Why won't LA28 stand up for LA's immigrants?

This Saturday, it will be exactly six months since federal agents began a dramatic escalation of immigration raids in Los Angeles — which have not let up and are, in fact, intensifying. During those six months, virtually every civic organization in Southern California has put out a statement denouncing ICE activity. Yet LA28, the private nonprofit that serves as LA's Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, and aspires to be a civic organization, has said nothing.

Instead, last month, LA28 added a half-dozen Trump acolytes to its board of directors, prompting Politico to write the headline "The 2028 Olympics goes MAGA." It's a real who's who of the worst of the worst. Ousted former speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, who represented Bakersfield; Trump's former chief of staff Reince Priebus, now a USC fellow; Wisconsin billionaire Trump megadonor Diane Hendricks; New York billionaire investment banker Ken Moelis, who once represented Trump; and Las Vegas casino magnate Patrick Dumont, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and son-in-law of billionaire Trump megadonor Miriam Adelson. As if the ties to a dictator-in-chief who barks out racist attacks between naps weren't enough, I find it doubly insulting that they all barely have connections to LA; she doesn't even go here!

Yesterday, over 100 members of the Fair Games Coalition, many of them tourism workers wearing bright red Unite Here shirts, marched into the lobby of 1150 S. Olive in the South Park (Social District?) neighborhood of downtown where LA28 relocated their headquarters earlier this year. They were there to denounce the new MAGA board members, call for the resignation of LA28 chair Casey Wasserman, and deliver a letter demanding that LA28 commit to keeping ICE and all other immigration enforcement agencies out of the region.

Shame on LA28! the group chanted, as LA28 employees (you could tell because they were wearing the merch) weaved past on their way to the elevators.

The coalition, which includes 30,000 workers from local hotel and airline industries, as well as dozens of the largest unions in LA, is demanding "safe and dignified treatment of immigrant communities" as one of five conditions of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Torched readers will remember the Fair Games set of demands, one of which, the tourism worker minimum wage known as the Olympic wage, has already been achieved — and then defended against a campaign to undo it bankrolled by local hotel and airline industries.

The workers were joined by a dozen local faith leaders, who spoke emotionally about how immigration raids had affected their communities, and at one point clasped hands to pray that LA28 organizers are planning an event "that makes us truly proud to be Angelenos, in a way that brings goodness and hope to all the inhabitants of this city." But the prayers were cut short as a security guard accused the group of trespassing and threatened to call law enforcement.

After conferring with Unite Here leaders, Pastor Bridie Roberts, wearing a red clergy shirt, addressed the lobby. "They refuse to send anyone down to receive a very simple letter that's three paragraphs long," she said. "We've also been told we're not welcome here, which I find to be strange since there's a lot of LA28 marketing that says this is an event for all people, and they serve all the people in Los Angeles, and they're interested in creating a multicultural community experience. This is your multicultural community experience."

Earlier this year, LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover talked excitedly about LA28's plans to eventually fill nine floors of the office tower as well as a retail space, a 500-seat theater, and rooftop event space — all with the intention of connecting with the community. It was just a bit too ironic.

As the press conference quickly relocated outside, speakers repeatedly described an organizing committee that was failing to protect the livelihoods of LA residents. "During the raids, CEO Reynold Hoover lauded the Trump administration for agreeing to spend $1 billion on games security," said Reverend Eddie Anderson, a former candidate for Council District 10. Anderson excoriated LA28 leadership for cozying up to the Trump administration, citing Wasserman’s butt-kissing visit in August and noting how the architects of Trump's immigration siege, Kristi Noem and Santa Monica's own Stephen Miller, sit on the LA28 White House task force as they direct terror strikes on LA neighborhoods. Literally, the day after Wasserman joined them, the feds deployed "Operation Trojan Horse" at a Westlake Home Depot. "An Olympics and Paralympics security plan that gives control to a federal administration that is already attacking immigrants in our city and across the nation puts our entire community at risk," said Jose Madera of the National Day Laborer Network.

With many union contracts expiring May 1, 2028, the Fair Games Coalition has repeatedly threatened to stage a strike if their demands are not met. (Travelers got a preview of what this might look like when airline catering workers blocked the road into LAX during the Thanksgiving rush.) But many workers have also told me they are simply too scared to staff the venues for upcoming megaevents due to heightened federal security. Which is why LA28's silence is so perplexing from a strategic perspective. The refusal to guarantee the safety of LA's immigrant community could end up seriously impacting the organizing committee's ability to deliver the games.

This is going to be a problem long before 2028. The World Cup begins in just six months. This week, Human Rights Watch issued new warnings for FIFA events after reporting that a man attending the Club World Cup final with his two children was deported from the parking lot. Which is why another growing coalition, NOlympics LA, has recently doubled down on its no-megaevents-at-all stance. The argument from NOlympics organizers is simple: negotiating for concessions like a $30 minimum wage by 2028 will only perpetuate LA's role as permahost of the "forever games" — a phenomenon I've written about as well. We're already booked out well through the 2030s! "Economic benefits for a small group of union workers are not worth the violent policing of marginalized non-union workers, the decimation of city budgets, and the deepening of this city’s orientation towards tourist desires over residents’ needs," reads NOlympics LA's statement. "Fighting against LA28 isn’t just about what’s going to happen in 2028; it’s a much longer uphill battle to make LA prioritize its own people over pernicious corporate interests."

Who in power is going to fight that battle? As the press conference disbanded, I ran into Estuardo Mazariegos, a longtime tenant organizer and co-director of ACCE LA. He's also running to represent Council District 9, the South LA district that has the lowest median income in the city — and the largest number of Olympic and Paralympic venues. Where the current councilmember extends a warm welcome to megaevents, Mazariegos sees a recipe for disaster. "We're already in a fiscal crisis and we're seeing our services suffer. We need to be able to defend our immigrant community and make sure that our communities are also going to benefit," he said. "If we look at where the Olympics are being held, it’s right next to concentrated racialized poverty. That needs to be addressed. And we're going to defend the community by any means necessary — even if that means going on a general strike." 🔥