By Mariana Paredes-Luna, Assistant Director of Organizing & Advocacy
September 24 , 2025
Earlier this month, SAJE’s Executive Director Cynthia Strathmann joined Move LA on Zoom for a SoCal Transit Month panel entitled “Embracing Immigrants (and fighting ICE) on Public Transit.” In dialogue with representatives from CHIRLA, Public Advocates, and SF Transit Riders, participants discussed the current state of immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and its impacts on transit ridership.
Since June 6, 2025, we’ve witnessed federal immigration enforcement violently abduct immigrant community members all over L.A. These aggressive tactics by the Trump administration have instilled fear in Angelenos who are simply trying to make a living, attend school, and raise their families. As a result of the raids, Metro has seen a 15% decrease in ridership since June—breaking a steady growth in ridership trend seen from May 2022 to May 2025.
During the September 3 panel, participants discussed the unique socioeconomic pressures immigration raids have put on families and transit riders, including the intensification of fears around traveling to work and school, the economic impact that comes from lost wages, decreased commerce, and fewer work opportunities, the proliferation of invasive surveillance technologies, and the aggressive suppression of organizing and mobilization efforts. To meet the moment, groups like CHIRLA, Public Advocates and SAJE have been working to provide safety training, organizing opportunities, and physical space in which to strategize around building and fortifying efforts to resist ICE and protect our neighborhoods.
We know that Metro primarily serves low-income people of color. In fact, 75% of the agency’s ridership identifies as Latine or Black, and approximately 63% of riders earn household incomes of less than $25,000 annually, with 40% subsisting on household incomes under $15,000 per year. With all this in mind, members of SAJE’s Transit Justice Committee are currently calling on Metro to take a more proactive stance against ICE and work to ensure genuine community safety for the majority of its ridership.
Through the fareless campaign, SAJE members are pushing Metro to implement fare-free rides that would limit interactions between riders and law enforcement, since law enforcement is primarily focused on fare enforcement. A fareless system would also help mitigate the adverse economic impact ICE’s presence is having on riders. We’re also calling on Metro to stand with immigrants and publicly declare that they will not collaborate with ICE or share sensitive information on riders with DHS and its affiliates.
Tomorrow (Thursday, September 25, 2025), Metro will hold their monthly board meeting—where SAJE members will share experiences riding transit during the immigration raids and advocate for greater community safety with the support of Metro. Learn more and share your own feedback using our Public Comment Toolkit.
If you’re interested in getting more involved in future transit campaign work, be sure to contact Carlos Gonzalez at cgonzalez@saje.net.
