On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, the Los Angeles central public library bustled with nearly 100 people making zines: small, DIY magazines made out of a single piece of paper. There was folding, laughing and helping with cuts. Titles like Narcan 101, Free Palestine and An American Zine, filled with illustrations and tips, lined a table down the hall.

While this may sound like a scene from the 1980s or 1990s – when zines were popular as a countercultural form of expression – this was a workshop in modern-day Los Angeles, where immigration raids and federal threats have left residents restless and scared.

Zines have made a resurgence in recent months as communities seek to share information, such as how to protect one another from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or how to resist the Trump administration outside No Kings protests. Just this week, 404 Media announced it is printing a 16-page zine that includes their reporting on ICE. People of all ages, from all regions, are making, printing and distributing zines on the streets, in libraries and at local gathering spots.

Zine-makers and enthusiasts say that people are likely embracing the pen-and-paper medium again due to social media censorship, surveillance, doxing and the alleged suppression of certain topics on algorithms.

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