Immigration raids intensify, with hundreds of arrests and tense moments across L.A. area

Amid a new curfew and signs that the unrest in downtown Los Angeles was easing, the sweeping federal immigration crackdown that sparked days of protests appeared to be gaining steam across many parts of the region — from suburban retail centers to farmland in Ventura County.

The White House confirmed on Wednesday that 330 people have been taken into custody by federal authorities since immigration sweeps began last week in Los Angeles. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said of those, 113 individuals, or about a third of the group, had prior criminal convictions.

There were growing reports of scattered immigration arrests around the county, many at work sites, heightening anxieties among those in the country illegally. In Downey, immigration agents took an elderly man dropping his granddaughter off at school into custody, and arrested individuals at a Home Depot and LA Fitness, said Councilman Mario Trujillo.

“They are creating havoc and fear,” Trujillo said during a news conference.

One of the more dramatic moments came Wednesday morning in Boyle Heights, where federal agents rammed and trapped a white sedan containing a man, woman and child. Agents extracted the man, who was driving, and left the woman and child behind. Video of the incident showed two sport utility vehicles trapping the Mercedes as it turned right, with the second vehicle pushing its bumper into the sedan before federal agents jumped out with guns drawn.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene and launched an investigation into the incident, said Officer Tony Im, a department spokesperson.

“This was no hit and run. This was a targeted arrest of a violent rioter who punched a CBP officer,” the Department of Homeland Security posted on X, referring to Customs and Border Patrol.

The sweeps come as Los Angeles imposed an 8 p.m. curfew and arrested more than 200 people Tuesday. There was less overnight vandalism and fewer late-night clashes with police. The protest arrest numbers have been increasing each day. L.A. police said they made 27 arrests on Saturday, 40 on Sunday and more than 100 on Monday. On Tuesday, 225 people were arrested.

The curfew, which is expected to remain in place for several days, encompasses the downtown Civic Center, including City Hall, the main county criminal courthouse, LAPD headquarters and federal buildings, which has been the target of protests and resulted in property damage and arrests.

Shortly before the curfew went into effect, Mayor Karen Bass and faith leaders marched to the federal building on Los Angeles Street, walking through an area that had for days been covered in shattered glass, graffiti and spent police munitions.

Bass said the curfew was necessary to curb the actions of “bad actors who do not support the immigrant community.”

“We established a curfew last night and there were ... arrests, but they weren’t for looting, they weren’t for vandalism,” Bass said. “They were for failure to disperse as well as curfew violations. So what I’m hoping is that people got the message that we’re serious and we don’t even have those arrests tonight.”

Parts of the city were last put under a curfew during the George Floyd protests in 2020.

Although no demonstrators were arrested by local law enforcement during initial confrontations with federal immigration authorities on Friday, tensions escalated over the course of the weekend, leading to larger gatherings punctuated by episodes of violence, theft, graffiti, and property destruction.

The majority of those arrested in the protests on Tuesday were suspected of failing to disperse. There were another 17 arrests for alleged curfew violations and three people were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm. Officers also arrested a person on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and took another person into custody for allegedly discharging a laser at an LAPD airship, authorities said.

Two LAPD officers were injured on Tuesday and received medical treatment. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.

In past days, people had been taken into custody for an array of alleged crimes including throwing a Molotov cocktail at an officer, driving a motorcycle into a line of police, destruction of property and theft.

L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman on Wednesday announced charges that included assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, conspiracy to commit vandalism, vandalism, commercial burglary and misdemeanor reckless driving against five individuals related to the protests.

Prosecutors allege that one individual who was charged handed out commercial-grade fireworks and threw them at police officers. Hochman added that he expects law enforcement to present dozens of additional cases related to the protests in the coming weeks. Additional arrests could also be made.

“There’s a tremendous amount of video out there through social media,” Hochman said. “We will track you down, we will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will punish you. So for people who’ve already engaged in this illegal activity, we’re coming for you.”

On Wednesday morning, the streets of downtown Los Angeles were quiet. Two National Guard members were stationed outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, surrounded by a throng of reporters surveying the graffiti and aftermath of Tuesday night’s protest.

The building sign had been spray-painted with “Dead cops” and “F— ICE.” The phrase “death to colonist domination” was scrawled on the building.

Uribe Lazo, who works in downtown Los Angeles, stopped by the Metropolitan Detention Center on Wednesday morning to survey the aftermath of days of political unrest. Lazo said it appeared the curfew was effective in curtailing much of the violence Tuesday night.

“It looked like they had things under control,” he said. “There were a few scuffles here or there and people got arrested for sure, but for the most part, from what I saw on television, they had a handle on things. They weren’t letting people get rowdy.”

Lazo, a first-generation son of Salvadoran immigrants, said he’s sensitive to both the protesters and law enforcement side of the issue, having worked as an office assistant and paralegal for an immigration lawyer. He’s helped fill out forms for people applying for citizenship and those who were trying to bring in their relatives to the U.S. from other countries.

“I understand the plight of people coming here undocumented because that’s probably their only recourse,” he said. “It’s either that or starve to death wherever they live.”

Paul, a 23-year-old Silver Lake resident who declined to provide his last name, was waiting for the bus near the Metropolitan Detention Center to try to find work. He said his mother has been adamant about him staying inside during the political unrest.

“Although she is documented, right now with this environment, everything’s very intense,” he said. “It’s been very insane, honestly.”

Lucas Flores, a 25-year-old Hollywood resident, was outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to protest Wednesday for the first time since the immigration sweeps began. He disapproved of the curfew, calling it “fearmongering.”

“It makes it another excuse to arrest citizens for doing what they feel like is necessary to do when political unrest is happening,” he said.

While 700 Marines have been deployed to assist the National Guard, the service members have not yet been present on Los Angeles streets. A spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command said the troops are still going through training and they do not know when they will be on the ground in downtown.

Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, who is in charge of the National Guard and Marine troops deployed to Los Angeles, told The Times in an interview that federal troops are there solely to defend federal property and federal personnel, and do not have arrest power.

“They are not law enforcement officers, and they do not have the authority to make arrests,” Guillot said. “There are very unique situations where they could detain someone if detaining was necessary to defend, but they could only detain that person long enough to hand it off to a proper law enforcement official.”

On Tuesday, National Guard troops armed with rifles accompanied federal immigration enforcement officers as they detained people, images posted by ICE on social media show.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued to restrict the federal government’s use of military personnel in Los Angeles. He called Trump’s move to send the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles a “brazen abuse of power.”

“Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. The moment we’ve feared has arrived,” Newsom said.

Times staff writers Grace Toohey, Clara Harter and Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.