Dramatic LA ICE raid sparks protests, problems, anger

A surprising series of U.S. immigration and customs enforcement sweeps Friday in downtown Los Angeles prompted a fierce push from elected officials and protesters who denounced the enforcement actions as “brutal and unnecessary” and said they were shocked by fear in the immigrant community.

By night, tensions in the city remained high. The Los Angeles Police Department declares an illegal assembly and orders about 200 protesters who are still gathered by the Los Angeles federal building and dispersed around 7 p.m.

Earlier in the day, chaos broke out in the heart of the fashion district and used lightning grenades and pepper spray in the crowd after federal immigration authorities detained employees at clothing wholesalers.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Los Angeles federal building at 4 p.m. to condemn the crackdown and demand the release of California President David Huerta, the International Alliance of Service Employees, who was injured and detained during the record raid, according to a union statement.

“Our community is under attack and terrorist attack,” Angelica Salas, executive director of the Humanitarian Immigration Rights Coalition (Chirla), told the protesters crowd. “These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers.”

Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, spokesman for ICE Homeland Security Investigation, said 44 people were administratively arrested, one person for blocking an arrest during Friday’s immigration operation. She said federal agents executed four search warrants related to suspected persons illegally carried at three central Los Angeles locations.

Carlosgonzález Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico, Los Angeles, said his team had identified at least 11 Mexican nationals who were detained in raids throughout the South. The office provides legal services to them, and he says he is monitoring the conditions of detention.

“The detention center seems to be fully responsible,” he said. “Every cell seems to be occupied.”

According to Saras, Chirla received more than 50 calls on the hotline, covering ice sightings and reports of the men’s military outfits in parking lots, locations near schools, Home Depot shops and a donut shop.

Connie Chung Joe, CEO of the Asian-American Promoted Southern California Judge, said she received a report on immigration enforcement that would attend school.

Huerta, 58, was treated at the hospital and was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where she remained as of 5:30 p.m., a SEIU spokesman said.

“What happened to me is not about me; it’s a bigger thing,” he said in a statement from the hospital. “It’s about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that is happening. Diligent people, our families and members of our community are seen as criminals. We all have to collectively oppose this madness because it’s not justice.”

In a statement about X, the United States. Bill Essayli claims Huerta deliberately blocked federal agents from entering the workplace, and they blocked their vehicles from executing an arrest warrant Friday morning. Huerta was arrested for allegedly interfering with federal officials and will be arraigned on Monday, Essayli said.

Elected officials representing Los Angeles at New York City, county, state and federal levels issued a series of statements declining Holta’s arrest, criticizing the attacks and condemning the Trump administration’s escalation of deportation.

“SEIU California President David Huerta was hurt by federal agents and was wrongly detained,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “I call on him to release immediately. It is a democracy. People have the right to protest peacefully, observe law enforcement activities and oppose injustice.”

Assistant Atti. President Trump appointed General Harmeet Dhillon, who headed the Department of Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, to withdraw his elected leader’s defense against Huerta.

“There is no First Amendment that can physically hinder law enforcement officers from executing formally issued arrest warrants,” Dhillon said.

In the hours Friday, advocates gathered outside the Ambiance Apparel warehouse to speak out to those in custody. They stood on a long bed truck parked in the middle of the street and blocked traffic on busy roads.

People gathered in front of atmosphere clothing after federal agents detained several employees on Friday. At one point, federal agents had to pull protesters from the road from the van driving to the building’s parking lot.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“You’re not alone,” one said, drowning the crowd’s voices. “Don’t sign anything. Don’t tell them where you’re from.”

Katina Garcia, 18, pressed her face against a glass, looking for her undocumented father who went there to work that morning, just like anyone else.

“We never thought it would happen to us, I can’t believe it,” she said.

A few hours later, a federal agent in riot gear landed on the atmosphere costume, facing more than 100 people gathered outside.

They announced their arrival to view truck sirens as their armored personnel carrier line.

“Pig,” a man shouted in a raucous scene. “Fascist,” another said.

Agents disembarked and surrounded the gates of protesters tried to stop them. Some people threw objects at armed agents as they yelled and filmed. To eliminate the crowd, pepper spray was used.

Agents who once were inside the store walked out at least twelve people and boarded the van on the van, while other agents from other turrets recorded it in the area.

“How do you sleep at night, tear the family apart,” a woman screamed as an agent of Stock. “What if they bring your family?”

The vans are filled with immigrants, then the lines of tactical vehicles and trucks. The crowd followed closely behind, filmed with a cell phone and surrounded the vehicle around at least one block. The agent then used at least one round of flashing grenades and pepper spray, and the protesters were dispersed.

A group of 11 Los Angeles city councillors issued a joint statement blasting “the indiscriminate goal of children and families” and vowed to fight to protect immigrants.

“We do not hesitate to condemn this: Los Angeles is built by immigrants and has flourished due to immigration,” the group said. “We will not adhere to fear strategies to support an extreme political agenda designed to inspire fear and spread discord in our cities.”

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement saying they were aware of local immigration operations Friday. Both agencies said they would neither participate in any enforcement of civil immigration laws nor attempt to determine an individual’s immigration status.

“We want our residents to know that when they seek help, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will respond, investigate and protect everyone regardless of one’s legal status,” the department said in a statement.

The report by elected officials including Councilman Eunisses Hernandez, Councilman Ysabel Jurado and conference raiser Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) about LAPD’s report on Friday assisting the ICE has sparked concerns. Videos shared on social media showed LAPD officials gathered on 15th Street and Santa Fe Avenue, where crowds protested the immigration operation at Ambiance Apparel’s Warehouse.

“We received the help that an official needed to call on our federal partners and responded to separate parties to maintain the order,” LAPD spokesman Jennifer Forkish said. “We have nothing to do with the action, but we do have an obligation to respond to any law enforcement agencies that ask for emergency assistance.”

On Friday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pushed the ICE to start arresting at least 3,000 people a day and to undertake President Trump’s mission to carry out the largest deportation effort in history. The escalation of immigration operations in Los Angeles on Friday was in escalation.

This week, CBS reported that ICE recorded 2,000 arrests per day, up from the agency’s average of 660 arrests held at the White House in the first 100 days of Trump.

Miller and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement on X on Friday night saying she was very angry about the immigration action and that her office would not represent it.

Miller replied: “You have no say at all. Federal law is the highest and federal law will be enforced.”

The raid in Los Angeles is also followed by several recent law enforcement operations in the South, including the deployment of flash grenades during the operation of two San Diego restaurants, and an attack on Chinese and Taiwanese nationals in an underground nightclub in Los Angeles.

On Friday afternoon, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla joined California Representatives Scott Peters and Juan Vargas to request an investigation into the strategies used in the San Diego raid.

“This disturbing incident is not an isolated case. Instead, it appears to be part of a wider escalating and dramatic immigration enforcement action across the country,” lawmakers said. “These incidents raise serious questions about the appropriateness, proportionality and implementation of the ice strategy.”

Times worker Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to the report.