Scattered Protests, Business Closures Mark National Shutdown Day in Pasadena

Students from a charter school displaced by the Eaton Fire walked out of their temporary campus Friday to protest federal immigration enforcement, joining scattered demonstrations across Pasadena as the city marked National Shutdown Day with modest crowds and some local business closures.

At Pasadena City College, at least 100 protesters gathered at midday, according to journalist Steve Scauzillo of Southern California News Group.

Friday evening, the NAACP Pasadena Branch organized a demonstration at City Hall.

Meanwhile, all Pasadena Unified schools remained open—and most businesses operated normally—as a community still recovering from the January 2025 fire navigated a national moment of protest.

The National Shutdown was called in response to the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this month. Organizers nationwide urged “no work, no school, no shopping” to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. But in Pasadena, participation was uneven.

Grace Burnett, a senior at Aveson Global Leadership Academy, and Mason Prescott, a junior, organized their school’s walkout from a temporary campus where the school relocated after the Eaton Fire destroyed its Altadena site a year ago.

“We were impacted by the fire. We went to Aveson in Altadena and now we go here,” one of the students said in an interview. “This is our temporary campus and we’re doing protests.”

The walkout was open to students from sixth grade through seniors—their second student-led protest, the students said.

“We want to show the little ones the importance of fighting for this because we’ll not sit here and be silent. We won’t do it,”  one student said.

The students said some of their classmates had been personally affected by immigration enforcement.

“We’ve had our personal students at our campus impacted by ICE,” one said before the interview was cut off by protest chants of “ICE out of LA, you’re not welcome, you can’t stay.”

At least a dozen Pasadena-area businesses and nonprofits announced closures in solidarity with the shutdown: Armory Center for the Arts, Atelier Pasadena, B-Man’s Teriyaki & Burgers, Chunky Cat Cafe, Cisco Home, ID-Eclair (which closed at noon), La Cave, Mandarin Coffee Stand, Millie’s Cafe, Octavia’s Bookshelf, and Burden of Proof in South Pasadena.

Nikki High, owner of Octavia’s Bookshelf at 1353 N. Hill Ave., said she closed “to let people know we can withhold our dollars, we can withhold the economy, to ensure that every person here is safe.”

Several other businesses found alternative ways to participate while remaining open. Vroman’s Bookstore offered free community space, Neighbors and Friends provided free coffee to protesters, and Woon Kitchen donated proceeds.

Pasadena Unified Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco kept all district schools open, issuing guidance on immigration concerns and student walkouts. Pasadena City College also remained open, though the noon protest was held on campus.

The local demonstrations came amid a week of heightened immigration-related activity in Pasadena. On January 26, nearly 800 people—far exceeding the expected 100-200—crowded All Saints Episcopal Church for a community defense training on immigration raids led by Grupo Auto Defensa. On January 10, hundreds gathered at the intersection of Garfield Avenue and Colorado Boulevard for an earlier “ICE Out” protest.

The NAACP Pasadena Branch, led by President Brandon Donte Lamar, organized the 6:30 p.m. demonstration at City Hall as a show of “Brown-Black solidarity” under the banner “ICE out of DENA.”

Downtown Los Angeles saw far larger crowds, with an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people gathering at City Hall and later clashing with police near the federal detention center. The LAPD declared a tactical alert, and federal agents deployed tear gas. Mayor Karen Bass later urged continued peaceful protest.

“I think the protests are extremely important, but it is equally important for these protests to be peaceful, for vandalism not to take place,” Bass said. “That just hurts the city.”