#BorderPatrol agents jump out of rental truck and ambush people at LA #HomeDepot

In ‘Operation Trojan Horse’, masked officers in unmarked vehicle arrest 16 people, despite court order halting raids

Sam Levin in #LosAngeles
Wed 6 Aug 2025

"US border patrol agents carried out a raid outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with officers jumping out of an unmarked rental truck and chasing and arresting more than a dozen people.

"Videos of the operation, and federal officials’ statements boasting about the detentions, have raised questions about whether the US government was complying with a federal court order halting indiscriminate raids in the region due to evidence of racial profiling. That ruling, upheld last week by an appeals court, followed reports of #Latino #USCitizens getting swept up in #LARaids and accounts of undocumented people being targeted based on their appearance and whether they spoke Spanish.

"Clips of the early morning raid by Home Depot in the Westlake neighborhood, near #MacArthurPark, showed masked, heavily armed officers jumping out of a yellow truck from Penske, a private rental company, and people fleeing. Day laborers often gather outside Home Depot stores looking for work and have been subject to aggressive immigration raids in southern California.

"One day-laborer present for the Wednesday raid told the Los Angeles Times that the Penske truck pulled up to the parking lot around 6.45am, with the driver telling people gathered in Spanish that he had work to offer. Someone then rolled up the back of the truck, and masked agents, including one in a cowboy hat, jumped out as people scattered, the witness said.

"The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in an email that agents arrested 16 undocumented people from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua. Border patrol and DHS spokespeople did not respond to inquiries about the arrest tactics and whether agents had been targeting specific people.

"A spokesperson for Penske said in an email that it was aware of the videos, writing: 'Penske strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances. The company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today’s operation and did not authorize this.' The company would reach out to #DHS to 'reinforce its policy to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future, the statement said.

" 'It is deeply disturbing that the federal government will stoop to these levels to continue their #CampaignOfTerror against working #Angelenos,' ​​​said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (#Chirla), a California-based group that is part of the lawsuit challenging the raids. 'These are Angelenos looking for an honest day’s living … What we see in the video looks like an assault on people’s liberties, an assault on individuals that were standing there looking for a job, and a targeted operation that was in fact lawless.'

"One witness, who is a member of the #LATenantsUnion, a grassroots advocacy group, said they were setting up a '#KnowYourRights' #CommunityDefense table when the raid began. They took video, shared with the Guardian, of a group of officers piling back into the Penske truck after making arrests.

They said they saw the officers detain #StreetVendors and #DayLaborers. 'These are people who need to make money to pay rent, who have no choice. It was really tragic that the officers came out in full force just flaunting their power and bringing another level of chaos,' said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing retribution."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/06/ice-border-patrol-home-depot-los-angeles

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/otbiw

Heavily armed immigration agents descend on #MacArthurPark in #LosAngeles

By Melissa Gomez, Rachel Uranga, Brittny Mejia, Richard Winton and Ruben Vives
July 7, 2025 12:16 PM PT

"Dozens of immigration agents, some on horseback, others carrying rifles in armored vehicles, swept through MacArthur Park on Monday in an extraordinary show of force at the heart of Los Angeles’ #immigrant community.

"Heavily armored #BorderPatrol officers with a fleet of white minibuses partially blocked the streets surrounding the park, which has become a source of crime and drugs in the area in the last few years. #Activists with megaphones were able to warn locals at the park before the contingent arrived, according to police sources.

"The move comes days after President Trump signed a budget that will provide a mass infusion of funds to the Department of Homeland Security to ramp up its immigration enforcement to levels unseen before in the United States. Los Angeles has become the poster child of Trump’s mass deportation plan, as more than 1,600 people have been arrested between June 6 and 22.

"The agents appeared to arrive around 10:30 a.m. after amassing at nearby locations. Once they were at the park, they were met with crowds of people screaming 'get the f— out!' and 'get out!' #MayorKarenBass also showed up to the park, which sits just west of downtown Los Angeles. Activists, who have been on high alert for weeks, appeared to be prepared to deploy lawyers to the scene.

"At some point, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim handed his cellphone to Bass. Speaking to the other person over the line she could be heard saying, 'You’re getting ready to leave? Can you leave ASAP?'

"Demonstrators began to chant, drowning out her conversation. When asked to comment, Bass said the federal immigration agents needed 'to leave and they need to leave right now, they need to leave because this is unacceptable.'

"When asked who she was talking to on the other end of the line she said it was 'the head of customs.'

"Bass handed the phone back to a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Shortly afterward, she boarded a black SUV and left the area.

"It’s unclear if anyone was arrested during the sweep.

" 'This was just one big, perverse publicity stunt,' said #RonGochez, a member of #UniónDelBarrio, an independent political organization advocating for immigrant rights and social justice. 'It was just to show force, it was just to take pictures.'

"The chaos on #WilshireBoulevard around MacArthur Park had mostly calmed by 11:30 a.m., though a few protesters and members of the news media lingered afterward.

"Mikema Nahmir, 28, said he was out for his morning walk at 11 a.m. when he saw two women running down the street yelling that '#LaMigra' was at MacArthur Park.

"Nahmir joined the group of #protesters who chased and yelled after the #military-style trucks. At one point, he said, someone from the truck shot out an #irritant toward him and another protester.

" 'L.A. is ours, this is our city,' Nahmir said. 'This is what my morning walk turned into. They’re terrorizing our neighborhood.'

"Live video from the scene Monday morning broadcast on social media showed a line of white vans that have been used to transport arrestees as well as several agents on horseback. Agents cleared the scene by 11:20 a.m. and it was not immediately clear how many people they had taken into custody.

"U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino, who has been leading the operations on the ground in Los Angeles, was present during the operation.

"Bovino, who is based near the U.S.-Mexico border along with others in the Trump administration, was sued last week by immigrant rights groups seeking to block what it calls an 'ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the #Constitution and federal law' during immigration raids. They say raids have targeted individuals based on race, lack #DueProcess and some practices are akin to #kidnapping rather than legal enforcement. A hearing is set for later this week in federal court.

"Asked for comment on whether any arrests had been made, a senior DHS official, said, 'We don’t comment on ongoing enforcement operations.' "

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-07/immigration-agents-descend-on-macarthur-park?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us