‘Who are these people?’ Masked immigration agents challenge local police, sow fear in L.A.

Increasingly aggressive immigration raids carried out by masked federal agents, sometimes using unmarked vehicles, are creating problems for local law enforcement agencies.

Police have little or no insight into where the federal enforcement actions are taking place but often have to deal with the aftermath, including protests and questions from residents about what exactly happened. In some cases, local cops have been mistaken for federal agents, eroding years of work to have immigrant communities trust the police.

In Bell, chaos erupted when masked men arrived at a car wash and began detaining its workers, sparking a confrontation with residents and immigration rights advocates before they were forced to hastily drive over curbs and street islands to escape.

In Pasadena last week, a man stepped out of his unmarked vehicle at an intersection, unholstered his pistol and aimed it at a group of pedestrians before returning to his car, turning on its red and blue emergency lights and speeding off. Video of the incident went viral.

That incident left the police chief of Pasadena resigned to figure out whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid.

“There’s no way for us to verify,” Police Chief Gene Harris said.

The department reviewed surveillance footage and other video and saw the credentials on the man’s uniform, according to the chief.

“We were able to determine that to the best of our estimation he was an ICE agent. ... We will not look into it any deeper than that,” he said.

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At Dodger Stadium last week, immigration agents staged outside the parking lot prompted protests and questions that local officials had to address.

“They show up without uniforms. They show up completely masked. They refuse to give ID,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a news briefing after the Dodger Stadium incident. “Who are these people? And frankly, the vests that they have on look like they ordered them from Amazon. Are they bounty hunters? Are they vigilantes? If they’re federal officials, why is it that they do not identify themselves?”

Ed Obayashi, a Northern California deputy and use-of-force expert, said federal agents enjoy great autonomy and “can do what they want in their official capacity.”

“If they point a gun or take someone in, local police cannot step in and interfere regardless of the circumstances,” Obayashi said.

He said that federal agencies have extensive use-of-force policies on drawing weapons but that, ultimately, if the overall directive is to take this action, then the guidelines don’t matter.

“If Homeland Security says this is what we want, the policy guidelines when it comes to gun and force doesn’t matter,” he added. “There is little redress against federal law enforcement in the civil courts compared to local police.”

Federal agents are not subject to the same statues as local police, namely Section 1983 claims that allow people to sue certain government agencies and employees for violating their civil rights.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly shielded federal agents from legal repercussions,” Obayashi said.

The incidents at Dodger Stadium, in Bell and in Pasadena unfolded more than two weeks after masked immigration agents descended on the region carrying out a wave of immigration sweeps in predominately Latino communities. Residents are on edge as masked men are appearing and detaining their friends, relatives and neighbors without any clear sign they are part of federal immigration enforcement and refuse to show identification or a warrant.

Federal agents stage outside Gate E of Dodger Stadium on Thursday.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

The Pasadena incident showed how social media can amplify an incident and highlight the lack of response from local officials.

In a video posted to Instagram from Pasadena, a suspected federal agent is seen exiting a Dodge Charger at an intersection and pointing his gun at members of the public.

In the video, a person walks up to the back of the Dodge Charger and appears to take a photo of the license plate. That’s when the driver gets out of the vehicle and points a gun at the person who was behind the vehicle, then toward another person outside of the video frame. The word “Police” is visible on the driver’s vest, along with a badge on his hip. After a few seconds, the man puts the gun away and gets back into the car as bystanders shout at him. The man then activates the vehicle’s red and blue lights common to law enforcement vehicles and drives away.

Citizens shared the vehicle’s license plate on social media, which led to more questions than answers.

According to Pasadena officials, the vehicle’s license plate is a “cold plate,” or untraceable, which is typically used by law enforcement in undercover criminal operations.

“One question is this a law enforcement agent or someone pretending to be a law enforcement agent, and there is no good answer here,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo told The Times. “[To] have a law enforcement agent draw his weapon and point it toward someone using their iPhone, and a crowd, is showing a lack of training and a lack of temperance in the use of force.”

He’s still hopeful that the federal government will acknowledge the incident and provide some clarity. As more immigration sweeps happen, Gordo is worried that there could be an accidental shooting or that police could end up caught in the middle if unidentified federal agents are pulling out their guns in public.

Previous administrations informed the city of enforcement actions to avoid accidental confrontations between law enforcement, according to Gordo.

“Our police need to be aware of undercover or unmarked law enforcement operations. These operations are endangering everyone in our neighborhoods,” he said.

If citizens do encounter a matter where it appears that someone is impersonating law enforcement, they should call 911, Harris said.

But local police will not interfere with federal activities, he said.

A man is arrested as people clash with Border Patrol agents in Bell on Friday.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

“I understand the lingering fear in the community,” Harris said. “I would tell [citizens] to defer to their own feelings, understand what’s going on around them.”

He added that federal immigration activities in Pasadena have not impeded local police efforts or response times. There have been no arrests, property damage or violence related to protests against the immigration sweeps in Pasadena, officials said.

About an hour’s drive inland in Fontana, the lack of clarity is making work harder for local police who have been mistaken for federal immigration agents.

Officers investigating a recent burglary were mistaken for federal immigration agents over social media, Fontana Police Sgt. Nathan Weiske said.

In another instance, undercover officers were confronted by protesters who thought they were conducting surveillance for an immigration sweep.

“It is not safe for our officers, or for others involved in any active police operations if misrepresentations or misunderstandings lead to inappropriate engagement,” Fontana Police Chief Michael Dorsey said in a Facebook post.

In some parts of the Southland, the response to the immigration raids can be swift and fierce.

In Bell, masked men in fatigues detained at least three people at a car wash, drawing a large protest.

Dozens of people swarmed the area and shouted at the agents, “Are you a bounty hunter? How much is the bounty for an illegal right now?” questioning their identities.

Video showed the men, wearing fatigues and balaclavas and carrying long weapons, fire tear gas to disperse the crowd so they could leave. The Department of Homeland Security said Border Patrol vehicles were damaged during the incident.

Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores calls the federal government’s presence in the region “political theater” meant to antagonize the Latino population.

Flores plans to introduce a motion to the City Council that will direct local police to ask federal agents to identify themselves if they attempt to carry out an immigration operation in the city.

“What happens if you have bad actors who decide to throw on an olive drab outfit and go around abducting people?” Flores told The Times. “I would not ask our officers to interfere with federal matters. But we have to be prepared to hold these agencies accountable for their actions. There’s a tragedy waiting to happen.”