LA Police Crack Down on Pro-Immigration Protests

Morocco World

6 hours ago

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids carried out across Los Angeles, California, on Friday have ignited mass protests and heightened debate over the aggressive direction of US immigration policy under the Trump administration.
The coordinated operation unfolded without warning, with convoys of unmarked, military-style vehicles and federal agents descending on multiple worksites in Los Angeles. According to local news reports, dozens of people were taken into custody during this sweep.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initially refused to disclose the total number of arrests, citing operational safety. A spokesperson simply stated that anyone in violation of immigration law, regardless of nationality, could be arrested, detained, and deported.
'This is not justice'
Estimates from immigrant rights groups suggested that between 45 and 80 individuals were detained. Among them was Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California President David Huerta, who was reportedly injured while in custody.
ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) later reported the arrest of 44 individuals for immigration-related offences.
'This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that's happening,' said Huerta in a public statement. 'Hard working people are being treated like criminals.'
'We all collectively have to object to the madness because this is not justice. This is injustice. And we all have to stand on the right side of injustice,' he added.
Activists say the operation lacked legal foundation. Caleb Soto of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network criticized ICE for failing to obtain judicial warrants, alleging that agents targeted known immigrant-heavy worksites, using people's fear and flight as a pretext for mass detentions.
'They use someone running as 'reasonable suspicion' of being undocumented and then arrest everyone nearby,' Soto said. 'That's not law enforcement—it's fear tactics.'
The raids triggered swift mobilization from the community with hundreds of protesters marching toward the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, where some detainees were believed to be held.
Demonstrators reportedly spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on a federal building before being confronted by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, who responded with tear gas and pepper spray, claiming that some protesters had thrown concrete debris.
LAPD swiftly declared the protest an unlawful assembly, raising questions about the city's commitment to protecting the right to dissent in the face of aggressive immigration enforcement.
Local officials issued immediate and vocal condemnations with all City Council members releasing a joint statement rejecting 'fear tactics to support extreme political agendas.'
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez directly challenged federal claims that ICE focuses on criminals, saying: 'It's never, ever, ever been the case. When they come for one of us, they come for all of us.'
Arrest quotas
The raids are part of a broader federal campaign aimed at drastically increasing immigration enforcement under president Trump.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem met last month with ICE leadership and demanded the agency increase arrests to 3,000 per day—reportedly threatening job loss for officials who didn't comply.
The result was a dramatic escalation in enforcement nationwide, including the detention of over 2,200 individuals in a single day in early June. Many of those detained had reportedly been enrolled in ICE's Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program – a monitoring system meant to offer a more humane and cost-effective substitute for incarceration while individuals await immigration proceedings.
Participants in the ATD program are typically subject to electronic ankle monitoring, biometric surveillance, or mandatory check-ins via phone or in person. Advocates argue that the decision to target individuals already complying with government oversight not only violates the spirit of the program but also undermines trust in any form of cooperation with immigration authorities.
Legal experts and immigrant advocacy groups have expressed alarm over these developments, warning that constitutional rights are ​​being eroded under the guise of policy.
Access to legal counsel remains limited — only three attorneys were reportedly allowed to meet with detainees following the Los Angeles raids.
Even prior to this escalation, immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area had already been intensifying. Between 2022 and 2024, ICE detentions surged by 155% to nearly 3,900 people, while removals rose by 180% to over 3,500. Among those without criminal records, the numbers were even more stark: detentions jumped by 432% and deportations by 547%.
As federal officials inflate arrest quotas to protect their jobs, immigrant communities across the US are left to endure the relentless terror imposed by a system more invested in punishment than justice.