A City Fights Back began in summer 2025, when ICE activity in Los Angeles escalated to unprecedented levels. Masked federal agents carried out street-level “snatch-and-grab” detentions in Home Depot parking lots, at car washes, and across working-class neighborhoods throughout the city. In response, community patrols organized by Unión del Barrio emerged across Los Angeles, led on the ground by high school teacher Ron Gochez.
What compelled me was not only the confrontation with federal power, but also the improvisational, everyday nature of the resistance: people organizing before dawn, coordinating through WhatsApp, then returning home to families still needing care. The film’s editorial aim was twofold: to make visible how community-run defense systems actually function, and to show the personal cost of sustaining that work. Gochez’s effort to balance teaching, organizing, and fatherhood became the emotional spine of the film.
Producing A City Fights Back required navigating serious ethical and logistical challenges. Many participants are undocumented or live with undocumented family members, making visibility itself a risk. I worked to build trust slowly, sought consent repeatedly, and designed production protocols to protect participants, including blurring faces, avoiding identifiable locations, and reshaping scenes to minimize exposure while preserving truth. Access was further complicated by the unpredictability of raids, requiring a nimble, observational approach that never interfered with community defense efforts.
The resulting film offers an intimate portrait of grassroots organizing under pressure, revealing how immigration enforcement reverberates through homes, families, and entire neighborhoods.
