The firing of an L.A. TACO reporter has raised questions about journalistic ethics after allegations surfaced of a personal relationship between him and California state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, whom he covered.
L.A. TACO announced last week that it was parting ways with reporter Memo Torres, thanking him for his years of service to the publication. Torres is best known for his coverage of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and immigration raids in Los Angeles. He recently received a fellowship at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center to study the impact of immigration raids on communities, media and politics.
L.A. TACO did not share details about Torres’ departure in its initial announcement. In his own Instagram post, Torres described his firing as a “surprise.”
One day later, independent newsroom L.A. Material reported that sources close to both L.A. TACO and Torres had offered differing accounts of his departure.
According to L.A. Material, the decision to fire Torres came after the outlet raised concerns about his adherence to journalistic ethics. Torres allegedly made reporting errors, bypassed editors and allowed a senator with whom he had a personal relationship to write portions of articles published under his byline.
Torres reportedly had a relationship with Pérez, the youngest member of the California Senate. Pérez acknowledged that the two had a prior personal relationship and said L.A. TACO management asked them to limit their communication about six months ago, a request she said they honored.
Pérez denied writing any articles published by Torres.
“I did not write any articles or control the editorial decisions of L.A. TACO,” she said in a statement. “Any person suggesting I wrote pieces for L.A. TACO is attempting to undermine my work and attack Memo’s integrity. My communications with Memo regarding his stories, as with any journalist, was to provide feedback when requested and ensure factual accuracy.”
Torres took an unconventional path into journalism. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, he followed in his father’s footsteps and ran a landscaping business for years.
He began covering food for L.A. TACO by writing about restaurants and eateries in the areas where he worked. An editor at the publication encouraged him to take his writing more seriously, he has said.
In 2025, as ICE raids swept through Los Angeles, Torres’ former food blog, “L.A. Tacos’ Daily Memo,” evolved into a regular bulletin tracking daily immigration enforcement activity. His reporting attracted a loyal following and gained national recognition.
Following L.A. TACO’s Instagram announcement, subscribers questioned the circumstances surrounding Torres’ departure, with some speculating that the outlet was suppressing his ICE coverage.
“As a source of journalism, this is anything but transparent,” one commenter wrote. “Firing a well-respected journalist and offering only a vague explanation seriously undermines my trust in your organization. We’ll be canceling our membership support.”
In response, L.A. TACO published a second statement on its website, denying that it was backing away from its ICE coverage, which had expanded over the past year. The outlet cited Torres’ “repeated violations of our policies and our basic journalistic standards” as the reason for his firing.
L.A. TACO confirmed that it had conducted an internal investigation lasting several months before terminating Torres.
“The rumor that we’ve turned our back on ICE coverage is a lie. And a dangerous one,” the statement said.
The outlet also disputed Torres’ account that his departure came as a surprise, saying he had been given “many chances” and ultimately chose to work independently.
“We offered our support because we never stopped believing in his mission,” L.A. TACO said. “Instead, he told his followers a different story: that he was blindsided, which immediately led to speculation that L.A. TACO pushed him out to pull back on ICE coverage.”
Torres is now soliciting donations from followers to continue his coverage of ICE activity in Los Angeles. He has launched a Substack, where he has published a story about an ICE agent allegedly striking an individual in Woodland Hills.
The post An Alleged Affair Raises Ethics Questions in L.A. TACO Firing appeared first on LAmag.
