Immigration raids in Los Angeles trigger mass protests

LOS ANGELES -- The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided several locations in Los Angeles on Friday, sparking mass protests downtown.

As immigration crackdowns continue across Southern California and the nation, the raids have resulted in at least 44 individuals being detained, igniting widespread protests, confrontations and chaos in the second-largest US city.

As videos posted online showed, about a hundred protesters were in a standoff with immigration agents on Friday noon, when several workers were taken into custody in handcuffs at a clothing store in the Fashion District.

The Service Employees International Union California issued a statement saying the union's president, David Huerta, was "injured and detained" during the raid.

Huerta was arrested for "interfering with federal officers" as he "deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle," said United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli in an X post.

Essayli also said federal agents were serving a search warrant in the Fashion District for alleged fictitious employee documents. He said there's reason to believe an employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers.

In the evening, about 500 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles to protest the raids. Large crowds walked through the area holding signs and chanting "ICE out of LA".

Videos from the scene showed protesters clashing with policemen as tear gas and pepper spray were used. Some protesters used hammers to break concrete columns and throw large broken concrete at the officers.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Jim McDonnell issued a statement Friday, saying LAPD was not involved in civil immigration enforcement during the daytime. However, the LAPD declared the protest in the evening as an unlawful assembly and later issued a City Wide Tactical Alert, requesting all officers to remain on duty.

"I'm aware that these actions cause anxiety for many Angelenos," McDonnell said in the statement, "I want everyone, including our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in their time of need and know that the LAPD will be there for you without regard to one's immigration status."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement Friday night, saying that she was "deeply angered" by the federal immigration enforcement actions in the city.

"These tactics sow terror in our communities and distrust basic principles of safety in our city. My office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this," said the statement.

Local community organizations held a press conference in the evening denouncing the raids.

"They were random sweeps, and they were picking up our community in random sweeps. They were racially profiling our community," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights, at the conference.