Usually luchadores wear a mask during a freestyle wrestling match. But here in SoCal, one man is taking that same fighting spirit to the picket line in his battle for labor rights.

Luis Valentan is an immigrant labor activist and the man behind the mask. LA Times staff writer Selene Rivera wrote about his fight on the streets and on the radio. Rivera and Valentan joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today.”

There are millions of day laborers in California, Rivera said. Their work ranges from farming to hospitality to making garments. He said they often fall prey to wage theft and threats of deportation. Valentan, who worked as a day laborer in his 20s, saw those abuses first hand.

“We fall into that narrative of, yeah, we can go over there and then work and then change our lives, change our realities and better our lives, and provide for our families, which is not true. Sadly, we only face injustices, threats. We face a lot of work abuse. And we receive also the policies, the racist policies from politicians that make their living and they get their power through those abuses, to creating these kind of laws to criminalize hardworking families, men and women,” Valentan said. 

Valentan also raises awareness of this issue on his radio show. As his masked alter-ego, Compa Ñero, Valentan demonstrates on the streets as well.

“When I wear the mask, I feel like some kind of empowered man. I felt like something was going through my body and my heart. And I wasn’t really afraid to speak... So I felt like, what if I use this image or this character to go out there and people don’t know me? But, in a way, I feel like I can provide something right then. And what better way than a luchador? A luchador is a fighter. And not only when they’re wrestling on stage but also in our struggle is we’re fighting for justice. We’re fighting for better protections,” he explained.

Without meaningful reform, day laborers face an uphill battle. 

“Many politicians, obviously in favor of immigration reform, are saying it. The community, organizations, nonprofit organizations, that obviously favor this specific community, are saying we need immigration reform. They’re already here. They’re working here already. The government might as well start working [as well],” Rivera said. 

Watch the full interview above. 

Watch "LA Times Today" at 7 and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News app.