Monrovia Memorial Vandalized Ahead of Pilgrimage

A memorial to day laborer Carlos Montoya was vandalized in Monrovia, California, just days before a group of pilgrims was set to visit the site. The memorial, which honors Montoya and 78 others who died in ICE custody or during immigration raids, was damaged sometime between Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27.

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) reported that volunteers found the large white cross inscribed with Carlos Montoya's name leaning against a bush, surrounded by upended smaller white crosses tumbled together on the ground. The photos of the dead attached to the crosses were torn and scattered.

Marlom Portillo, an organizer for NDLON, stated that 'as-yet-unidentified individuals harboring hatred in their hearts viciously smashed numerous crosses, destroying the altar dedicated to the memory of Carlos Montoya and the 78-plus deaths caused by ICE.' Despite the vandalism, volunteers immediately rebuilt the altar.

The memorial is located on the parking lot of a Home Depot store near the site where Montoya was struck and killed by an SUV while fleeing an ICE raid in August 2025. The incident occurred just steps away from the 210 freeway.