Federal officials confirmed on Saturday that 37 individuals were detained through three Home Depot raids across Los Angeles earlier in the week.
The information provided lined up with the reports that came into KTLA on Monday, June 30, about dozens of people being detained at Home Depots in Cypress Park, Hollywood and North Hollywood.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security responded to KTLA’s June 30 inquiry regarding reports of Home Depot raids, saying that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested 14 people during an operation on Figueroa Street, 11 in North Hollywood and 12 on Sunset Boulevard.
“Criminal histories of those detained include drug trafficking, firearm offenses, theft, forgery, DUIs, and battery,” stated the DHS spokesperson.
One immigration rights activist told KTLA’s Kimberly Cheng that the Cypress Park raid happened around 10 a.m. “It was about nine to 10 Border Patrol vehicles, very clearly marked, they actually tried to go into our day labor center there to try to grab people,” she said. “We locked the gates, but they grabbed anywhere from 15 to 30 people there.”
The woman told KTLA that she then rushed to the raid at the Home Depot on Sunset Boulevard, which had also been raided about a week and a half prior. During that first raid, ICE agents were purportedly seen taking about 30 people into custody. Officials said 12 people were taken from the same location on June 30.
“We know between 11:30 and 12 p.m., about six unmarked vehicles — some already in the Home Depot parking lot — just came out and started grabbing people,” said the activist.
The DHS spokesperson, who confirmed the total number of people detained that day, stated, “DHS and its components continue to enforce the law every day in greater Los Angeles and throughout the country.”
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