Pasadena journalist Sonali Kolhatkar will discuss and sign her new book, “Breaking ICE: Community Defense against State Terror and MAGA Fascism,” at Vroman’s Bookstore at 7 p.m. Thursday, joined by two contributors she interviewed for it.
Kolhatkar lives in Pasadena with her husband and two sons, and the book reaches the store twelve days before it goes on sale. One of the two panelists appearing with her, Pablo Alvarado, is co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which is headquartered on South Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena.
The program is at the store’s main location, 695 E. Colorado Blvd. Vroman’s lists it under its adult event and book signing categories. Alvarado and Adela de la Torre, both of whom appear in the book, are billed as contributor panelists.
The store’s listing states the event is free, “but an RSVP is required,” and directs attendees to an online form. The listing sets no admission charge and states no seating capacity. Vroman’s marks ticketed programs by prefixing “TICKETED” to the event title; this listing carries no such marking.
Seven Stories Press lists the paperback at $16.95, 224 pages, with an on-sale date of Sept. 15. An ebook edition was released Aug. 25. The book carries a foreword by Roberto Lovato and collects conversations with 19 named contributors. The publisher describes it as an account of a movement opposing federal immigration enforcement, drawn from interviews with organizers, lawyers, artists, labor leaders and scholars. Publishers Weekly reviewed it in August.
Vroman’s is taking preorders for personalized signed copies, which the store says will ship the week of Sept. 15. Writing on her own website, Kolhatkar said she had “partnered with independent bookstore Vroman’s Books in Pasadena” to fill them. The same post lists the Pasadena event as sponsored by KPFK radio, a detail that does not appear on the store’s listing.
Kolhatkar is the host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a weekly television and radio program that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica Radio stations. She was racial justice editor at YES! Magazine, which ceased regular publication at the end of June 2025, and is a writing fellow with the Independent Media Institute’s Economy for All project. Her earlier books include “Talking About Abolition” and “Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice.”
The subject matter has a local record. The Pasadena City Council adopted an Immigration Enforcement Protection Resolution on Feb. 23, which bars federal immigration staging and operations on city-controlled property, including parking lots and garages.
Alvarado co-founded the day laborer network in 2001 and shares its top post with Nadia Marin-Molina. In a statement his organization issued in June 2025 during immigration raids in Los Angeles, he said, “ICE raids are not just attacking and devastating families.” No affiliation for de la Torre appears on the store’s listing or on the publisher’s records.
The Pasadena appearance is one of five stops on the book’s tour. Vroman’s is open until 9 p.m. Thursday and can be reached at (626) 449-5320.
