THE United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided several locations in Los Angeles on Friday, sparking mass protests downtown.
As immigration crackdowns continue across Southern California and the nation, the raids have resulted in at least 44 individuals being detained, igniting widespread protests, confrontations and chaos in the second-largest US city.
As videos posted online showed, about a hundred protesters were in a standoff with immigration agents on Friday noon, when several workers were taken into custody in handcuffs at a clothing store in the Fashion District.
The Service Employees International Union California issued a statement saying the union’s president, David Huerta, was “injured and detained” during the raid.
Huerta was arrested for “interfering with federal officers” as he “deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle,” said United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli in an X post.
Essayli also said federal agents were serving a search warrant in the Fashion District for alleged fictitious employee documents. He said there’s reason to believe an employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers.
In the evening, about 500 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles to protest the raids. Large crowds walked through the area holding signs and chanting “ICE out of LA”.
Xinhua
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