Federal immigration agents conducted a series of enforcement operations at businesses across Los Angeles on Friday, with protesters gathering outside at least one location in opposition.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) declined to provide specifics about the Los Angeles operations. In a statement, an unnamed spokesperson said the agency routinely arrests noncitizens “who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws.”
NTD News, sister media of The Epoch Times, contacted ICE and HSI, and did not receive a response before publication.
Illegal immigrant advocates alleged that at least 45 people were arrested without warrants across seven locations, including two Home Depots, a store in the fashion district, and a doughnut shop, said Angelica Salas from the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights at an afternoon press event.
“Our community is under attack and is being terrorized. These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers, and this has to stop,” Salas said, surrounded by demonstrators holding signs criticizing the ICE.
Eleven of the LA City Council’s 15 members issued a statement accusing federal immigration agencies of “an egregious escalation.”
Mayor Karen Bass voiced opposition to the federal actions.
“As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” Bass said in a statement posted on X.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, responding to Bass’s remarks, said that the agents were exercising federal authority to enforce immigration law.
“You have no say in this at all. Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced,” Miller posted on X.
Federal authorities have recently increased immigration arrests nationwide, as part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
Todd Lyons, the agency’s acting director, said ICE averages about 1,600 arrests daily and targets those identified as “dangerous criminals.”
Scenes from the raids, captured by bystanders and television crews, showed federal agents leading detainees with their hands tied behind their backs across parking lots and into waiting vans.
Agents wearing vests marked FBI, ICE, and HSI cordoned off areas with yellow police tape, while armed officers used flash bangs to disperse crowds at one location, according to video aired by KABC-TV and KTLA.
At one location, protesters were seen attempting to block vehicles carrying detainees, with one individual seen falling to the ground after trying to stop a moving SUV. The vehicle then maneuvered around the person and sped away as objects were thrown at it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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