids. The growing movement among workers and students points to the potential for a powerful united struggle against this fascistic onslaught.
Workers’ and students’ mass mobilization is the only force capable of halting authoritarian rule. However, they must reject the false leadership of the Democratic Party and instead form an independent movement to combat these raids. The fight against immigration enforcement must be linked to the broader struggle against police violence, economic inequality and the erosion of democratic rights. More simply, it is the struggle against capitalism for socialism.
The Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants are not just about deportations—they are a test run for far greater repressive measures against the entire working class as it increasingly comes into conflict with the oligarchs who run the government and their unprecedented wealth. If left unchecked, these raids will escalate, leading to more widespread detentions, the erosion of constitutional rights, and the normalization of authoritarian rule.
The working class must unite to defend democratic rights and resist the criminalization of immigrants. Workers and students must fight for the establishment of committees in neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces to inform, educate, and organize. These committees must function as centers for sharing vital information and mobilizing communities against Trump’s authoritarian attempts to dismantle families and undermine democratic rights.
Only a genuine socialist movement can provide the necessary leadership to fight back against these attacks. The working class must take matters into its own hands, mobilizing independently of both capitalist parties. This is not just about defending immigrants—it is about the future of humanity.
The United States, once heralded as the pinnacle of constitutional democracy, is teetering on the edge of dictatorship. The struggle against mass raids is the workers’ struggle against fascism. The only path forward is one of resistance, solidarity and the revolutionary transformation of society.