Dozens arrested in day-long series of immigration raids in Los Angeles
A flash bang grenade is used to disperse protesters in Chinatown on Friday night Photo courtesy of OnScene TV LOS ANGELES A day-long series of immigration enforcement actions across downtown Los Angeles drew widespread condemnation Saturday and prompted a spur-of-the-moment demonstration that ended with nearly four dozen arrests following clashes with federal agents The raids came exactly one week after heavily armed ICE agents swooped into a popular restaurant in South Park frightening diners and other restaurant staff and ultimately arresting four workers As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants I am outraged by what has taken place and I m appalled at the chaos that has ensued Mayor Karen Bass revealed These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city It makes people fearful to attend school workplaces houses of worship society spaces and so much more Bass announced she had met with families impacted by the raids and vowed that LA will dependably stand with them and stand for what is right Congresswoman Linda T Sanchez mentioned particular immigrants who were detained were attending routine check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Edward R Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles when they were detained This is yet another cruel and deliberate act by the Trump administration in its ongoing campaign to dehumanize immigrants she noted Detaining individuals various U S citizens for appearing at their immigration hearings doing exactly what the system demands of them is a betrayal of justice The Arrangement Employees International Union California issued a message saying the union s president David Huerta was injured and detained during the raids The raids began Friday morning as agents from what appeared to be multiple federal law enforcement agencies could be seen escorting men in handcuffs into vehicles outside a Home Depot at Wilshire Blvd in the Westlake District ICE officers and agents alongside partner law enforcement agencies executed four federal search warrants at three locations in central Los Angeles Yasmeen Pitts O Keefe of the Homeland Shield Investigations a branch of the U S Department of Homeland Safety noted later in a comment to CBS Approximately people were administratively arrested with one arrest for obstruction The Los Angeles Police Department issued a comment saying it was not involved in any immigration enforcement operation in the area following a plan in effect since It did respond to an assault with a deadly weapon analysis in Westlake at about a m Friday but rapidly cleared the scene after finding no evidence Later Friday morning another raid took place at an Ambiance clothing store on Towne Avenue in the Fashion District near downtown A crowd of people and selected protesters gathered outside the store as the operation was being carried out majority of them taking photos or videos with cellphones Several people wearing FBI vests were seen standing by outside the store Several hours after the raids began what appeared to be at least two dozen people were led out of a Fashion District building in handcuffs and loaded into white vans and driven away escorted by federal law enforcement personnel in the street in tactical gear Specific spectators could be seen throwing objects at the vans while others ran into the street Early Friday afternoon a throng of federal agents amassed at what appeared to be an Ambiance clothing warehouse or corporate headquarters building near th Street and Santa Fe Avenue in South Los Angeles area One person wearing a Drug Enforcement Administration vest was seen at that location People often gather at stores such as Home Depot and Ambiance looking for temporary work and agents may have taken the opportunity to confront them in accordance with President Donald Trump s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration He has vowed to wage the most of extensive deportation effort in U S history There were also reports of additional raids being carried out Friday in areas such as Pico-Union and Cypress Park Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the federal building in downtown Los Angeles Friday evening and began a march through the area to denounce the raids During the demonstration a Metropolitan Detention Center was sprayed with graffiti by protesters Ang lica Salas executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights mentioned there were at least seven immigration raids held across the region Friday a multitude of of them at workplaces including a doughnut shop She reported people were detained in the various operations She characterized the raids as random sweeps conducted without warrants and those arrested were entirely racially profiled Our population is under attack and has been terrorized Salas described the crowd of protesters according to the Times These are workers these are fathers these are mothers
