One consequence of the Trump administration’s increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country has been the mass surrendering of pets to shelters.
The issue is especially prevalent in Los Angeles.
“The animals have become sort of a victim in this situation because, to no fault of their own, they're finding themselves in the care centers," Christopher Valles, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, told Reuters this summer.
In July, The Los Angeles Times reported that pet surrenders more than doubled at the county's Palmdale shelter compared to June 2024, with another shelter nearby jumping to nearly 50% during the same period.
Whether people are surrendering their pets because they may self-deport or believe they may be deported or detained, beloved pets are ending up in shelters.
While new foster dog mom Monica Matute doesn’t know the full story of her newest foster, Nacho, she realized, after a now-viral video of the dog understanding Spanish, that he may be among the dogs of L.A. migrant families.
Earlier this week, Matute posted a video on TikTok speaking to Nacho in Spanish.
“Do you know Spanish?” she innocently asked the Chihuahua. “¿Qué pasó?”
The dog tilts his head at her and begins to cry. Her jaw drops.
The cycle continues, with him eventually jumping for joy at “vamos afuera” or “let’s go outside.”
In two days, the video racked up over 10 million views and 2 million likes.
A day later, Matute — who has long shared the journeys of fostering rescue dogs in L.A. — posted another video in response to the viral moment.
“Yesterday, over a million of you shared the joy of me realizing my foster dog, Nacho, speaks Spanish. In just hours, he had gained the love of so many internet tíos and tías,” she said, calling viewers Nacho’s “uncles and aunts.”
“I don’t know much about Nacho’s story, but what I do feel pretty certain about is that he must have been very loved.”
She went on to add that she and her family decided to foster him because he was having a hard time coming out of his shell at their local rescue facility.
“Within hours of being in foster [care], he was in our laps asking for pets, like he had been searching for something that finally felt familiar,” she said.
“My mind keeps going back to the what-ifs. What if his family was affected by the current political climate? What if he finally felt safe when I spoke to him in Spanish?”
The comments on the video echoed her sentiments.
“I didn’t even think of all the pets affected by ICE,” one commenter wrote. “I’m sobbing.”
“So many pets separated from their families in these ICE raids,” another added. “That’s absolutely devastating.”
But as much as viewers were heartbroken by the what-ifs of Nacho’s story — and the realities that many migrant families are facing — they were grateful for Matute’s compassion amid it all.
“I’m so glad Nacho could connect with his culture,” one viewer said.
“I pray that his owners are okay,” another added, “and that he is loved in your home.”
It’s unclear what Nacho’s future will look like, but Matute has been liking comments suggesting that she may adopt him. (He is still available for adoption inquiries through a local rescue, though.)
Regardless, he has a safe place to stay — and clearly feels more understood than ever.
“Nacho reminds us all that being understood, even in the smallest ways, is part of what helps us come alive again,” Matute said in her video.
“I hope whoever was lucky enough to love Nacho first knows that he’s safe and loved — not just by me, but by the whole internet.”
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Header images courtesy of Monica Matute/TikTok
