Dozens of agents in tactical gear from ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) raided a company in Paramount this morning, where activists report the arrest of at least 65 workers.
Immigration raids at workplaces continued for a second consecutive day this Saturday in Los Angeles, where federal authorities once again clashed with protesters who opposed the operations and, at the same time, denied detainees access to lawyers and members of Congress.
Dozens of agents in tactical gear from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) raided a business in Paramount this morning, where activists report the arrest of at least 65 workers.
The community’s response was immediate; hundreds of protesters gathered to block the exit of federal vehicles. For more than two hours, officers repelled the protesters with tear gas.
Authorities used military tactics to disperse the protesters so they could transport the detainees in more than two dozen unmarked CBP vans.
Chants of “ICE out” were repeated throughout the day, which saw even more chaotic scenes than on Friday, when more than seven workplace raids were reported, including a donut shop.
Reports of immigration authorities’ presence in Latino supermarkets and other workplaces also filled social media this Saturday, warning that “La migra was on the hunt.”
Several protesters were reportedly arrested, as was the case yesterday when David Huerta, president of the California Service Employees International Union, was injured and detained while documenting an immigration enforcement raid in downtown Los Angeles.
Incommunicado
As protests unfolded on the streets of Los Angeles this Saturday, federal authorities denied entry to lawyers and U.S. congressmen who were trying to speak with immigrants at the Los Angeles ICE detention center.
“They told us that for security reasons they won’t let us in,” Congressman Jimmy Gómez told EFE.
The House representative from Los Angeles said he has received “very disturbing” reports about the conditions faced by detainees in his jurisdiction.
