On the July 4 holiday, federal agents arrested more immigrants as part of ongoing raids that have rounded up more than 1,600 for deportation in Southern California.
In West Hollywood, video footage broadcast by NBC 4-LA showed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in bulletproof vests at the Santa Palm Car Wash on Friday morning. Two people who have worked at the car wash for decades were detained, two other workers told The Times on Saturday.
A man whose father was detained told NBC 4-LA that he didn’t know what prompted the raid.
“He’s not a criminal,” said the man, who asked not to be identified. “He wasn’t doing anything he wasn’t supposed to. He came in to work on the Fourth of July.”
West Hollywood officials criticized the raid.
“On a day meant to honor the ideals of liberty, democracy, and freedom from oppression, we instead confront a deeply troubling reminder of federal overreach. Independence Day should be a time for reflection and reverence, not fear and persecution,’’ they said in a statement on the city website.
Federal agents also detained a food vendor in front of a Target on Eagle Rock Boulevard on Friday, according to video shared on social media from the scene. The birria stand is a longtime, beloved staple for the Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Glassell Park neighborhoods. A GoFundMe started by the vendor’s brother raised more than $16,000 overnight to hire an attorney and support the vendor’s three children.
Protests have continued amid the raids. Fans of the Galaxy soccer team left the stands on Friday over the owners’ lack of public support for immigrants and the team’s fans, who are majority Latino. Others who typically sing, chant and play drums and trumpets stood in silence during the 12th minute of the match against Vancouver. Fans also raised a banner that read “Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”
In downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department made five arrests on Friday at demonstrations protesting anti-immigration enforcement downtown, a department official said.
In a post on X, the LAPD said that most participants were peaceful but “once again, as the evening approached, outside agitators began to cause issues.”
The post No holiday for ICE, as immigration raids continued on July 4 appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
