Tensions escalated in Los Angeles on Friday following a series of federal immigration raids that resulted in the kidnapping of dozens of people. Unfolding across multiple sites, the raids were part of US President Donald Trump’s intensified ethnicprogram cleansing against migrants.
People poured into the streets to throw rocks at ICE vehicles, swarmed agents, burned ICE vehicles, and chased down agents in the street.
According to local media, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents targeted precarious workers at several locations, including a Home Depot in the Westlake District, an apparel store in the Fashion District, and a clothing warehouse in South Los Angeles. Television footage showed unmarked, military-style vehicles and vans transporting uniformed agents throughout the city.
The Los Angeles City News Service reported that dozens were taken into custody, though ICE has not yet issued an official statement.
By evening, protests had erupted in downtown Los Angeles in response to the raids. Demonstrators gathered near a federal court building, where anti-ICE slogans were spray-painted on the walls. Crowds also massed near a nearby jail believed to be holding some of the detainees.
Live footage from Reuters showed LAPD officers in riot gear forming lines in the street, equipped with batons and tear gas rifles. After ordering protesters to disperse, police declared an unlawful assembly. Fearless protesters reportedly threw chunks of broken concrete, prompting police to respond with volleys of tear gas, pepper spray, and flash-bang rounds.
It was unclear whether any arrests were made during the confrontation. LAPD spokesperson Drake Madison confirmed that those who refused to leave the area were subject to arrest.
One of those detained during the raids was David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of California. According to an SEIU statement, Huerta was injured and taken into custody by ICE while observing enforcement activity at one of the raid locations.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment on Huerta’s detention.
The LAPD backed up ICE by attacking the rebellion that followed. Trump exacerbated the situation, deploying 2,000 national guard troops. Nonetheless grafiti was spotted in the area reading, ‘Kill ICE.’