Knock LA

One year ago, with the country reeling from Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, Los Angeles community organizations sprang into action to form a united front against the federal government’s plans to deport immigrants and migrants. 

On February 13, 2025, Union del Barrio, Stop LAPD Spying, Centro CSO, and several other social justice organizations gave a press conference on the steps of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services building in downtown LA to announce the creation of the Community Self Defense Coalition (CSDC). At the time, 50 organizations had signed on to the coalition’s mission to provide support and advocacy to ensure the safety and rights of all immigrants, regardless of their status. 

A year later, after the federal government’s summer assault on Los Angeles and a now eight-month siege of Southern California by Border Patrol and ICE, the coalition has grown to more than 80 social justice groups spanning from Ventura County down to the US-Mexico border. 

“We have no choice but to survive this,” said Katherine, an organizer with the CSDC (whose name has been changed to protect her identity). “I think that’s the difference [now]. We feel more interconnected. A lot more people have urgency, including myself.” 

Katherine is an LA-based educator who is in charge of the MEChA chapter at her school. In early 2025, she was approached by other CSDC organizers and asked to bring her students to the coalition’s first meeting. MEChA (Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlán or the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán) is a student organization with chapters across the country that was founded on the principle of self-determination for indigenous and Chicano people. For Katherine, a high school teacher, the work is immensely personal, as her students fear for their families and their personal safety. 

“I remember one time right after ICE had been outside [the school],” Katherine told Knock. “A student was like ‘Miss, are we going to be okay?’ I didn’t want to lie to him because I didn’t know, so I just said ‘I’m gonna make sure you’re okay.’”

When asked what keeps her grounded, Katherine’s answer was simple. 

“Thinking about the world that I want to create for my son and my students,” she said. “Thinking about the next seven generations and what we are trying to build for them. Holding the seven generations that came before me, and everything they had to endure to get us to where we are today.”

The last 12 months solidified the CSDC as a driving force in organization for racial justice and the protection of migrants and immigrants. The coalition conducts bimonthly rapid response trainings for folks who want to learn how to patrol their neighborhoods. At this point, nearly every area in LA county has a community defense network that responds to ICE sightings and documents kidnappings when they occur.

“The fact that we can get [patrollers] out to any place [in LA] in 5 to 7 minutes — oftentimes beating the police — that shows that we have built dual and contending power,” said Katherine. 

While the CSDC has been on the frontlines of defending community members from ICE and Border Patrol’s violence, the work is not just about being on offense. Beyond building something against Trump’s deportation machine, the CSDC is also creating spaces that care for and nurture the affected communities. The past year saw organizers and volunteers creating a container of love and support for neighborhoods in LA, a model that can be replicated with place-specific details in other cities across the US.

“[The] community knows that we will protect them. They know that when we show up, we are there for them,” said Katherine. “And they know that we are not getting paid. We are there for them because we love them and we want to protect them. Having that trust and being able to earn that is such a huge source of pride.”

Rapid response is the foundational pillar of the CSDC’s organizing, but the coalition has expanded into much more. After just one year, they have created a system of community safety that operates wholly outside of state power apparatuses and runs on the conviction and discipline of volunteer first responders — a feat of incredible proportions given the hostile circumstances of ICE and Border Patrol’s ongoing siege of LA. A team of volunteers conducts daily visits to kidnapped folks in detention centers to bring them sweaters, love notes, and medications while also connecting them with legal resources. Food distributions have sprung up across the city for affected families that fear going to the grocery store. 

As much as the last year has been labor-intensive for the CSDC, it has also been instructive. Beyond the logistical and organizational developments that unfolded, the biggest lesson Katherine reflected on was the power of Los Angeles spirit, especially due to the presence and voices of indigenous people.

“I am thinking of people, specifically women, indigenous women, standing up and yelling and using their voices against ICE and [seeing] ICE retreating,” Katherine said. “That’s seared into my memory, [an example] of how we can use our voice to defend our community.” 

Such images are reminiscent of events on June 7, 2025, in Paramount and Compton, when Border Patrol attempted to raid the neighborhoods and were met with spirited resistance from community members. Witnesses recalled seeing one indigenous woman standing through the sunroof of a car on the frontlines, facing militarized agents and playing a drum as they fired pepperballs and tear gas grenades into the crowd of protesters.

The one-year anniversary of the Community Self Defense Coalition arrives amid a painful time for anti-fascist organizers and community members. Around the country, ICE and Border Patrol are escalating their violence against migrants, immigrants, and any Black or Brown person they encounter on their roving patrols. The Trump regime cracked down on Minnesota in early January — its latest target for large-scale immigration raids — and put a particular focus on Minneapolis.

On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross murdered community defense advocate Renee Good, who was in her car observing ICE activity when she was shot three times in the head by Ross. Good’s wife was a witness to her murder. Agents were ordered by Vice President J.D. Vance in a FOX News interview to go door-to-door and pull people from their homes. On Wednesday, January 21, five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was abducted by ICE. Images of Ramos standing next to the agents’ car while wearing a blue bunny hat sent shockwaves around the nation, leading to an uproar and a federal judge demanding Ramos’ release.

Donald Trump has ordered 1,500 active military troops to be on standby for potential deployment to Minneapolis — a move that many see as Trump itching to invoke the Insurrection Act. Most recently, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was murdered by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24 as he intervened to stop them from attacking female legal observers.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, ICE and Border Patrol have not ceased their operations. While not as visible as the activity in Minnesota, federal agents have continued conducting daily kidnappings and cluster raids across the region. L.A. Taco, a local news outlet covering immigration-related topics in depth, puts out a “Daily Memo” in which journalist Memo Torres recounts the kidnappings that occurred throughout Southern California. The memo includes a list of all confirmed abductions and federal agent sightings. In December, Torres appeared before LA City Council and urged officials to take action after Mayor Karen Bass went on national television and claimed that there were only two or three raids happening in Los Angeles.

“It shocks me to know that our politicians, our leaders, aren’t paying attention to the issue and I don’t know why,” Torres said at the city council meeting on December 11. “This isn’t going away. I can tell you that it’s escalating. We are seeing record numbers daily now of raids. We are at 20 [raids] daily.”

Escalations show no sign of stopping. As the severity and stakes climb, so too does the personal impact on the organizers involved in community self defense. Katherine remarked that significant transformations occurred for her as a frontline organizer, while at the same time some things felt the same. 

“I used to garden,” Katherine told Knock LA. “I used to make harvest videos. I used to make more time for other things. I feel like I’m the same person, but I am also a completely different person.”

The CSDC has no plans to slow down its pace of organizing. They have responded to the ever-changing political landscape with bravery and conviction. Following the news of Alex Pretti’s murder by ICE, CSDC organizers reported that thousands of people attended coalition-led patrol trainings across Los Angeles. The surge in volunteers shows that Los Angeles residents are recognizing the gravity of this moment. Due to the past year of relentless organizing, these new folks are able to plug directly into networks and infrastructure that are keeping communities safe.

“I encourage everyone to get trained by the Community Self Defense Coalition, to get plugged into their local rapid response,” Katherine said. “We have no choice but to protect our neighbors.” 

When asked what the future holds for the CSDC and its work, Katherine’s answer was straightforward but compelling.

“Honor the feelings that you have — the fear, the rage, the disgust, the utter shock at the depravity of what these fascists are doing. But also honor the love and the care that you have for the community, and channel that into righteous rage so that you can act,” she said. “It’s literally up to us. That’s how we are going to win.”