Latest news with #CentroCSO
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Activists claim L.A. police protecting federal immigration agents
Dozens of community activists gathered outside the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown to blast the department on what they claim is collaboration with federal immigration enforcement operations. A Tuesday morning enforcement operation carried out by federal agents around East 9th Street and South Spring Street prompted the protest outside police headquarters. In footage of that incident obtained by KTLA, residents can be seen verbally confronting LAPD officers while federal officers appeared to be taking people into custody. 'You're seeing the videos, that's why everyone is out here,' Gabriel Quiroz Jr., with Centro CSO told the crowd assembled in front of the department. 'They saw the video of ICE and LAPD collaborating.' Ron Gochez, another activist who is with Union del Barrio, said that residents near the raid were coming out to defend those getting detained. 'Guess who protected the kidnappers who were kidnapping our people?' he said. 'LAPD officers.' For its part, L.A. police officials released a statement saying that just after 9 a.m., officers responded to the area on reports of a possible kidnapping in progress. 'Initial comments of the call indicated that several individuals were attempting to detain people without identifying themselves, prompting concern by bystanders,' officials said. Officials further stated that when officers arrived, the situation had escalated, with a growing, agitated crowd spilling into the street, creating a 'volatile and significant public safety hazard' in the busy downtown corridor. That's when additional units were called in to help manage the scene. 'At one point, a partially handcuffed woman approached and stood near a LAPD officer. After several minutes, a Federal agent approached and assumed control of the woman,' officials said. 'LAPD was not involved in her detention or arrest.' 'Where the cholos in L.A.?' Official accused of inciting violence against feds Activists, however, said that police officers keeping the public away from the federal immigration operation was a clear sign that the LAPD is helping the Department of Homeland Security and its other agencies execute raids. 'We have to call out that the sanctuary city, the claim of that is a myth and a lie,' Hamid Khan, with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, said at the demonstration. 'We have to shut down these nodes of information sharing because what it is, is a direct pipeline to deportation.' Clarifying its position further, LAPD's statement noted that officers' roles were limited to maintaining order and public safety. 'Officers remained on scene to de-escalate tensions. The federal agents did not notify LAPD of their planned enforcement activity in advance. The Department responded based solely on the initial radio call reporting a potential kidnapping.' Many of the activists at the rally didn't buy that, saying that removing undocumented people from the street without due process is kidnapping. 'Although there are a lot of people who have been kidnapped,' Gochez told the crowd, 'the situation would be much worse if it wasn't for the organized resistance of the people.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
IOL News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Protests spread across US despite Trump threats
Demonstrators and Centro CSO activists hold up signs during a press conference and rally at Salazar Park, in Boyle Heights, east of Los Angeles, California Image: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP Protests over hardline immigration tactics ignited across the United States Wednesday after days of demonstrations in Los Angeles, as California prepared for a legal showdown over President Donald Trump's deployment of the military. Over 1,000 people massed in America's second biggest city for a sixth day of protests, with the crowd peaceful as they marched through the streets. A second night of curfew was in place as city leaders try to get a handle on the after-dark vandalism and looting that scarred a few city blocks in the 500-square-mile (1,300 square kilometers) metropolis. "I would say for the most part everything is hunky dory right here at Ground Zero," protester Lynn Sturgis, 66, a retired school teacher, told AFP. "Our city is not at all on fire, it's not burning down, as our terrible leader is trying to tell you." The mostly peaceful protests ignited over a sudden escalation in efforts to apprehend migrants in the country illegally. Pockets of violence -- including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling stones at police -- were nothing the 8,500 officers of the Los Angeles Police Department had not dealt with before. Trump won the election last year partly on promises to combat what he claims is an "invasion" by undocumented migrants. He is now seizing the opportunity to make political capital, ordering the California National Guard to deploy despite Governor Gavin Newsom's objections, the first time a US president has taken such action in decades. "We're going to have a safe country," he told reporters on his way into a performance of "Les Miserables" in Washington. "We're not going to have what would have happened in Los Angeles. Remember, if I wasn't there... Los Angeles would have been burning to the ground." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Around 1,000 of the 4,700 troops Trump deployed were actively guarding facilities and working alongside ICE agents, said Scott Sherman, Deputy Commanding General Army North, who is leading operations. The rest -- including 700 active duty Marines -- were mustering or undergoing training to deal with civil disturbances, he said. The Pentagon has said the deployment will cost taxpayers $134 million. Governor Newsom, a Democrat widely viewed as eying a 2028 presidential run, has charged that Trump is seeking to escalate the confrontation for political gain. He warned Tuesday that the unprecedented militarization would creep beyond his state's borders, claiming "democracy is under assault right before our eyes." Lawyers for California were expected in court on Thursday to seek an order blocking troops from accompanying immigration officers as they arrest migrants. Trump administration lawyers called the application a "crass political stunt." Nationwide protests growing Despite Trump's threats to deploy the National Guard to other Democratic-run states, protesters appeared undeterred. Demonstrations were reported in St Louis, Raleigh, Manhattan, Indianapolis, Spokane and Denver. In San Antonio, hundreds marched and chanted near city hall, reports said, where Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has deployed the state's National Guard. A nationwide "No Kings" movement was expected on Saturday, when Trump will attend a highly unusual military parade in the US capital. The parade, featuring warplanes and tanks, has been organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army but also happens to be the day of Trump's 79th birthday.
