Raid at a Home Depot in Hollywood shatters an immigrant refuge

Los Angeles Times ^ | June 20, 2025 3 AM PT | Brittny Mejia and Rachel Uranga

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Emma De Paz woke up at 2 every morning for 25 years to make soup, roasted chicken and tamales to sell to work crews picking up their day’s supplies at the Home Depot.

She joined other immigrant vendors lining the side streets under tents and over grills in a makeshift community that was something of a refuge for Latino immigrants in the Hollywood area. Abelino Perez Alvarez and his wife sold orange juice, soda and water. Day laborers scrolled through their phones as they waited outside the parking lot in hopes of getting work.

Around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the refuge was shattered. Dozens of armed agents, many in masks, converged on the parking lot, blocking gates and surrounding the lots normally lined by day laborers and street vendors.

“Migración! Migración!” people shouted — and scattered.

They jumped in cars, ran down streets. They hid in stores and construction sites and behind bags of soil in the Home Depot gardening section. Alvarez’s wife opened the door of a passing car and jumped in.

“They came in on all sides,” said Diego Rueda Hernandez. Fearful, even as a resident with legal status, he ran behind bags of dirt in the parking lot with others.

“Agarraron los indios,” he said. They took the dark-skinned people.

The immigration raids in Los Angeles over the last two weeks have captured the world’s attention — for the protests, the sporadic violence, the peacetime deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines. But each roundup has inflicted very personal trauma to the people dragged into them, tearing families apart, inciting fear, taking away means to feed children and pay rent.

In a flash, all of this happened Thursday morning in Hollywood — at the neighborhood Home Depot, the lifeblood of economic...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Democrats haven't been this angry since Republicans freed their slaves the first time.

[Ann Archy]

Sarasota is FULL of Illegals, I think.......almost NO worker at Wal-Mart grocery speaks English......same thing at Ross and even TJ Maxx!! Guessing Burlington is full also!!

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Alvarez’s wife opened the door of a passing car and jumped in.

Good way to get shot.

[T.B. Yoits]

From the article: Emma De Paz... for 25 years to make soup, roasted chicken and tamales to sell to work crews... She joined other immigrant vendors... Abelino Perez Alvarez and his wife sold orange juice, soda and water...

So, they were running businesses that profited off of an illegal alien invasion.

[9YearLurker]

Probably a 25% chance the car was driven by a fellow illegal.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

“Agarraron los indios,” he said. They took the dark-skinned people.

That is not what "Agarraron los indios" means you racist authors of this pathetic excuse for an article.

It means "they gathered up the Indians".

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Alvarez’s wife opened the door of a passing car and jumped in.

Carjacking.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

There is that.

[chuckb87]

And high ranking democrats openly call for assassinating the President. Not to mention doxxing ice agents. But keep cheering on the Home Depot raids. Bondi, Kash and Homan are clowns.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Commies LOVE mixing illegals and legals together so that you cant get rid of any of them..so if you say “We need to get rid of illegals” they will say “You want to get rid of immigrants” so they are smart they mix the two together..ALL illegals must go, PERIOD, I dont care how long they have been here they broke the law they are CRIMINALS but dems need them for power, for their very survival, they would lose 20+ seats without them so they knew, bring in a whole new voter roll and you will never lose another election

[newzjunkey]

Notice it doesn’t clearly indicate these were illegal aliens including the vendors. They use the activist lexicon to bias the story and create the fear they want to create to manipulate public opinion. This is not journalism

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

“Illegal alien refuge.”

[PGR88]

What’s this style of journalism/writing called?

You know, the emotive kind of supposedly journalistic story-telling, where the author paints a lovely scene of happy hobbits in the Shire, just loving life, like how we were told about George Floyd romping on the living room carpet with his precious children - Then it all gets destroyed by the generic forces of evil?

Any English profs out there who know what the specific style is called?

[hanamizu]

I’m assuming that Emma De Paz’s kitchen has passed all of the necessary health department inspections required to sell food to the public. Or is she exempt from following any American laws?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Any English profs out there who know what the specific style is called?

I am seeing the color "yellow."

[No name given]

I’d say the later.

[iamgalt]

“shatters an immigrant refuge“

Oh please.

[rktman]

Correctamundo!

[PhiloBedo]

This is so sad, I’m crying. Crying like AOC at the child detention centers.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I’m certain she was in compliance with all license requirements.