"Am I Next?", Los Angeles Artists Launch Bold Public Art Campaign Against Trump's Immigration Raids
Projections on iconic buildings spotlight stories of detained immigrants as ICE arrests surpass 5,000 in the region
A powerful public art installation has transformed downtown Los Angeles landmarks into towering billboards of resistance, projecting massive black-and-white portraits of residents and the haunting question: “Am I next?” The campaign, launched in early November 2025, represents the arts community’s response to unprecedented immigration enforcement raids that have swept through Southern California under the Trump administration, arresting more than 5,000 people in the Los Angeles area since June, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The California Community Foundation, in partnership with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, the Japanese American National Museum, the Museum of Latin American Art, and the Social and Public Art Resource Center, is leading the initiative. Nightly projections displayed from sunset to dawn feature dozens of Angelenos—including prominent activists Edward James Olmos and George Takei—alongside narratives of individuals detained during immigration raids, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We all need to be concerned, regardless of your legal status and whether you’ve been here for generations or just got here, and regardless of your race or ethnicity or nationality,” Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, told the Los Angeles Times. “We should be concerned that core American values, protected in our Constitution, are being systematically violated.”
Faces of Resistance in the City of Angels
The installation’s most striking element is its visibility. Drivers on the 101 Freeway can see billboard-sized portraits projected onto the foundation’s Temple Street headquarters, while similar displays illuminate the exteriors of museums in Long Beach and Venice. Between the portraits, stark text appears: “TAKEN, Adrian, a U.S. citizen, defending an elderly man in a raid.” “TAKEN, Mauricio, waiting for a bus.” “TAKEN, Juan, on lunch break from his construction job,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
The photographs, captured primarily by former Los Angeles Times photographers Barbara Davidson and Wally Skalij, present a cross-section of Los Angeles life—people of every race, ethnicity, and gender positioned beside those four words that have become the campaign’s rallying cry. “Unlike those who hide behind masks, we show our faces—proud, visible, and unafraid,” Santana told LAist, referencing the masked federal agents conducting the raids.
Edward James Olmos, the veteran actor and activist who participated in the installation, compared the current moment to the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest. “This is totally, totally one of the most extraordinary moments of my life, because it’s one of the most difficult,” Olmos told LAist. “People don’t understand. They think, ‘Oh, well, you know, they came in here, they did their thing, and now they left.’ No, it’s just beginning.”
Echoes of Japanese American Incarceration
For George Takei, whose portrait is featured prominently in the installation, the immigration raids evoke painful memories of his childhood incarceration during World War II. The Star Trek actor recalled the morning when two soldiers with bayoneted rifles forced his family from their home. “She had our baby sister in one arm, a huge duffel bag in the other and tears were streaming down her cheeks,” Takei told LAist, describing his mother’s traumatic exit from their house. “The terror of that morning is seared into my memory.”
Takei’s participation represents a deliberate invocation of historical parallels. The Japanese American National Museum, one of the project’s partner institutions, houses exhibits about the wartime incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans—a chapter Santana referenced when explaining why nonprofits and cultural institutions must take risks to participate. “We ask the question in these historic moments… ‘What would I have done?’” Santana told the Los Angeles Times. “This is that moment. This is our call to action.”
The project carries significant risks for participating institutions. Nonprofits potentially face loss of federal grants for taking political stances. Despite this, organizations across California and other states have expressed interest in joining the campaign, according to Santana, with some planning to use local photographs and stories to create their own versions of the installation.
A Surge in Immigration Enforcement Without Precedent
The art installation responds to dramatic escalation in immigration enforcement operations under President Trump’s second term. According to Human Rights Watch analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data, from May 28 through July 28, ICE arrested an average of 540 people per week in Los Angeles—a sharp increase from 139 people per week from Trump’s inauguration until the surge began, and 87 per week in the 16 months before Trump took office.
National data paints an even starker picture. NBC News reported on December 7, 2025, that ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records since January 20, 2025. According to the New York Times, ICE agents have made an average daily total of 824 arrests since Trump took office—more than double previous rates. A UCLA report published October 31, 2025, found that Latinos accounted for nine out of ten ICE arrests during the first six months of 2025, with arrests nearly doubling during Trump’s first 100 days in office.
The Prison Policy Initiative reported on December 10, 2025, that ICE arrests at local jails and other lock-ups reached an average of 350 per day in late January 2025, then continued rising to more than 500 per day on average by August. Arrests in other locations peaked in late May and early June at almost 700 per day.
Independent media reviews have challenged the Trump administration’s characterization of raids as targeting violent criminals. The Los Angeles Times noted that “most of those picked up in the raids do not have serious criminal records,” a finding corroborated by Human Rights Watch, which stated that ICE dramatically increased arrests “primarily of people without violent or even any US criminal history.”
Artists Mobilize: From Protest Signs to Fundraising Mercados
The “Am I Next?” installation is one element of a broader artistic mobilization in response to immigration raids. According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles-based photographer Thalía Gochez organized an art fundraiser in August 2025 after noticing her local flower vendor, Doña Sylvia, had stopped working out of fear. “The point of the art show was to create connection and unity in a time that is deeply scary for everyone,” Gochez told the newspaper. The event raised approximately $10,000, distributed between the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
Gochez subsequently organized “Abolish ICE Mercado de Arte,” a two-part fundraiser featuring 300 artists from throughout the United States and Mexico. Its first installment, held in July at Human Resources in Chinatown, raised $15,000 to benefit the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and Inclusive Action for the City, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Visual artist Patrick Martinez distributed fluorescent-lettered protest signs reading “Deport ICE” and “Then They Came for Me” at an anti-ICE protest in early June 2025, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some of his neon print works have been auctioned or donated as part of fundraisers, with proceeds going to immigrant rights organizations. His “Abolish ICE” merchandise can be purchased online with proceeds benefiting the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and other frontline organizations.
Political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz created protest artwork after union leader David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), was arrested and charged with conspiracy to impede an officer while documenting an ICE raid in Los Angeles in June 2025. “Everyone was horrified,” Alcaraz told the Los Angeles Times. “I knew right away this was my assignment.” The union later used his artwork—featuring the phrases “Free David Huerta” and “Show ICE La Puerta!”—for protest signs demanding the labor leader’s release.
Legal Challenges and Ongoing Impacts
The immigration enforcement campaign has faced legal challenges. On December 10, 2025, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, according to Forum Together. The judge found that the administration likely exceeded its authority and failed to justify the use of military forces in the city, noting that state and local officials had not requested the deployment. The order, effective December 15, halted further National Guard operations and returned control of approximately 300 remaining troops to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The raids have created rippling effects across communities. The Los Angeles Times reported on December 16, 2025, that Trump’s immigration crackdown has prompted approximately 39,000 child-care workers to leave nationwide, worsening staffing crises. In June, all nine preschools operated by one institute canceled kindergarten graduation ceremonies because “they didn’t want to risk family members who might be caught up,” according to the newspaper.
“As an American, it’s shocking to see that in this country in 2025 there are masked men who are taking people without a warrant and without due process,” Santana told the Los Angeles Times. “And then, once they’re taken, some are given limited access to attorneys.”
A Campaign Designed to Spread
The “Am I Next?” installation continues expanding beyond its initial Los Angeles locations. Santana told LAist that his foundation is in conversations with more institutions around California and other states that want to display the portraits. The campaign is not limited to large buildings—Santana noted that images can be projected onto people’s homes, democratizing protest through public art.
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes CEO Leticia Rhi Buckley emphasized that the installation’s purpose extends beyond aesthetics. “Their work tells stories of migration, struggle, resilience, and unity,” Buckley told LAist. “These are not just visuals. They are voices.”
The projections will continue nightly until the raids end, Santana confirmed to LAist. As more portraits are added to the project, the installation serves as both documentation and resistance—a living archive of a community refusing to be silenced or made invisible. In Santana’s framing, the installation poses a fundamental question to all Californians and Americans: in this historic moment, what will you do?