While the heightened immigration raids in L.A. and across the Southern U.S. border during the last months have made waves throughout the country and international news, most people probably don’t know that one of the raids that sparked public outrage and street uprisings targeted a garment industry warehouse in the city’s downtown Fashion District. L.A.’s Fashion District is the West Coast hub of the apparel industry, with over 4.000 predominantly independently owned retail and wholesale businesses offering clothing, footwear, fabrics, and accessories.
The district’s roots trace back to the early 20th century, when immigrants from countries like Mexico, China, and the Philippines brought their skills and cultural influences to the area, not only contributing to the labor force but also preserving traditional craftsmanship and establishing trade networks that allowed the Fashion District to grow to the size and impact it has today. Since the 2000s, the area has been a hub for independent designers and smaller fashion labels, as it offers everything they need to bring a collection from concept to reality in a short amount of time.
Nearly one-third of North America’s 300.000 garment workers are immigrants, with about 30.000 being undocumented. They work as sewers, pattern cutters, sample makers, finishers, and packers; many of them have lived and practiced their craft in the U.S. for decades. In an interview with Vogue, Mexican-American apparel brand co-founder Carolina Crespo says, “Immigrant workers are the backbone of the American fashion industry. […] Their hands make the clothes we wear. They bring generations of skill, adaptability, and perseverance, knowledge that isn’t written down, but passed along, practiced, and protected.” President Donald Trump’s recent policies on limiting immigration as well as increasing deportation go in direct conflict with his desire to “bring back” manufacturing.
There is no “Made in the USA” without immigrant labor. If nothing changes, the U.S. fashion industry is going to shrink drastically because there are not enough Americans with the training and cultural connection, or simply willing to take over the work that Asian, Central, and South American immigrants have been doing. “I am not looking to make T-shirts to be honest”, is all that Trump has to say in the face of this impending collapse. “I am not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, like tanks and ships.”
Even though many outlets have been reporting and voicing their concerns about how the immigration raids are impacting the garment industry, I still found them regurgitating the narrative of the “good” and the “bad” immigrant, which has influenced public opinion for centuries and was heavily propagated by the Obama administration. In their book Unbuild Walls – Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition, activist and Detention Watch Network director Silky Shah writes that: “By claiming to prioritize ‘felons, not families’ for deportation, President Obama reinforced the idea that criminalizing and deporting certain immigrants was essential to fixing the ‘broken’ immigration system. By the end of his tenure in office, over three million people had been detained and formally deported – more than under any other president.”
Currently, brands may be expressing concern for their employees, but are they not primarily worried about their businesses and potential losses in profits? If they really cared about immigrant justice, wouldn’t they be more vocal, put public pressure on their legislation, or actively protect their undocumented employees? And what often goes unsaid as well – wouldn’t they provide better working conditions and wages?
The U.S. Garment Labor Movement has a long history and is deeply rooted in the foundation of the labor rights movement at large. After the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City took the lives of 146 shirtwaist makers, most of them young immigrant women, national attention allowed significant progress in conditions and pay for garment workers. Factories were investigated on their safety measurements as well as employment rules on hours, child labor, and wages.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the growing demand for fast fashion led to deteriorating working conditions, as the cheap prices could only be maintained through the use of low-cost labor. Illegal factories and sweatshops spread throughout California, leading to the El Monte factory case, where seventy Thai immigrants had their passports stolen and were forced to work seven days a week for as little as $300 a month. This led to the inception of the Garment Worker Center or Centro De Trabajadores De Costure, which advocates for the rights of garment workers, provides legal assistance, member support, and fosters leadership development. Currently, they’re raising money for an Immigrant Worker Defense Fund to support members who are being detained or impacted by ICE raids.
Similar to when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the faults of the fashion supply chain are being exposed, and where we go from here is crucial. Is it possible to change the fashion industry from the ground up? From when the first thread is woven to which bodies the finished garment will fit or who will be able to afford it? While some brands and designers are becoming more vocal about political issues and the inherent politicalness of fashion itself, we’re still left to wonder how much action and honesty lie behind the talk and the spectacle.
Take for example Mexican-American designer Willy Chavarria who used his Spring 2026 show in Paris to speak out about the dehumanization of immigrants in the United States and the Salvadorian prisons where people are being profiled and persecuted with no due process. The invitations to his show were formatted like immigration summons, branded with an “open immediately”.
Celebrated for his overtly critical collection, Chavarria came under criticism himself not too long after, when his Oaxaca Slip-On Sandal collaboration with Adidas appropriated a unique design of the traditional huaraches (sandals) from the people of Hidalgo Yalalag village. The incident caused an uproar throughout Mexico, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to comment that “many times, large companies take products, ideas, and designs from Indigenous communities in our country.” She added that she and her government would work on a new law to guarantee the protection of Indigenous creativity.
Meanwhile, Adidas and Chavarria have issued an official apology, and the brand has contacted the Oaxaca government to initiate talks about how to compensate the Indigenous community. However, there are numerous cases of companies getting away with this kind of cultural appropriation – sometimes masked as “appreciation” or left unmentioned.
What we need right now is true allyship, one that isn’t self-serving but listens to what affected communities have to say, what they need, and one that sticks around even when the hype or the news cycle moves on. We need brands like CHNGE, an ethical streetwear label that tackles injustice through its bold statement pieces, and that collaborates with Turkish factories where workers earn a living wage and receive financial management training. They know the exact field the cotton for their shirts and hoodies comes from and donate 50% of their profit to different causes.
Nepalese-American fashion designer Prabal Gurung, who has dressed the likes of Michelle Obama and Oprah, and who supports his local community in New York as well as social causes in his homeland Nepal, says in an interview with Elle: “I think it’s important for us to realize it is no longer okay to just treat fashion as an escape. We need to be aware of the fact that we are fortunate enough to pursue our passion, make a living, and create an audience and a platform. And it is extremely important for all of us to be able to understand the platform we’ve created and use it for something other than just your brand or yourself. If we don’t speak up, who will?”
