LA Mayor, City Attorney Investigate Controversial ICE Raids Amid Court Order Violation Claims
LA Mayor, City Attorney Investigate Controversial ICE Raids Amid Court Order Violation Claims
Los Angeles is grappling with escalating tensions following a series of recent immigration raids, including a highly publicized “Operation Trojan Horse” at a Westlake Home Depot this past Wednesday. Federal agents, reportedly emerging from a Penske box truck, detained day laborers, reigniting concerns over potential violations of a standing court order.
The operations, which also included multiple raids last Friday and Saturday in Van Nuys, Cypress Park, and a Home Depot in Hollywood on Monday, have drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocates. Maegan Ortiz, executive director of Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California, alleges that agents are directly targeting day laborers and organizations, leading to at least 10 confirmed detentions in the Van Nuys incidents alone.
A key point of contention is a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by a U.S. district judge on July 11, which bars federal agents in Southern and Central California from targeting individuals based on race, language, vocation, or location without reasonable suspicion. This order was upheld last Friday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though the Trump administration has since appealed to the Supreme Court.
LA Mayor Karen Bass has voiced strong concerns, directing City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto to investigate whether the “Trojan Horse” style actions violated the TRO. “Rounding people up who are just trying to work and put food on the table doesn’t make anyone safer,” Bass stated. Feldstein Soto indicated that video evidence from the Westlake raid appears to show behavior specifically prohibited by the TRO, with the city exploring all legal options.
The Department of Homeland Security, through spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed the operations as “targeted immigration raids” resulting in seven arrests of undocumented immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, with four reportedly having criminal records. U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino defended the legality of the operations, stating they were based on pre-intelligence and targeted criminal activity, not indiscriminate sweeps. However, a recent Times review of ICE data found that a majority of people arrested in Southern California had no criminal history.
Protests have also erupted, with an unlawful assembly declared at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles last Friday due to escalating demonstrations against the raids.
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