California Farmworkers Strike AFTER ICE RAIDS
Following a deadly ICE raid in Ventura County, California where a farmworker died while fleeing immigration agents, farm laborers and advocates launched a three-day nationwide strike to protest the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement. Activist Flor Martinez Zaragoza, speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles, reframed the raids as not just policy enforcement but as dehumanization: “We are not machines. We are not criminals. We are the backbone of our food system.” Workers and organizers redeemed the dignity of undocumented laborers by emphasizing their central role in sustaining the agricultural economy, pushing back against rhetoric that portrays them as disposable or criminal.
The strike was a direct resistance strategy, asserting labor power in the face of political violence. Images of ICE agents deploying tear gas on protesters during the Camarillo raid and detaining hundreds—including minors—helped reveal the scope and brutality of the operation. Rather than relying on official channels, organizers redirected the response into mass action, organizing public demonstrations and a coordinated work stoppage that highlighted both the human toll of enforcement and the essential nature of immigrant labor. This collective response turned a violent crackdown into a catalyst for solidarity and national attention.
