October 28, 2026
Los Angeles, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2026) — The California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) released the following statement from Executive Director Masih Fouladi on the death of labor and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, who died today at her home in Bakersfield. She was 96.
“Dolores Huerta was a trailblazer, a leader and a steadfast ally to immigrant families. She never stopped organizing. Just this August, she stood with CIPC and our partners on the steps of the State Capitol to fight federal cuts that are taking food away from immigrant families, children, and foster youth. She spoke up for the farmworkers who would be hit hardest, the very people who feed this state. That was Dolores: still showing up, still pushing, still certain that people acting together can win.
“Her fight for immigrant families ran through her entire life. She spent months in Washington helping win legal status for millions of our neighbors in 1986. Through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she spent more than two decades helping communities organize for better health, schools and economic opportunity. Every year, including this one, the Foundation’s volunteer youth and staff have joined us at the State Capitol for Immigrant Day of Action to stand up for immigrant families. She understood that when immigrant families are left out, our whole community pays the price.
“We will honor her by carrying on the fight for every immigrant family in California to be safe, healthy and thriving. As she put it, ‘When people come together and take collective action … this is how we make change.’ Our hearts are with her family and with the Dolores Huerta Foundation team, who carry her work forward. Sí, se puede!”
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