Memo Torres

Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker. You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.
DAILY MEMO: A Man Was Killed Running From ICE While Border Patrol Mobbed Governor Newsom’s “Big Beautiful Press Conference” in Little Tokyo
On August 14th, the first day of school for many L.A. children, teachers showed solidarity against ICE while masked agents resumed raids, including a Monrovia Home Depot incident where a man died fleeing arrest. That same day, about 40 agents, led by Border Patrol Chief Bovino, staged a performative raid in Little Tokyo to disrupt Governor Newsom’s press conference, with other abductions reported.
DAILY MEMO: Roaming ICE and Border Patrol Raids are Increasing and They’re Still Using Those Penske Trucks
ICE and other federal agents conducted widespread raids and detentions across Southern California, abducting people from DMVs, Home Depots, car washes, courthouses, and streets.
DAILY MEMO: Lawless ‘Lawmen’ Abduct Almost 30 Working Men From Car Washes and Home Depots, Again.
On day 68 of ongoing ICE raids, nearly 30 people were abducted from car washes and Home Depots including permanent residents and workers on the job.
DAILY MEMO: Masked Agents Draw Guns on Student in Front of High School, Leave Live Ammunition in the Street and More
Between August 9–11, ICE raids across Los Angeles targeted students, street vendors, and workers, with incidents including the abduction of an 18-year-old walking his dog in Van Nuys, a student detained at Arleta High School where agents dropped live ammunition, and multiple arrests at Home Depots in Cypress Park, Marina Del Rey, and North Hollywood.
DAILY MEMO: Agents Arrested a Nurse in Retaliation for Recording Outside Terminal Island, Raided The Van Nuys Home Depot Twice, and More
ICE and Border Patrol are exploiting a legal loophole where running can be used to justify “reasonable suspicion” for detention, prompting an ACLU investigation into whether this crosses into unlawful arrests.
DAILY MEMO: Agents Abduct a Pregnant U.S. Citizen, Use a Penske Truck as a “Ruse” to Get Past “anti-ICE” People and Raid a Home Depot, and More
A coordinated ICE operation dubbed “Operation Trojan Horse” involved agents using a yellow Penske truck at the Westlake Home Depot to detain vendors and bystanders.
DAILY MEMO: Federal Agents Take Another Detainee to a Hospital While They Continue Raiding Home Depots, Car Washes, and More
ICE agents are still raiding car washes and Home Depots, detaining laborers. Meanwhile, a federal settlement now bans ICE’s L.A. Field Office from using deceptive tactics such as impersonating local police or fabricating criminal investigations to enter homes or detain individuals, and mandates visible ICE identification and record-keeping for accountability. At the same time, L.A. TACO reports that federal agents terrorized a Fontana family over a man ICE falsely accused of violent crimes, even though his case was dismissed years ago after proving his innocence.
DAILY MEMO: ICE Raids Are Back Despite the Temporary Restraining Order Upheld by Federal Courts on Friday
Despite the Ninth Circuit Court denying the federal government's attempt to suspend protections against unlawful immigration raids in L.A., ICE and Border Patrol agents conducted aggressive raids across Southern California.
DAILY MEMO: Border Patrol Is Seen Stopping Latino Men at Home Depot to Ask for IDs, We Catch Up With Adrian Andrew Martinez, and More
ICE and Border Patrol hit several SoCal locations including Garden Grove, Gardena, and Orange, while protests continue in L.A. and across the country. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from fast-tracking deportations, and 12 members of Congress are suing for access to detention centers. Meanwhile, detainees in Florida are on a hunger strike, and Dolores Huerta is fighting a massive ICE expansion in Kern County. We also caught up with the 20-year-old citizen that was beaten and arrested by Border Patrol agents at Walmart in Pico Rivera.
DAILY MEMO: State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies are Opposing California State Bills Aimed at Unmasking and Identifying Federal Agents
Memo Torres speaks with California state assembly members Sade Elhawary and Mark Gonzalez about the two bills currently in debate at the state level intended to unmask and identify federal agents, the 'No Vigilantes Act' and the 'No Secret Police Act.' We were surprised to hear that there is opposition coming from state and local police agencies. The assembly members break down how and why.










