After weeks of relative silence, Border Patrol agents raided a Home Depot in Westlake on Wednesday when federal agents warned: “We are not leaving” and released images of six sixty border agents who had crossed the parking lot from Penske trucks.
As many as 16 immigrants in the U.S. Border Patrol Department head Greg Bovino is reportedly known as Operation Trojan. The early morning raid restored concerns about the wider sweep of organizers who had hoped to relax the federal judge’s order, which was confirmed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that immigration officials cannot form a racial profile within the racial scope and cannot use patrols for targeted immigration.
“For those who think immigration enforcement has stopped in Southern California, think about it again,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X shortly after the raid. “The enforcement of federal laws is not negotiable, and there are no shelters involved in the federal government.”
A worker who determined he was Ceasar said a yellow Penske truck pulled one from the laborers gathered in the parking lot at around 6:45 a.m. The driver told them in Spanish that he was looking for workers.
Several men gathered on the truck and then someone gathered together, and it was unclear who rolled up the back of the truck to him. The masked agent, a man in a cowboy hat, jumped out and began chasing people. People were dispersed.
“It’s the worst feeling ever,” Cesar said.
Videos on social media capture the moment when the rented truck is opened. When Penske Truck Rental was asked, they said they knew about the incident.
“The company was not aware that its trucks would be used for today’s operations and had no authorization,” Penske spokesman Randolph P. Ryerson said. “Penske will contact the Agency for Homeland Security and strengthen its policies to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future.
He added: “Penske strictly prohibits personnel in areas where their vehicles are transported under any circumstances,” the statement said.
The experience one hour later is still shocked by an escaped worker. He identified himself as Raul and said he saw at least eight people arrested.
“That’s one of their cars,” he said, pointing to a silver Toyota sedan.
The warehouse has been one of the first raids in June that have been in operation for more than a month in Southern California, where civil rights lawyers say federal agents arrested arrested immigrants in vain. The raiders are trapped in the business, spreading fear and tearing the family apart.
On July 11, a federal judge temporarily blocked federal agents from using the race profile for futile arrests after the ACLU, public legal counsel, other groups and private attorneys sued the district for “hit”.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the order blocked them from taking on federal immigration enforcement, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the order.
Since the restriction order began in early July, Bovino has shared photos of arrests of undocumented immigrants and noted that some have active arrest warrants. He along with others referenced a lengthy criminal history, which marked a more targeted arrest than before.
But organizers say it was similar to the raids conducted on Monday at a Home Depot in Hollywood, a massive raid in June. The action also attracted attention to TRO violations.
Maegan Ortiz, executive director of the nonprofit Instituto de Educación, known as Del del Sur de California, said they began receiving news about immigration operations at Hollywood home warehouses around 6:50 a.m. Monday.
