Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Non-profit

Occupy ICE Los Angeles

Location:

Los Angeles, California
Type:

Pro-Immigration Advocacy

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Occupy ICE Los Angeles (more commonly known as Occupy ICE LA) is a left-wing protest organization that advocates for the abolition of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), which it has called a “genocidal ethnic cleansing machine.” 1 The group maintains no website, publishes no financial information, and does not have any apparent formal leadership. 2

Occupy ICE LA became known for its 2018 protests, during which demonstrators camped for nearly three months in front of a Los Angeles ICE detention center to demand the abolition of ICE. Other left-wing organizations were involved in the protest, including Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). 3

In 2021, Occupy ICE LA joined the left-wing “Check the Sheriff” coalition, which has called for the resignation of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (D) and demanded that the California Attorney General’s Office investigate the department for alleged “police brutality” and “corruption.” 4

Background

Occupy ICE Los Angeles does not appear to have a public website, and the organization’s Facebook page lists the group as a “cause” rather than an organization. Occupy ICE LA was created to support left-wing immigration policy, specifically the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 5

The Facebook page itself appears to be centered around Occupy ICE LA’s early activities, particularly its 2018 protests in downtown Los Angeles. The page’s “About” section has just one line, in which it describes itself as providing “updates on the historic protest against ICE, in downtown LA #AbolishICE.” 6

Today, the Occupy ICE LA Facebook page regularly shares information about protests around Los Angeles and encourages supporters to attend in support of various left-wing causes, including anti-Israel activism, ICE abolition, and defunding the Los Angeles Police Department. 7

Protest Activities

Occupy ICE Los Angeles is known for hosting left-wing protests, specifically on immigration policy. The group has demanded the complete abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has called the organization a “genocidal ethnic cleansing machine.” Occupy ICE LA has repeatedly encouraged the harassment of ICE employees and called them “the Gestapo,” comparing them to Nazi officials. 8

2018 Detention Center Occupation

Occupy ICE LA became nationally known for its summer 2018 protests. Beginning in late June 2018, Occupy ICE LA protestors camped outside an ICE detention center in Los Angeles. 9 10 The group demanded the closure of all ICE detention centers and an end to the policy of separating immigrant children from parents at the U.S. borders. Additionally, the group took radical-left positions on criminal justice and defense policy, calling for a complete abolition of all police and “the Pentagon.” 11 In August 2018, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) attended an event put on by Occupy ICE LA in the vicinity of the camp. 12

After nearly three months of Occupy ICE LA demonstrators camping outside the detention center, the protests came to a head on September 11, 2018 when Occupy ICE LA called a “protest press conference” in which it claimed that the 9/11 terrorist attacks gave rise to ICE, which it called a “terrorist organization.” 13 Several high-profile left-of-center and left-wing organizations supported the press conference, including Black Lives Matter, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and the Workers World Party (WWP). 14

Following the speeches, Occupy ICE LA protestors decided to blockade all three entrances to the detention center, preventing any cars from exiting or entering the building. 15 Occupy ICE LA members sat in front of the entrances, and when asked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to move, they refused to comply. One protestor told a DHS agent he would “slit [his] f****** throat” and was arrested for making terroristic threats. Several Occupy ICE LA protestors were placed under arrest, leaving only three remaining at the protest camp, which dissolved shortly thereafter. 16 17

Immigration Advocacy

Since the end of the 2018 protests, Occupy ICE LA has continued to support left-wing immigration policy, though its direct protest activities appear to have decreased. Occupy ICE LA often signs onto petitions with other left-of-center and left-wing organizations. 18

In 2019, Occupy ICE LA co-signed a letter led by La Lucha, a left-wing international socialist organization, which claimed that the defeat of former Bolivian President Evo Morales was a “coup” led by the United States government. The letter claimed that the United States had inflicted “the worst kind of violence upon class-conscious, Indigenous revolutionaries” and committed “crimes against humanity,” vowing to bring it before “an international people’s tribunal.” Other signatories included the Socialist Unity Party and the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ). 19

In 2021, Occupy ICE LA participated in another weekend of protests in Los Angeles, claiming that unaccompanied immigrant children were being “detained” at the Long Beach Convention Center. In actuality, the center had volunteered to shelter the unaccompanied children until they could be safely reunited with their families. Following the protests, the convention center was vandalized with fake blood. Occupy ICE LA did not condemn the vandalism, instead issuing a statement condemning the center for sheltering the unaccompanied children. 20

Aside from its immigration work, Occupy ICE LA has advocated in support of left-wing criminal justice policy in recent years. In December 2020, it signed onto a letter urging the Los Angeles Police Commission to “implement an outright ban” on the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of facial recognition technology. Other signatories included Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Bend the Arc, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), and chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace. 21

In 2021, Occupy ICE LA joined the controversial, left-wing “Check the Sheriff” coalition. The coalition has alleged that there is widespread “corruption” and police brutality in the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department, called for the resignation of Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva (D), and demanded that the California Attorney General’s Office investigate the department. Other coalition members include Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and Bend the Arc. 22

References

  1. Phillips, John. “When It Comes to ICE, Let’s Remember Who the Real Nazis Were.” Orange County Register. August 23, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.ocregister.com/2018/08/22/regarding-ice-lets-remember-who-the-real-nazis-were/.
  2. “Occupy ICE LA.” Facebook. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/occupyicela/?ref=page_internal.
  3. Workers World Los Angeles. “Occupy Ice Shuts down Ice in Los Angeles.” Workers World. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.workers.org/2018/09/39059/.
  4. “About.” Check the Sheriff Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.checkthesheriff.com/about.
  5. “Occupy ICE LA: About.” Facebook. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/occupyicela/about/?ref=page_internal.
  6. “Occupy ICE LA: About.” Facebook. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/occupyicela/about/?ref=page_internal.
  7. “Occupy ICE LA.” Facebook. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/occupyicela/?ref=page_internal.
  8. Phillips, John. “When It Comes to ICE, Let’s Remember Who the Real Nazis Were.” Orange County Register. August 23, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.ocregister.com/2018/08/22/regarding-ice-lets-remember-who-the-real-nazis-were/.
  9. San Jose, Jayrol. “Ride along: Photographing a Protest in Los Angeles.” PetaPixel. September 18, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://petapixel.com/2018/09/18/ride-along-photographing-a-protest-in-los-angeles/.
  10. Solis, Nathan. “How Police Broke down the Occupy Ice Encampment in Downtown L.A.” L.A. TACO. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.lataco.com/how-police-broke-down-the-occupy-ice-encampment-in-downtown-l-a/.
  11. Workers World Los Angeles. “Occupy Ice Shuts down Ice in Los Angeles.” Workers World. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.workers.org/2018/09/39059/.
  12. Mohr, Ian. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Isn’t Meeting with Typical Hollywood Liberals During LA Trip.” Page Six. August 3, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://pagesix.com/2018/08/02/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-isnt-meeting-with-typical-hollywood-liberals-during-la-trip/.
  13. Workers World Los Angeles. “Occupy Ice Shuts down Ice in Los Angeles.” Workers World. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.workers.org/2018/09/39059/.
  14. Workers World Los Angeles. “Occupy Ice Shuts down Ice in Los Angeles.” Workers World. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.workers.org/2018/09/39059/.
  15. Workers World Los Angeles. “Occupy Ice Shuts down Ice in Los Angeles.” Workers World. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.workers.org/2018/09/39059/.
  16. San Jose, Jayrol. “Ride along: Photographing a Protest in Los Angeles.” PetaPixel. September 18, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://petapixel.com/2018/09/18/ride-along-photographing-a-protest-in-los-angeles/.
  17. Solis, Nathan. “How Police Broke down the Occupy Ice Encampment in Downtown L.A.” L.A. TACO. September 17, 2018. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.lataco.com/how-police-broke-down-the-occupy-ice-encampment-in-downtown-l-a/.
  18. “Open Letter: Peoples of the World with Evo!” Struggle La Lucha. November 20, 2019. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2019/11/20/open-letter-peoples-of-the-world-with-evo/.
  19. “Open Letter: Peoples of the World with Evo!” Struggle La Lucha. November 20, 2019. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2019/11/20/open-letter-peoples-of-the-world-with-evo/.
  20. Rocha, Isai. “Long Beach Convention Center Found Vandalized After Anti-ICE Protests.” LA Weekly. May 6, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.laweekly.com/long-beach-convention-center-found-vandalized-after-anti-ice-protests/.
  21. “Open Letter: Reject LAPD Face Recognition.” Knock LA. March 26, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://knock-la.com/open-letter-reject-lapd-face-recognition-e970e5ad68b3/.
  22. “About.” Check the Sheriff Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.checkthesheriff.com/about.
  See an error? Let us know!