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ICE raids in Los Angeles: Multiple arrests and clashes reported across LA — What we know so far
Federal immigration officers conducted raids in Los Angeles, detaining dozens.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted a series of raids across “multiple locations” in Los Angeles on Friday, reportedly taking dozens of people into custody while facing off with demonstrators.
At a Home Depot parking lot in the Westlake neighbourhood, not far from the city’s centre, video footage captured agents sprinting after individuals as onlookers reacted in real time.
Videos circulating on social media captured ICE agents sprinting through a Home Depot parking lot in Westlake, just outside downtown, as panicked bystanders warned others in Spanish to stay away.
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Crowds gathered quickly, shouting at officers and recording the arrests on their phones. One video showed eggs being thrown at a vehicle as agents pushed people back.
Immigrant-rights advocates climbed onto trucks with megaphones, yelling, “I want to talk to my clients, Luis Lopez and Michel Garcia. We are here,” one said. “The community is here with you. Your family is here with you.”
LA officials condemn ICE raids
Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations, confirmed agents were executing search warrants related to harbouring undocumented immigrants, but declined to give further details, per the Los Angeles Times.
Earlier this week, ICE arrested several people during a raid at a San Diego restaurant, and detained Chinese and Taiwanese nationals at an underground LA nightclub.
Among the detained in Friday’s operation was David Huerta, president of SEIU California. The union said Huerta was injured while observing the raid and is receiving medical care in custody.
“He was exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity,” SEIU stated.
“These actions are escalating,” said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “Agents arrive without warning and leave quickly.”
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Mayor Karen Bass added, “These raids sow terror... We will not stand for this.”
While LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell stressed the department had no role in these raids, reports of ICE sightings across Los Angeles and Orange counties continued.
