'What else can we do?' Boyle Heights to participate in Jan. 30 strike

• Amid planned anti-ICE protests coming to Southern California, a small demonstration occurred after reported federal immigration enforcement actions in Boyle Heights.
• One person said it's "beautiful" to see people come together and agree to shut down on Jan. 30 as part of a national call to strike.

(This story was updated to change or add a photo or video.)

Organizers say businesses within the Boyle Heights community in Los Angeles plan to temporarily close as part of a national strike planned for Friday, Jan. 30, in the aftermath of the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota.

About two dozen people gathered on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at the intersection of East Cesar Chavez Avenue and North Soto Street in a community many Latinos and Hispanics call home. Organizers chanted “ICE out of LA” and in Spanish, "se ve, se siente, el pueblo esta presente," — which speaks to them being present as community — as passing drivers honked in solidarity.

Called a “national shutdown,” various advocacy groups and unions are endorsing a nationwide call for people not to attend school, work and skip out on shopping. The national shutdown calls for an end to funding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to their “reign of terror.”

It’s the latest effort protesting ICE, and it comes as Americans have watched scores of Minnesotans respond to federal immigration agents in their state throughout January, spurring demonstrations elsewhere, including in Southern California.

“After seeing all the violence that is happening in our communities, we have a lot of support from small businesses for this Friday’s strike, and that is the community showing up and standing together to show our true power,” said Gabriela Garcia of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which had announced the press conference on Jan. 28.

Some two dozen or so Boyle Heights businesses have already committed to the shutdown, according to two community organizers.

“They understand the importance of worker solidarity and being united as a working class,” Danielle Torres, a member of PSL told the USA TODAY Network. “It’s really beautiful to see them really want to come together and agree to shut down because their businesses have been affected tremendously. A business owner said to me today, the community that she serves is too afraid to come out.”

Torres said the owner she spoke with isn't getting any business and it’s “the same story for most vendors and business owners here in Boyle Heights.”

“They’ve taken a tremendous hit to their business, and they’re still expected to pay bills, and they’re still expected to pay their rent,” Torres said.

Torres said she’s spoken to a lot of vendors and business owners on Cesar Chavez Avenue, First Street and Soto Street who are in support of the shutdown, a “mix” of businesses from places that sell clothes to panaderías, or bakeries.

“They feel like, ‘What else can we do?’” Torres said. “The situation has gotten so bad that they feel like, we can’t fistfight ICE in the streets. We need to withhold our labor in order to send a message to Trump and this administration that we’re not going to tolerate this anymore.”

The demonstration in Boyle Heights came after several people were reportedly detained earlier in the day by federal immigration agents. L.A. Taco reported that three people were detained by federal immigration enforcement agents in the community on Jan. 28.

ICE and Border Patrol did not immediately respond to the USA TODAY Network’s emailed questions seeking confirmation of their activity in the community on Jan. 28.

The demonstration was “out of love” for the community, Garcia said, and to show those who’ve been detained by federal agents that they have support, and that they are in their neighbors' thoughts.

Torres explained during the demonstration that one way they are going to fight back is by withholding their labor, and that she’ll continue to stand with her community, protecting her neighbors and those who need it.

“We shouldn’t be suffering like this,” Torres said, visibly and audibly becoming emotional. “It makes me so angry to see my people suffer. We deserve better… I’m crying because I’m angry. I’m angry, and we’re trying everything in a power to do what we can to save our neighbors — because that could be any of us."

“The legal observers that were murdered, Renee and Alex, that could be any one of us. So, we’re here to say that we’re going to continue to fight back," Torres added. "We’re going to continue to show up in the streets. We’re not going to be harassed by ICE or LAPD.”

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].