Federal agents raid Home Depot in Westlake District
Federal law enforcement officials appear to have engaged in another immigration crackdown in Los Angeles Friday morning.
At a Home Depot in the Westlake District near downtown Los Angeles, masked officers wearing vests emblazoned with HSI for Homeland Security Investigations could be seen taking at least a couple of people into custody.
Footage shared to the Citizen app shows what appears to be advocates for migrants trying to confront law enforcement, but their efforts to free those detained were unsuccessful.
When Sky5 arrived on scene just after 10 a.m., HSI agents had left the scene, but dozens of people remained, including the advocates who attempted to stop the detentions.
Federal agents have targeted Southern California Home Depot stores with similar actions in the past.
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Read more: Multiple immigration sweeps reported across L.A., with a tense standoff downtown 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. 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. 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