Thousands of union members and immigrant-rights supporters are rallying in Los Angeles on Thursday to support the annual May 1 tradition dubbed May Day.
Many of those who gathered in the streets were focused on the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and its effects on families.
“It’s loud and it’s crowded,” KTLA’s Eric Spillman said as he stood at the corner of South Figueroa Street and West Olympic Boulevard at 10 a.m.
Several people were carrying flags and banners with slogans such as “Full Rights for All Immigrants — Stop Deportations” in the streets, which were blocked off for the annual event.
The crowd included members from an estimated 90 different organizations, including labor unions, community and advocacy groups, and local teachers.
“It’s important for us to be here to protect our students,” said a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher taking part in the rally. “Our students are afraid. Our communities are afraid. We’ve seen them deport people with legal status, and we’re here to make sure that that doesn’t continue to happen.”
Another teacher told KTLA, “There’s no reason why children or families should feel fear … Our district does have a sanctuary policy and we have been able to utilize that to protect our students from being kidnapped by federal agents at two different sites. Right now, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when these situations will happen again.”
The Trump administration has cited national security and public safety for its immigration policies, saying it is focused on the deportation of “terrorist gang members” who brought “unspeakable devastation to our communities,” a White House release stated on March 17, 2025.
The downtown L.A. rally includes a march to the Metropolitan Detention Center, which is a federal prison located near East Temple and North Alameda streets, where male and female inmates are held before and during court proceedings.
At least two other May Day rallies in the Los Angeles area were scheduled to take place at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights at 4:30 p.m. and in MacArthur Park in the Westlake neighborhood around the same time.
May 1 has been recognized for decades by activists in the United States as a day for workers’ rights demonstrations, especially among immigrant and labor rights groups.
