Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins ICE operation in L.A. County
Videos from an early morning immigration enforcement operation showed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accompanying numerous federal agents raiding a Huntington Park home Thursday.
Resident Sabrina Medina and her neighbors recorded the video after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents started banging on her front door.
"They kept on telling me, 'Where is your husband?' and I said, 'He's not here,'" Medina recalled. "They were like, 'Where is he? Stop hiding him.' I'm not hiding him. He's not here."
The agents claimed Medina's husband was in the country illegally and had a criminal record. Medina said he was arrested eight years ago, but the charges were later dropped.
"He just wants to be a father to my kids," she said. "He's not a criminal. He's not a gangbanger. He has no tattoos, but my name and my daughter's name, nothing else."
Medina has four children and is currently four months pregnant. She said she cooperated with the federal agents, but most of the officers kept their weapons drawn, despite her children being around.
While agents did show her a piece of paper they claimed was a search warrant, she says they were already inside the home by the time she could thoroughly read it.
"I just wanted my kids out of the house," Medina said.
Medina and her neighbors called Noem's presence at the raid unsettling and frightening.
"They were laughing," Medina said. "They wanted to see a show, and that makes me feel very humiliated."
Neighbor Johanna Rochin said the operation made her fear for her safety.
"I'm angry, scared, worried for the family, scared for my own safety," Rochin said. "They're targeting Hispanic communities. So now, I'm scared to even go out, even if I'm a U.S. citizen."
Medina said ICE agents told her they'd return until they find her husband.
"It's a nightmare," she said. "Seeing everybody's family, not just because of my husband. I've seen my friends. I've seen relatives, the people at Home Depot, getting chased. It just hurts me."
Medina said she may leave the country if her husband is taken, fearing she won't be able to support the family on her own.
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