Crowds of demonstrators gathered outside Pico Rivera City Hall to protest after a U.S. citizen, who reportedly attempted to intervene as federal immigration agents were speaking to another man, was taken into custody after a violent physical confrontation Tuesday.
The incident unfolded in the parking lot of a sprawling retail center housing a Lowes Home Improvement store in the 8600 block of Washington Boulevard.
In footage of the incident, at least a half-dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are seen in a struggle with a young man, identified by family members as Adrian Andrew Martinez.
Amid the fight, someone can be heard screaming, “He’s a U.S. Citizen!”
The young man appeared to be fighting back but was quickly taken to the ground and overpowered by additional agents before he was put into the back of a U.S. Customs and Border protection vehicle.
Family told KTLA’s Sara Welch that Martinez was trying to stand up for a man who was being questioned by ICE agents when the confrontation grew physical.
Footage of the incident did not capture the moments before the struggle, and it’s unclear what exactly led to the incident.
“I heard he tried defending the janitor they tried taking,” said a man who witnessed the scuffle but did not want to be identified on camera. “I went to school with him, he’s younger than me. I know his sister.”
The incident sparked protests outside city hall where demonstrators were calling on city officials to do more to help the community.
“We are actually very concerned about what happened here in the city today,” Steve Carmona, Pico Rivera City Manager, told KTLA. “We have been over the last few weeks putting out information on our social media platforms and, in addition to that, pushing out other information from the county, state and federal legislators on how residents and our immigrant community can access resources and help in case they need it.”
Despite the federal government’s stance that it’s only targeting undocumented residents with criminal background, internal government documents obtained by CNN show that less than 10% of the estimated 185,000 people arrested by ICE between Oct. 2024 and May 2025 have convictions of serious crimes, such as rape, murder, assault or robbery.
More than 75% of those taken into custody during that same period, according to the documents, had no criminal conviction beyond an immigration or traffic-related offense.
“They’re getting everybody,” a demonstrator, Anthony Islas, said. “They’re getting people at carwashes that are working, that are selling flowers, that are selling ice cream. It’s not just criminals.”
While other residents said they have spotted ICE agents in other parts of Pico Rivera, Martinez’s family is still trying to find out where he was taken.
“It’s just heartbreaking that they’re taking people,” the man who witnessed the incident said. “Sometimes those people are U.S. citizens and it’s just sad.”
KTLA has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and is awaiting a response.
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