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ICE conducted operations at various businesses in Los Angeles, which led to protests and confrontations outside one of the locations, resulting in the use of flash bangs by authorities to disperse the crowd.
According to immigration advocates, around 45 individuals were arrested at seven different locations, including two Home Depot stores, a store in the fashion district, and a doughnut shop. Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), spoke out against the arrests during a news conference.
Witnesses and news teams filmed federal agents escorting individuals across a Home Depot parking lot during the operations. The footage also showed clashes between protesters and agents at detention sites.
KTLA shared aerial footage of agents outside a clothing store in the fashion district escorting individuals out of a building and toward two large white vans. The individuals were detained and had their hands tied behind their backs. Before being placed into the vans, agents were seen patting the detained individuals down.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement on X that as a mayor of a “proud city of immigrants,” who she said contributes to the city in many ways, she was “deeply angered” by the actions taken by federal agencies in LA on Friday.
“These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” Bass said. “We will not stand for this.”
Bass also spoke to reporters on Friday, saying, “We are gonna fight for all Angelenos, regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not. We are a city of immigrants and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos.”
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called the ICE raids across Los Angeles a continuation of a “disturbing pattern of extreme and cruel” immigration enforcement operations across the U.S.
“These indiscriminate raids prove once again that the Trump administration cares about nothing but instilling harm and fear in our communities to drive immigrants into the shadows,” he said in a statement shared on X. “It will not work. This fearmongering is not going to change the fact that immigrants are valued members of our communities who contribute to our society and economy, and my office will demand accountability for today’s actions.”
