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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
How immigration raids at Ambiance Apparel and Home Depot led to the Los Angeles protests
LOS ANGELES — Four days of unrest in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump's push to increase immigrant arrests and deportations have led to the arrests of at least 56 people, clashes between protesters and law enforcement officials and the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines in the country's second-largest city. How did this happen? The tensions started Friday, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and others arrested over 40 immigrants in raids targeting day laborers at a Home Depot parking lot and workers at the Ambiance Apparel clothing manufacturer, searching for 'fictitious employee documents.' As news of the raids spread fear and panic, relatives and protesters arrived to confront the federal agents wearing camouflage and bulletproof vests. Some protesters tried to stop vehicles carrying detained immigrants or used other methods to block arrests. Soon the clashes turned violent, with officers using pepper spray and batons, pushing crowds back with riot shields as some protesters fled or retaliated. A prominent labor leader was among those arrested. The protests spread from downtown Los Angeles into the communities of Paramount and Compton, where rumors of arrests also added to the flaring tensions. Trump, acting without agreement from state leaders, called in the California National Guard on Saturday. By Sunday, the troops, outfitted with heavy military equipment, had moved into the streets of downtown Los Angeles in a show of force in the state with the largest immigrant population. Trump said on his social media site, Truth Social, that he had directed the homeland security and defense secretaries and Attorney General Pam Bondi 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.' But the clashes dragged on through the day and into the night, with looting and driverless cars' being set on fire. The families of the arrested immigrants have accused the government of 'kidnapping' their loved ones. Meanwhile, the presence of the troops has set up a battle between the Trump administration and lawmakers in a state that is known for its liberal immigration policies. About two dozen members of the detained workers' families showed up to a rally and news conference outside Ambiance Apparel on Monday, holding up homemade signs with photos of their loved ones next to birthday cakes, holding their kids and smiling. 'It has been incredibly painful to witness the arrest of my father and of his co-workers,' said Saraí Ortiz, who said her father, José Ortiz, was among those arrested. 'My father gave 18 years of his life to this company,' she said at a news conference outside the site of the raid Friday. 'He was always here. He was a loyal worker.' At least four people at the news conference said they hadn't received updates from immigration authorities or been able to communicate with their detained family members. Jerónimo Martínez, 39, said in an interview through an interpreter that he's worried about Lázaro Maldonado, his nephew, because the family hasn't had any communication with him since Friday. 'I don't know where they've taken him,' Martínez said. 'I don't know what place he might be in, so I am worried.' A young man who identified himself as Carlos said he considers his brother, José, to have been 'kidnapped,' because his brother was taken by force in the Ambiance raid and is being held without being able to contact relatives or lawyers, which he said is the definition of kidnapping. 'The only crime he committed was trying to live a better life and trying to get ahead and work. Because of that dream, I had to witness him being chained up like he was some dangerous animal. The whole process wasn't just inhumane; it was illegal,' Carlos said. Trump also mobilized about 700 Marines on Monday to support the National Guard in protecting federal personnel and property, U.S. Northern Command said in a statement. California Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed anarchists and troublemakers for the fires and any violence, not peaceful protesters, but he said, 'Donald Trump at the end of the day is the sponsor of these conditions." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement on X that 'Trump didn't inherit a crisis — he created one.' California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration for federalizing the state's National Guard troops and deploying them to quell protests over objections of California government leaders. The raids were a striking departure by the administration from Trump's campaign statements that his plans for mass deportation would focus on violent immigrant criminals. The raids follow weeks of ICE officers and other federal agents' showing up at immigration courts across the country, including in California, to arrest people as they left the courthouses where their cases were dismissed. Those arrests have been accompanied by video on social media or captured by news outlets of some family members being arrested and of young children standing nearby as a parent or parents are handcuffed or restrained with zip ties. Increasingly, people are seeing ICE arrest and take away immigrants who've lived and worked in the United States for years or are part of their community, including people who are seeking asylum or had other temporary legal protection from deportation. NBC News reported last week that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, angry over what he saw as low numbers of arrests and deportations, ordered senior ICE officials to begin detaining 3,000 migrants a day or be fired. Amid the turmoil, ICE was already ramping up arrests by using thousands more federal law enforcement personnel and up to 21,000 National Guard troops in what it had dubbed 'Operation At Large," NBC News reported. Before the clashes in Los Angeles, smaller confrontations between protesters and law enforcement had begun to erupt in other cities around the country. In Chicago on Wednesday, chaos unfolded as protesters confronted ICE officers over arrests during scheduled check-ins with immigration officials. In San Diego, a surprise raid by armed federal officers at a popular Italian restaurant drew protests. Officers dispersed the crowd with what were identified as flash bang grenades. In Los Angeles, protests and tensions continued. Tyler Kingkade reported from Los Angeles and Suzanne Gamboa from San Antonio. This article was originally published on
NBC News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
How immigration raids at Ambiance Apparel and Home Depot led to the Los Angeles protests
LOS ANGELES — Four days of unrest in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump's push to increase immigrant arrests and deportations have led to the arrests of at least 56 people, clashes between protesters and law enforcement officials and the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines in the country's second-largest city. How did this happen? The tensions started Friday, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and others arrested over 40 immigrants in raids targeting day laborers at a Home Depot parking lot and workers at the Ambiance Apparel clothing manufacturer, searching for 'fictitious employee documents.' As news of the raids spread fear and panic, relatives and protesters arrived to confront the federal agents wearing camouflage and bulletproof vests. Some protesters tried to stop vehicles carrying detained immigrants or used other methods to block arrests. Soon the clashes turned violent, with officers using pepper spray and batons, pushing crowds back with riot shields as some protesters fled or retaliated. A prominent labor leader was among those arrested. The protests spread from downtown Los Angeles into the communities of Paramount and Compton, where rumors of arrests also added to the flaring tensions. Trump, acting without agreement from state leaders, called in the California National Guard on Saturday. By Sunday, the troops, outfitted with heavy military equipment, had moved into the streets of downtown Los Angeles in a show of force in the state with the largest immigrant population. Trump said on his social media site, Truth Social, that he had directed the homeland security and defense secretaries and Attorney General Pam Bondi 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.' But the clashes dragged on through the day and into the night, with looting and driverless cars' being set on fire. The families of the arrested immigrants have accused the government of 'kidnapping' their loved ones. Meanwhile, the presence of the troops has set up a battle between the Trump administration and lawmakers in a state that is known for its liberal immigration policies. 'I don't know where they've taken him' About two dozen members of the detained workers' families showed up to a rally and news conference outside Ambiance Apparel on Monday, holding up homemade signs with photos of their loved ones next to birthday cakes, holding their kids and smiling. 'It has been incredibly painful to witness the arrest of my father and of his co-workers,' said Saraí Ortiz, who said her father, José Ortiz, was among those arrested. 'My father gave 18 years of his life to this company,' she said at a news conference outside the site of the raid Friday. 'He was always here. He was a loyal worker.' At least four people at the news conference said they hadn't received updates from immigration authorities or been able to communicate with their detained family members. Jerónimo Martínez, 39, said in an interview through an interpreter that he's worried about Lázaro Maldonado, his nephew, because the family hasn't had any communication with him since Friday. 'I don't know where they've taken him,' Martínez said. 'I don't know what place he might be in, so I am worried.' A young man who identified himself as Carlos said he considers his brother, José, to have been 'kidnapped,' because his brother was taken by force in the Ambiance raid and is being held without being able to contact relatives or lawyers, which he said is the definition of kidnapping. 'The only crime he committed was trying to live a better life and trying to get ahead and work. Because of that dream, I had to witness him being chained up like he was some dangerous animal. The whole process wasn't just inhumane; it was illegal,' Carlos said. Trump also mobilized about 700 Marines on Monday to support the National Guard in protecting federal personnel and property, U.S. Northern Command said in a statement. California Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed anarchists and troublemakers for the fires and any violence, not peaceful protesters, but he said, 'Donald Trump at the end of the day is the sponsor of these conditions." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement on X that 'Trump didn't inherit a crisis — he created one.' California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration for federalizing the state's National Guard troops and deploying them to quell protests over objections of California government leaders. The raids were a striking departure by the administration from Trump's campaign statements that his plans for mass deportation would focus on violent immigrant criminals. The raids follow weeks of ICE officers and other federal agents' showing up at immigration courts across the country, including in California, to arrest people as they left the courthouses where their cases were dismissed. Those arrests have been accompanied by video on social media or captured by news outlets of some family members being arrested and of young children standing nearby as a parent or parents are handcuffed or restrained with zip ties. Increasingly, people are seeing ICE arrest and take away immigrants who've lived and worked in the United States for years or are part of their community, including people who are seeking asylum or had other temporary legal protection from deportation. NBC News reported last week that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, angry over what he saw as low numbers of arrests and deportations, ordered senior ICE officials to begin detaining 3,000 migrants a day or be fired. Amid the turmoil, ICE was already ramping up arrests by using thousands more federal law enforcement personnel and up to 21,000 National Guard troops in what it had dubbed 'Operation At Large," NBC News reported. Before the clashes in Los Angeles, smaller confrontations between protesters and law enforcement had begun to erupt in other cities around the country. In Chicago on Wednesday, chaos unfolded as protesters confronted ICE officers over arrests during scheduled check-ins with immigration officials. In San Diego, a surprise raid by armed federal officers at a popular Italian restaurant drew protests. Officers dispersed the crowd with what were identified as flash bang grenades. In Los Angeles, protests and tensions continued.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Kidnapped': families and lawyers desperate to contact LA workers arrested in Ice raids
Gabriel says he has not been able to speak to his brother Jacob, since Jacob was arrested in a raid by armed immigration officials and federal agents on the Ambiance Apparel warehouse in the Los Angeles fashion district on Friday. Yurien Contreras doesn't know how her father, Mario Romero, is doing either. 'I witnessed how they put my father in handcuffs, chained him from the waist and from his ankles,' Contreras said at a press conference in LA on Monday morning. 'My family and I haven't had communication with my dad. We don't know anything.' Jacob and Romero were among dozens of people arrested in immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles this weekend, raids that sparked a roaring backlash and eventually led to the deployment of the national guard in the city. They were 'kidnapped' by agents, Contreras said. 'I demand due process for my father and the dozens of other workers.' The raids in the fashion district were followed by enforcement actions in the nearby city of Paramount, where federal agents cuffed and detained laborers at a Home Depot. Agents were also spotted outside a donut shop in nearby Compton, and around schools. Some of the families of those detained gathered outside Ambiance on Monday, demanding the release of their loved ones. Some, like Jacob, were the sole breadwinners in their families. Others, like José Ortiz, had worked in LA's garment district for years – Ortiz had been with Ambiance for 18 years. 'He was always here. He was a loyal worker,' his daughter Saraí Ortiz said. 'He is someone who gave his life to this community and to his work.' Carlos Gonzalez said his older brother José Paulino was taken away not only from his siblings and mother, but also from 'one of the friendliest and most loving dogs I have ever met'. At least 14 of those detained were members of the Episcopalian Diocese of Los Angeles. 'Fourteen members of one of our Episcopal churches couldn't be in church this morning on the Day of Pentecost. Their government ripped them from the arms of their families at home and the body of Christ at church,' said Los Angeles bishop John Harvey Taylor. Loved ones and lawyers are still scrambling to find where all of them were taken. 'As police shot flash bangs overhead, I begged officers to let me meet with those who were detained,' said Elaina Jung Hee Vermeulen, a legal fellow at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. 'Instead of upholding the constitutional rights of those detained, they prepared to repress those rising up against these atrocities.' The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that 118 immigrants were arrested this week, and released the names of some of those in its custody, alleging criminal violations. But the administration's border czar, Tom Homan, also admitted that the agency was arresting people without criminal records. The raids at workplaces – pushed by Homan and by White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller – come amid a broader push to speed up arrests and deportations. Homan said the LA area is likely to see more enforcement this week, even as thousands of national guard deployed to the city prepared to quell protests against the raids. Lawyers from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), found that immigrants apprehended in LA were initially detained in the basement of a federal immigration building. 'As attorneys, we are disgusted by DHS's blatant betrayal of basic human dignity as we witness hundreds of people held in deplorable conditions without food, water, or beds for 12-plus hours,' said Lindsay Toczylowski, president of ImmDef. 'This is an urgent moment for our country to wake up to the terror Ice is inflicting on communities and take action.' Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held a rally in downtown Los Angeles demanding the 'humane treatment and access to lawyers for all detainees'. At least of the people arrested over the weekend were almost immediately put on a bus and deported to Mexico, said Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, a deportation defense attorney supporting the impacted families. 'And when they were removed, they weren't given any paperwork, which is highly unusual and irregular,' he said. Others were taken to the immigration detention centers Adelanto, California – more than a two-hour drive from downtown LA – or El Paso, Texas. 'All of this smacks of lawlessness – there have been violations of many, many rights.' The workplace raids were especially brazen, lawyers said, after a federal judge in April issued a preliminary injunction forbidding warrantless immigration stops. The injunction applied to a wide swath of California, and came after CBP conducted similar raids in California's agricultural Kern county in January. 'You can't just racially and ethnically profile people and arrest them and ask questions later,' said Reyes Savalza, noting that many of those arrested had no criminal history and could apply for various forms of immigration relief if they were allowed to contact attorneys. 'If the federal government can come and kidnap people without disclosing any information as to the reason for those arrests, every person in this country should be appalled and terrified,' he added.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Home Depot caught in the crosshairs of L.A. immigrations raids
America's best-known hardware store chain, Home Depot, has found itself at the center of the federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, and the subsequent protests. On Friday, a Home Depot in the Westlake neighborhood was among several locations hit by federal agents, who also raided Ambiance Apparel in the garment district in downtown L.A. as part of a crackdown that led to the arrests of dozens of people. The arrests outside Home Depot targeted day laborers hired by the chain's customers, including homeowners and contractors who rely on undocumented workers for home repair and construction jobs. Read more: What really happened outside the Paramount Home Depot? The reality on the ground vs. the rhetoric Day laborers have been crucial to rebuilding efforts after Los Angeles County's devastating January firestorms. On Saturday, a Home Depot in the predominantly Latino suburb of Paramount, which is south of Los Angeles, also became the site of clashes between protesters and authorities. After a weekend of protests, officials also carried out raids at Home Depot locations in Whittier and Huntington Park on Monday morning, and reports of additional raids at other Southern California Home Depot locations spread across social media. A spokesperson for Home Depot confirmed Monday that the company had not been notified of any of the raids at its locations ahead of time and that the company was not involved in any of the operations. The Atlanta-based chain now faces a difficult situation, with its locations serving as a frequent site of raids, potentially turning away customers. Home Depot shares closed at $36.20, down 0.6%, on Monday. The company reported revenue of nearly $40 billion in its fiscal first quarter this year, up 9% from a year earlier. Net earnings for the quarter were $3.4 billion, down from $3.6 billion during the same period last year. It's not the first time the company has made headlines as the subject of controversy. Home Depot's co-founder Bernie Marcus donated at least $14 million to support Donald Trump's first presidency and pledged to support his reelection bid. Marcus, who died in 2024, had a reputation as a Republican megadonor. Protesters called for a boycott of the company in 2019 over his donations. The chain has tried to distance itself from its founder, stressing that he left the company in 2002 and that his donations and statements were not on behalf of Home Depot. Home Depot locations have been for decades convenient spots for contractors and those embarking on home improvement projects to hire skilled laborers. The construction industry in Southern California depends heavily on immigrants and day laborers, a reliance that has been highlighted by recent fire recovery efforts in the region. Jorge Nicolás, a senior organizer at a day labor center run by the Central American Resource Center, or CARECEN, said day laborers often take on undesirable jobs or jobs with tough conditions, making them crucial to many construction jobs. 'The majority of immigrant workers usually are used to help developers control construction costs and stay within the timelines that they have projected,' he said. 'Those are the extra hands that are needed.' Nicolás was in Westlake on Friday when immigration officials carried out a sweep outside of the Home Depot there. CARECEN's day labor center is just minutes away from the store. He described the scene as chaotic, and even workers who he knows have legal status were fleeing in fear, he said. 'We felt powerless,' Nicolás said. 'They're not arresting motorcycle gang members. They're not arresting international drug dealers. They're arresting grandpas. They're just arresting people that are very humble and looking for an opportunity, just trying to get a decent living.' By Monday afternoon, the parking lot of the Home Depot in Huntington Park was busy, with nearly 100 cars and pickup trucks filling the lot. There were few signs that a raid had taken place just hours earlier, but Bradley Cortez and his friends stood in the lot, keeping their eyes peeled. They came shortly after they got word of the raid, but Cortez said they were too late. He drove from Bellflower, roughly 10 miles south of Huntington Park, in hopes of helping the 'hardworking men' who were being targeted by immigration officials. 'I'll put my life at risk because I've I got papers. I was born here, so if I'm able to help somebody, of course I'll help them,' said the 23-year-old, who works in construction and frequents Home Depot locations himself to find jobs. 'It is a little scary being out here, but that's what is being brave about," he said. "Being brave is when you're scared. And I'm being brave for my people.' Times staff writer Ruben Vives contributed to this report. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Families of detained Indigenous workers speak out after Los Angeles immigration operations
Community leaders and the families of immigrants detained by federal law enforcement at a Los Angeles warehouse last week spoke out on Monday, calling on California leaders to step up their efforts to protect local migrants. The news conference was held outside of an Ambiance Apparel warehouse in South L.A. On Friday, SKYCal footage showed federal agents detaining people outside of the warehouse, as well as at an Ambiance storefront in the Fashion District on Towne Avenue. Outside of that warehouse on Monday, families affected by the operations gathered with signs showing pictures of their loved ones, offering their support. The family members of those detained say agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement took dozens of workers away from the facilities. "Our loved ones were kidnapped on Friday, June 6, by ICE, with the support of the Los Angeles Police Department," said Perla Rios, an Indigenous community leader in L.A., through a translator. "These workers are heads of households, where they have left their families and loved ones to fend for themselves." LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has repeatedly refuted claims that the department aided ICE in conducting immigration enforcement. "While the LAPD will continue to have a visible presence in all our communities to ensure public safety, we will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations, nor will the LAPD try to determine an individual's immigration status," McDonnell said on Friday. LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 6, 2025 - - An employee of Ambiance Apparel talks with protesters behind the gate after several employees from the company were taken into custody by federal agents in the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles on June 5, 2025. Dozens of protesters gathered at that location and at one point, federal agents had to shove protesters out of the path of a van that was being driven into the building's parking lot. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Genaro Molina Elena Jung Jee Vermeulen, a fellow for the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said she was affected by flashbangs while attempting to speak with detained individuals on Sunday by police dressed in riot gear. "Instead of upholding the constitutional rights of those detained, [law enforcement] prepared to repress those rising up against these atrocities," she said. A man who identified himself only as Carlos described seeing his brother being taken away by ICE agents. "The only crime he committed was trying to live a better life and trying to get ahead and work," said a man who identified himself only as Carlos, speaking about his brother. "Because of that dream, I had to watch him get chained up like he was some kind of animal." Carlos questioned why local and state officials weren't doing more to prevent federal agents from conducting the operations in L.A. "Where's the sanctuary California promised us," he questioned. SB-54, otherwise known as the California Values Act, and signed into law by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017, designated California as a "sanctuary state." The law ensures that public resources, such as a local police department, are not used to assist federal immigration enforcement like ICE.
