The Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly and ordered the roughly 200 remaining protesters to disperse around 7 p.m.
Connie Chung Joe, the chief executive of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, said she received a report of immigration enforcement going to a school in Koreatown.
Bill Essayli alleged that Huerta had deliberately obstructed federal agents’ access to a worksite where they were executing a warrant by blocking their vehicle Friday morning.
“We condemn this in no uncertain terms: Los Angeles was built by immigrants and it thrives because of immigrants,” the group stated.
Rather, it appears to be part of a broader pattern of escalated and theatrical immigration enforcement operations across the country,” the lawmakers stated.
The consequences of a U.S. blitzkrieg. S. Saturday’s sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in downtown Los Angeles were met with strong opposition from demonstrators and candid arguments between L. A. federal officials and leadership.
I am extremely incensed about what has happened because I am the mayor of a city that is proud to be an immigrant community and they make numerous contributions to our city. These strategies sow fear in our neighborhoods and undermine our city’s fundamental safety principles,” Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X on Friday night. “We won’t tolerate this. “”.
In response, FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday morning, “We will.”.
Patel responded a day after immigration officers raided businesses in the Los Angeles area, arresting 44 individuals on suspicion of immigration offenses and one for obstruction.
Federal immigration officials used pepper spray and flash-bang grenades on protesters for the employees’ arrests, turning the scene outside one targeted Fashion District business into a violent one. Within hours, hundreds of people gathered outside the Los Angeles Federal Building to denounce the crackdown and call for the release of David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, who was hurt and arrested while recording a raid, according to a statement from the labor organization.
The federal detention facility in downtown Los Angeles was the scene of large crowds on Friday night. Around seven o’clock in the evening, the 200 or so protesters who were still present were told to leave by the Los Angeles Police Department, which had declared an unlawful assembly. m.
Police approved the use of so-called less-lethal munitions at 8 p.m. after receiving reports of a small group of “violent individuals” hurling large pieces of concrete at officers. A. The LAPD stated. Shortly afterward, a tactical alert was issued for the entire city.
Federal authorities denounced the actions of protesters and threatened more repercussions as news of fresh raids surfaced Saturday morning.
“Violence and hatred have been stoked by the Left’s perilous rhetoric against courageous American law enforcement. White House spokesperson Abigail Johnson said in a statement that Democrats must immediately urge their supporters to halt the attacks on ICE officers who are just carrying out their duties and have every right to do so. If you hurt law enforcement, know that you will be held legally responsible to the fullest extent possible. “”.
Protesters have pledged to keep opposing the arrests.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, addressed the demonstration crowd, saying, “Our community is under attack and has been terrorized.”. Fathers, mothers, and workers are all represented here. “.”.
According to Mexico’s consul general in Los Angeles, Carlos González Gutiérrez, his team has identified at least 11 Mexican nationals who were taken into custody during raids throughout the Southland. Along with providing them with legal services, he claimed to be keeping an eye on the conditions of their incarceration.
“It appears that the detention facility is completely booked,” he stated. It appears that every cell is occupied. “.”.
ICE said that federal agents carried out four search warrants at three locations in central Los Angeles that were linked to the alleged harboring of illegal immigrants.
Salas reports that CHIRLA received over 50 calls on its hotline, including reports of ICE sightings and men in military uniforms in parking lots and in areas close to schools, Home Depot stores, and a doughnut café.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California CEO Connie Chung Joe said she was notified that immigration officers were visiting a Koreantown school.
After receiving medical attention at a hospital, Huerta, 58, was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center located in downtown L. 1. He was still being held there as of 5:30 p.m. m. according to a representative for SEIU.
According to a statement released by the hospital, “What happened to me is not about me; this is about something much bigger.”. “This concerns how we, as a community, unite and oppose the injustice that is taking place. People in our community and family who work hard are being treated like criminals. This insanity must be condemned by all of us together since it is unjust. “.”.
In a declaration about X, U. A. Attorney. According to Bill Essayli, Huerta blocked a federal agent’s car on Friday morning in an attempt to prevent them from entering a worksite where they were carrying out a warrant. According to Essayli, Huerta will be arraigned on Monday after being detained on suspicion of interfering with federal officers.
State, federal, county, and city elected officials representing Los Angeles issued a series of statements denouncing the Trump administration’s increase in deportations, denouncing the raids, and denouncing Huerta’s arrest.
“This is a democracy,” L. stated. a. Hahn, the county supervisor. “People are free to voice their opposition to injustice, observe law enforcement operations, and protest peacefully. “”.
Assistant Attorney. General. President Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, resisted Democratic elected officials’ support for Huerta.
Dhillon asserted that physically impeding law enforcement officials from carrying out a valid warrant is not protected by the First Amendment.
Advocates gathered outside Ambiance Apparel’s warehouse on Friday for several hours, yelling legal advice to those being held there. They obstructed traffic on the busy road by standing atop a long bed truck that was parked in the center of the road.
Speaking into a megaphone that muffled the sounds of the crowd, one person said, “You are not alone.”. “Never sign anything. Keep your origins a secret from them. “.”.
Katina Garcia, 18, pressed her face against the glass, searching for her father, who, like everyone else, had gone to work there that morning but lacked the necessary paperwork.
She said, “I’m in disbelief. We never thought it would happen to us.”. “”.
Over 100 people had gathered outside Ambiance Apparel when a horde of federal agents in riot gear arrived to confront them. This happened after a few hours.
As their column of armored personnel carriers arrived, they blared their truck sirens to announce their presence.
During the boisterous scene, one man yelled, “Pigs.”.
“Fascists,” said another.
After disembarking, the agents surrounded the gates that the demonstrators had attempted to block. While the armed agents shouted and were being filmed, some threw objects at them. Pepper spray was used to disperse the crowd.
While other agents in riot gear taped off the area, the agents who had been inside the store walked out and boarded at least a dozen people in the vans.
One woman yelled at an agent, “How do you sleep at night, tearing apart families.”. “What if they abducted your family?”.
First to depart were the vans carrying migrants. After that, the truck and tactical vehicle line retreated and headed in the opposite direction. The crowd followed, encircling the cars for at least a block while using cellphones to record. Before the protesters left, the agents used what seemed to be at least a dozen rounds of pepper spray and flash-bang grenades.
Eleven L. together. A. . In a joint statement, city council members denounced the “indiscriminate targeting of children and families” and vowed to defend immigrants.
“We categorically denounce this: Los Angeles was founded by immigrants, and it prospers due to immigrants,” the group said. In order to further extreme political agendas that seek to sow division and incite fear in our city, we will not tolerate fear tactics. “”.
The L and the Police Department. A. The County Sheriff’s Department stated in statements that they will not attempt to ascertain an individual’s immigration status or take part in any enforcement of civil immigration laws.
“Regardless of an individual’s legal status, we want our residents to know that when they call for assistance, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will respond, investigate, and protect everyone,” the department said in a statement.
Concerns were expressed by the American Civil Liberties Union and elected officials, including Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, regarding reports that the LAPD was helping ICE on Friday. During a demonstration against the immigration action at Ambiance Apparel’s warehouse, a crowd gathered at 15th Street and Santa Fe Avenue, where LAPD officers were seen in social media videos.
“We ask our local and state leaders: Where are you? What will you do to end this madness?” Andres Kwon, attorney and senior policy counsel at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, said, “when masked goons are kidnapping and locking Angelenos in basements, when police are using tear gas on protesters and legal observers exercising their First Amendment rights, and when union leaders are being brutalized for daring to oppose blatant injustice.
According to Kwon, city officials “broke their promise” to protect L. 1. It was denied by LAPD officials that the city was a sanctuary.
“Our federal partners called us when an officer needed assistance, and we responded by separating the parties in order to keep the peace,” said Jennifer Forkish, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. “Even though we were not involved in the operation, we still have a duty to assist any law enforcement agency that asks for immediate assistance. “”.
The immigration crackdown in Los Angeles on Friday coincides with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s pressure on ICE to begin making at least 3,000 arrests per day in order to fulfill Trump’s directive to launch the biggest deportation campaign in history.
During Trump’s first 100 days back in the White House, ICE reported an average of 660 arrests per day; this week, CBS reported that the agency had recorded 2,000 arrests per day, a significant increase.
The raids in Los Angeles also follow a number of recent enforcement actions in the Southland, such as an underground nightclub raid in Los Angeles where Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were arrested and an incident where ICE agents used flash-bang grenades during operations at two restaurants in San Diego.
Friday afternoon, U. S. S. . Sens. Alongside Representatives Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. The tactics employed during the San Diego raids were the subject of demands from Scott Peters (D-San Diego) and Juan Vargas (D-San Diego).
This alarming occurrence is not an isolated instance. Instead, the lawmakers said, “it seems to be a part of a larger pattern of dramatically heightened immigration enforcement operations nationwide.”. The appropriateness, proportionality, and effectiveness of ICE tactics are seriously called into question by these incidents. “”.
