Immigration raids Friday led to the arrests of dozens of people and caused hours of chaos in downtown L.A.
Here is what we know so far:
Where were the raids?
Federal agents hit several locations including the Ambiance Apparel in garment district, where many were detained and authorities clashed with protesters, and a Home Depot in the Westlake District.
At Ambiance Apparel, immigration authorities detained employees inside a clothing wholesaler, and used flash-bang grenades and pepper spray on a crowd protesting the raid around 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Agents surrounded the gates protesters had tried to block. Some threw objects at the agents, as they yelled and filmed them. To disperse the crowd, pepper spray was used.
The agents who had been inside the store walked out at least a dozen individuals and boarded them in the vans as other agents in riot gear taped off the area.
The vans filled with migrants left first, followed by the line of tactical vehicles and trucks. The agents used what appeared to be at least a dozen rounds of flash-bang grenades and pepper spray before protesters dispersed.
There were reports of other actions but they could not be confirmed.
Who was detained?
Forty-four people were administratively arrested and one person was arrested for obstruction during Friday’s immigration action, said Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE. Federal agents executed four search warrants related to the suspected harboring of people illegally in the country at three locations in central Los Angeles, she said.
Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, said his team has identified at least 11 Mexican nationals who were detained during raids across the Southland. The office is offering them legal services, and he said he is monitoring detention conditions.
What about the SEIU president?
Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta was injured and detained while documenting an immigration enforcement raid in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
Huerta, 58, was treated at a hospital and then transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A.
“What happened to me is not about me; This is about something much bigger,” he said in a statement from the hospital. “This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that’s happening. Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice.”
Many elected officials expressed outrage at the arrest and called for his release.
In a statement on X, U.S. Atty. 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. Huerta was arrested on suspicion of interfering with federal officers and will be arraigned Monday, Essayli said.
What about the protests?
Scores of protesters converged at the Metropolitan Detention Center on Friday afternoon and evening, at times clashing with agents. Some vandalized the building.
The Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly and ordered about 200 protesters who remained gathered by the Los Angeles Federal Building to disperse around 7 p.m.
The use of so-called less-lethal munitions was authorized at 8 p.m. following reports of a small group of “violent individuals” throwing large pieces of concrete at officers, police said. A citywide tactical alert was issued shortly thereafter.
By midnight, most of the protesters had left the area.
It was unclear whether anyone was arrested or injured during the protest.
What was the reaction?
The raid met with swift condemnation across Los Angeles by politicians.
On Friday afternoon, U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla — alongside California Reps. Scott Peters and Juan Vargas — demanded an investigation into the tactics used during the San Diego raids.
“This troubling incident is not an isolated case. Rather, it appears to be part of a broader pattern of escalated and theatrical immigration enforcement operations across the country,” the lawmakers stated. “These events raise serious questions about the appropriateness, proportionality, and execution of ICE tactics.”
Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement saying: “It sows a sense of terror in the community. It’s bad enough that it happened at this location, but the way this goes and spreads throughout the community, people are not sure where they are safe.”
That sparked a response from White House deputy chief of staff and immigration crackdown advocate Stephen Miller.
Miller responded to Bass on X: “You have no say in this at all. Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced.”
What do we know about the case itself?
Officials have released few details.
But Essayli told KNBC it was part of “stepped-up” enforcement efforts.
“My office prepared search warrants for particular businesses where there’s probable cause that they are using fictitious documents to employ people,” Essayli told the station.
