MONROVIA, Calif. One year after a federal immigration raid ended in a fatality on the 210 Freeway, community members, family, and organizers gathered outside the Home Depot on Mountain Avenue to honor Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez and press state officials for an independent inquiry.
On August 14, 2025, federal agents executed an unannounced enforcement action targeting day laborers assembled in the store parking lot. Montoya Valdez, a 52 year old Guatemalan father of four and grandfather, panicked as armed agents moved through the site. In a desperate attempt to escape, he fled across Evergreen Avenue and onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 210, where an oncoming vehicle struck him. He was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to a hospital.
Contradictory Narratives and Tactical Risks
Department of Homeland Security officials claimed agents terminated their foot chase at an off ramp and were unaware of the collision until notified hours later by the California Highway Patrol. However, day laborers, local witnesses, and organizers with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) documented agents actively pursuing workers toward the freeway perimeter. Advocates emphasize that high intensity daylight sweeps in commercial corridors rely on spatial panic as an operational tool, deliberately creating lethal risks for vulnerable workers.
Calls for State Accountability Unanswered
At the anniversary vigil, attendees assembled near the site of the raid to light candles, lay flowers, and condemn the lack of state level accountability. Following the 2025 incident, local organizers and state lawmakers urged California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta to launch an independent state criminal investigation, audit highway patrol dispatch logs, and subpoena commercial surveillance footage. Twelve months later, no official findings or state investigative results have been released.
Systemic Context
Montoya Valdez had lived in the United States for five years, working to send money back to his hometown of Jutiapa, Guatemala, to support his family. His death occurred weeks after 57 year old farmworker Jaime Alanis died from a fall during an agricultural raid in Ventura County, underlining a broader pattern of casualties linked to aggressive federal sweeps.
Organizers at the vigil reaffirmed that the struggle extends beyond individual enforcement actions. By refusing to let the fatality be treated as routine background noise, community advocates continue to demand an end to federal workplace raids and a full accounting of the actions that led to the death of Montoya Valdez.
This video is relevant because it provides broadcast coverage of the August 2026 anniversary vigil in Monrovia, reporting directly on the community’s ongoing demands for a state investigation into the death of Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez.
