Federal immigration agents raided several locations in the downtown Los Angeles area on Friday, apparently detaining dozens of people while encountering protesters.
At a Home Depot in the Westlake District near downtown Los Angeles, masked officers wearing vests emblazoned with HSI — an acronym for Homeland Security Investigations — were seen taking people into custody.
Footage shared to the Citizen app shows what appears to be advocates for migrants trying to confront law enforcement, but their efforts to free those detained were unsuccessful.
When Sky5 arrived on the scene just after 10 a.m., HSI agents had already left, but dozens of people remained, including the advocates who had attempted to stop the detentions. Federal agents have targeted other Home Depot stores with similar actions in recent weeks and months.
Also on Friday, agents raided two Ambiance Apparel locations in downtown Los Angeles. KTLA’s Rich Prickett reported from Sky5 that about two dozen people were detained.
Agents also engaged in crowd control as a large crowd of demonstrators gathered at one Ambiance location, 930 Towne Ave. in downtown L.A.’s Fashion District. At least one protester fell to the ground as he attempted to stop a law enforcement SUV from leaving the location.
A spokesperson for the law enforcement agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is in the Department of Homeland Security, declined to “confirm or discuss the existence or status of operations.”
“The agency publicly announces the results of operations when appropriate. As part of its routine operations, ICE arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.”
The FBI confirmed to KTLA that it is participating in the HSI raids, not just in Los Angeles but nationwide, “as directed by the Attorney General.”
“As we have been asked to do, we are sending Agents to participate in these immigration enforcement efforts,” the statement said. “That includes assisting in cities where major operations are already underway and where we have special agents embedded on operational teams with DHS. Our help may vary depending on what DHS needs, such as SWAT operators, who can support high risk arrest operations, and other resources such as intelligence analysts and technical support working from command posts.”
In a statement, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell noted that the department is not involved in “civil immigration enforcement.”
“We will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations, nor will the LAPD try to determine an individual’s immigration status … I want everyone, including our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in their time of need and know that the LAPD will be there for you without regard to one’s immigration status,” he said.
Some critics of the LAPD, however, stipulated that police indeed helped with the raids.
Though officers may not have been personally handcuffing and detaining people, they set up a perimeter to allow the operation at the Ambiance factory at 2415 E. 15th St. to continue, said left-leaning social media account People’s City Council – Los Angeles.
“ANOTHER clear example of the LAPD & the City of Los Angeles collaborating with ICE & proving that the ‘Sanctuary City’ was always bulls—!” they wrote. “[Mayor Karen Bass’] silence is support of this.”
Bass declined to comment on the raids when asked by KTLA, though she later issued a statement.
“This morning, we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles,” she said. “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. My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.”
Nidia Becerra, Luis Zuniga and Marc Sternfield contributed to this report.
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