In Los Angeles, federal immigration authorities conducted a major operation on Friday, culminating in the arrest of more than 40 individuals. The action prompted protests outside a federal detention center, with demonstrators demanding the release of those detained. The protests escalated, leading police in riot gear to deploy tear gas to disperse the assembly.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers carried out search warrants at various sites, including a clothing warehouse. A tense confrontation arose as demonstrators attempted to prevent agents’ departure, surrounding their vehicles. Officers responded with flash bangs to scatter the crowd actively filming and voicing their dissent. One demonstrator made a physical attempt to halt a vehicle.
Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations, confirmed that 44 individuals were detained on immigration charges at several locations. Among those arrested was the president of SEIU California, a significant labor organization leader, charged with obstructing a federal agent during the protest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized the immigration activities, describing them as an effort to instill fear in the city, the nation’s second-largest. Amid an increase in arrests nationwide to align with President Donald Trump’s deportation objectives, ICE leader Todd Lyons defended the operations, citing the detention of “dangerous criminals” and an average of 1,600 apprehensions daily.
Recent protests have also emerged after actions in San Diego and in Minneapolis when federal agents equipped with tactical gear arrived in a Latino neighborhood, claiming an ongoing criminal investigation rather than an immigration matter.
Protesters gathered in Los Angeles at three warrant-executing locations, according to O’Keefe. However, Angelica Salas of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) indicated activity at seven sites, including Home Depot parking lots and a doughnut shop. At the fashion district warehouse, agents executed a search warrant based on suspected false documentation use by the employer, verified by a judge, as confirmed by a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson.
A crowd chanting “set them free, let them stay!” assembled outside a federal detention center, joined by other protestors brandishing signs with messages like “ICE out of LA!” Demonstrators vocalized their opposition and targeted authority figures with graffiti. Officers in protective riot gear formed a barrier to secure the building entrance and used tear gas to disperse the crowd before gradually pushing demonstrators down the street.
“Our community continues to face unwarranted terror,” Angelica Salas stated at a press conference. She condemned the immigration enforcement, asserting the need to cease operations destabilizing families and communities.
Yliana Johansen-Mendez from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center shared accounts of one detainee already deported to Mexico following his arrest at a Home Depot. His family reached out to the organization, which detailed the challenges faced trying to visit him in detention, subsequently learning of his deportation through direct contact.
Footage from witnesses and news media depicted the detainees being escorted by agents across parking lots, leading detainees toward large vehicles for transport. Visuals showed detainees with restrained hands being searched and ushered into white vans. The agents, wearing gear marked with FBI, ICE, and HSI insignias, managed the operations with police tape to restrict public access.
Activists utilized megaphones to inform workers of their rights, emphasizing the importance of remaining silent and refraining from signing documents as discussed in local reports. Katia Garcia, an 18-year-old student and U.S. citizen, shared her distress about her undocumented father’s arrest, expressing disbelief that such an event would strike their family.