Tag Archives: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

LA Times: How did a rumor about an ICE raid on a homeless shelter escalate to Mayor Bass?

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At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Karen Bass made a startling claim.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had appeared at a homeless shelter that day, among other sensitive locations in Los Angeles, she said.

But what actually happened at the Whitsett West Tiny Home Village in North Hollywood remains murky. The shifting narratives reflect the anxiety of Angelenos amid ICE raids targeting immigrants at Home Depots, churches and retail centers.

…

According to Laura Harwood, Hope the Mission’s deputy chief program officer, people in a car tried to get access to the tiny home village on Thursday afternoon, telling security guards that they were American citizens who wanted to see how their taxpayer dollars were being used. The guards did not admit the visitors, who were wearing civilian clothes.

“This is a really unusual situation. This really doesn’t happen,” Harwood said.

Other employees saw some men looking into the complex from different sides and taking pictures.

A worker at the tiny home village, who requested anonymity because he has family members who are undocumented, told The Times that he was returning from lunch when he spotted two DHS SUVs with tinted windows down the block.

So it seems that ICE thugs probably were casing out the homeless shelter; they just haven’t yet gotten around to raiding it.

How did a rumor about an ICE raid on a homeless shelter escalate to Mayor Bass?
At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Karen Bass made a startling claim. U.S.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-13/ice-raid-homeless-shelter-rumor-bass

Tampa Free Press: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies

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As nationwide “No Kings” protests prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s administration this Saturday, coinciding with a military parade and Flag Day, Florida officials are drawing a firm line against violence and the doxing of law enforcement, promising a stark contrast to recent unrest seen elsewhere.

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons voiced grave concerns on a Friday podcast, fearing his agents could face violent attacks from “agitators” and “anarchists” who he believes will exploit the planned demonstrations.

“This is the perfect catalyst to jump on that,” Lyons warned on “VINCE,” expressing worry that “negative energy” fueled by anti-ICE rhetoric could be directed at his agents, potentially leading to fatalities.

“They’re going to get somebody killed, right? It’s only a matter of time because, even with throwing a rock or a Molotov cocktail, you can still kill somebody, right?” Lyons said. “And it’s just this fired up rhetoric that’s going viral.”

Who the hell cares? The problem is your ill-disciplined, ill-trained Gestapo thugs running around with masks, guns, and badges, as they snatch brown people off the streets and disappear them. Frankly I could care less what happens to your Gestapo Schweinen.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies
As nationwide “No Kings” protests prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s administration this Saturday, coinciding with a military parade and Flag Day,
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies

Latin Times: Florida Sheriff Who Threatened to Kill Protesters Has History of Corruption, Racial Profiling and Bribery Accusations

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Since his election in 2012, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been named in multiple lawsuits.

Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey, who threatened to kill anti-ICE protesters “graveyard dead,” has a history of corruption, racial profiling and bribery in local campaigns, despite calling himself a “constitutional sheriff.”

Ivey issued the threat during a press conference on Thursday. His warning drew cheers from MAGA supporters and widespread condemnation from others. The viral moment also resurfaced his history of corruption, dating back to 2018.

This bozo sounds like Trump material! Given the quality (lacking!) of Trump’s recent hires, this guy should be qualified for anything from armed thug/goon up to and including cabinet posts.

Florida Sheriff Who Threatened to Kill Protesters Has History of Corruption, Racial Profiling and Bribery Accusations
Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey and his office have been sued multiple times throughout the years, including for false arrest and imprisonment.

https://www.latintimes.com/florida-sheriff-who-threatened-kill-protesters-has-history-corruption-racial-profiling-bribery-584978

Washington Post: ‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’

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In the hours before tanks barrel down the streets of Washington for President Donald Trump’s grand military parade Saturday, thousands of Americans will gather across the country in defiance of what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

The organized day of protests in over 2,000 cities — dubbed “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” — comes after a week of unrest and anger in Los Angeles and other cities following immigration raids in the L.A. area and the Trump administration’s move to federalize the National Guard and dispatch Marines to California.

No Kings organizer Ezra Levin said that interest has “skyrocketed” since those protests began — with individuals in 200 more cities signing up to host No Kings events just this week. He said more people are now expected to turn out than the estimated 3.5 million who participated in a similar nationwide day of action in April.

“We’re no longer talking to folks who are just paying attention to politics,” said Levin, the co-founder of the liberal advocacy group Indivisible. “People are seeing this overreach by Trump and saying, ‘I don’t like that — what can I do?’”

Images of immigrants being swept up at moments in their daily lives — at car washes and Home Depots, to name just two places — seem to have struck a chord with a wider swath of the public than was previously engaged, observers say, though the concept of deporting those in the country illegally still has broad support.

…

‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’
On the same day as the president’s military parade in D.C., thousands of people are expected to protest what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/06/13/no-kings-protest-anti-trump-army-parade

ICE Thugs Kidnap Diabetic American Citizen, Not Heard From Since Kidnapping

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KTLA: Southern California father who is U.S. citizen, arrested during immigration raid, family says

Family members are demanding answers after they say a man who is a U.S. citizen was wrongfully arrested by federal agents during an immigration raid in Montebello. 

On June 12, surveillance video captured the moment several masked and armed agents surrounded a tow truck business in Montebello.

The agents quickly entered the property and began detaining mechanics and other workers at the site.

One of the detained men who was later released spoke to KTLA but asked not to be identified out of safety concerns. He said he was violently grabbed and taken by the agents despite being a U.S. citizen.

“He slammed me to the gate,” the man told KTLA’s Ellina Abovian. “He put my hands behind my back. I’m an American citizen. You do not do that to Americans.”

Nataly Degante, whose cousin, Javier Ramirez, 32, was arrested in the raid, said that while agents began handcuffing everyone, they reportedly never provided identification or information about why they were there.

“We see in the video that they don’t come with a warrant,” she said. “They don’t have any documentation in their hands.”

Degante said her cousin is a U.S. citizen and a single father of two young children. She described him as a hard worker with no criminal record.

Video of the raid shows some workers being moved to the ground as agents quickly handcuffed them. Ramirez is also seen on the video yelling to the agents that he’s a citizen.

“He’s telling them he is a U.S. citizen and he’s letting them know, ‘My passport is in my pocket,’” Degante said.  

However, Ramirez was handcuffed and taken into custody. His brother tried following Ramirez’s location through his cell phone’s tracking app, but the signal was eventually lost. His family has not heard from him since.

“We haven’t heard anything about him,” said Abimael Dominguez, his brother. “He’s diabetic. I don’t even know if he has insulin yet or has he eaten? We don’t know anything. “

It remains unclear whether the agents were with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Some of the agents appeared to be wearing uniforms with a Border Patrol insignia. 

“I voted, but not for this,” said the man who was detained and later released. “I’m an American citizen. I want the best for all of us. I feel like there is due process that we must follow.”

“They’re not only taking criminals, they are taking our community,” Degante said.

As of Friday afternoon, Homeland Security has not responded to KTLA’s request for comment about why Ramirez was detained or whether he was wanted for any crimes.

Southern California father who is U.S. citizen, arrested during immigration raid, family says

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/southern-california-father-who-is-u-s-citizen-arrested-during-immigration-raid-family-says

Bimbo Bitch Kristi Noem Personally Joins Raid to Terrorize Pregnant Mother of 4

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KTLA: DHS Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem attends ICE raid at Los Angeles County home

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem joined federal immigration agents Thursday on a raid targeting a man with a criminal record at a Huntington Park, California, home, the agency said.

The raid occurred Thursday morning when about a half-dozen vehicles carrying heavily armed, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents converged on a home occupied by a 28-year-old pregnant mother of four.

Sabrina Medina said she was in the shower around 6 a.m. when her brother-in-law first saw the menacing presence in front of the family’s home.

“I was just terrified, I’m not going to lie to you,” Medina told KTLA’s Rick Chambers. “I was shaking. I was scared. I’ve never gone through anything like this.”

Medina said she looked out the window and saw 10 men dressed in tactical military gear, all carrying rifles.

“I was like, ‘Am I dreaming or is this real?’” she said.

According to Medina, who is a U.S. citizen, the agents told her to exit her home with her children. Standing in the driveway, they showed her a warrant for her husband, listing his name as David Garcia.

As she explained that her husband’s name is Jorge and that he was not at the house, one of the agents was captured on an outdoor home surveillance camera turning the device away from what was transpiring.

Evidence tampering! (not a great surprise when ICE thugs are involved)

Cameras inside the home captured the heavily armed ICE agents going through the residence room by room, all while [Bimbo #2] Noem, wearing a bulletproof vest and ballcap, watched from the street.

DHS later posted on X that the target of the raid was “an illegal alien from Mexico who had previously been deported. His criminal history includes drug trafficking and assault.”

After hearing about the raid, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn went to the Huntington Park neighborhood and spoke with some of Medina’s neighbors.

“I’m very disappointed in this government right now and what they’re doing,” she told KTLA.

Four months pregnant with her fifth child, the Huntington Park mother said if her husband is deported, the family’s future is bleak.

“I’m not going to be able to pay my rent when I have to pay it,” she explained. “My husband is not here. I don’t know if they’re going to pick him up tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. It’s sad.”

ICE agents, along with [Bimbo #2] Noem, eventually left the home empty-handed, and the children were allowed back inside.

DHS Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem attends ICE raid at Los Angeles County home

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-attends-ice-raid-at-home-of-pregnant-l-a-county-mother

Axios: What we’re hearing about ICE in Charlotte

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ICE targets arrests at Charlotte courthouse, other sensitive locations

Lately in Charlotte, ICE agents come wearing plain clothes — sometimes khakis or baseball caps. They wait outside apartments, workplaces, but mostly, courtrooms. They take people, put them in the back of unmarked vehicles and drive off. We’re unsure when we’ll hear from them again.

…

It’s hard to confirm whether those arrested locally are all undocumented or if they committed violent crimes.

  • ICE’s release of public information and cooperation with the media are limited. Local journalists often struggle to get answers from ICE when following up on cases. Families whose loved ones are detained must wait until an online database is updated to learn where they were taken, advocates say.
  • “There seems to be an intentional ambiguity,” says Rusty Price, CEO of Camino, a health center supporting the Latino community in Charlotte.

Two Charlotte immigration lawyers tell Axios they are increasingly seeing and hearing of ICE deploying its newest tactic in the courthouse. Immigration cases are being dismissed, then ICE agents — no longer restrained by a pending court case — stop the defendants outside and make arrests, just moments after the hearing.

What we’re hearing about ICE in Charlotte
Here’s what we know about ICE in Charlotte: Virtually nothing

https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2025/06/12/ice-immigration-courthouse-arrests-trump-mecklenburg

Reason: Police Target Dozens of Reporters During L.A. Anti-ICE Protests

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Dozens of journalists have been assaulted and injured by federal and local law enforcement in Los Angeles during protests earlier this week against Donald Trump’s mass deportation program.

Press freedom groups are demanding that law enforcement stop targeting reporters covering the L.A. protests after on-air news broadcasts and cellphone video showed federal, state, and local police firing indiscriminately on crowds with pepper balls, rubber bullets, and other so-called less-than-lethal ammunition, while in other cases officers are seen firing on clearly identified members of the press.

A coalition of 28 groups including the Los Angeles Press Club, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the American Civil Liberties Union, sent a letter to Department Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday “to express alarm” over the incidents and urge Noem to ensure that federal law enforcement officers uphold the First Amendment.

According to the groups, there were at least 24 documented instances of journalists being targeted by law enforcement while covering Los Angeles protests between June 6 and June 8.

“A number of reports suggest that federal officers have indiscriminately used force or deployed munitions such as tear gas or pepper balls that caused significant injuries to journalists,” the letter said. “In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news.”

Police target dozens of reporters during L.A. anti-ICE protests
Dozens of journalists have been assaulted and injured by federal and local law enforcement in Los Angeles during protests earlier this week against Donald

https://reason.com/2025/06/12/police-target-dozens-of-reporters-during-l-a-anti-ice-protests

Newsweek: Texas’ largest newspaper trashes Greg Abbott protest move: ‘Expect better’

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The Houston Chronicle, Texas’s top selling newspaper, has published an editorial fiercely critical of Governor Greg Abbott over his rhetoric and decision to deploy Texas National Guard troops in response to protests against immigration enforcement, saying “we expect better of him.”

On Tuesday, Abbott announced the deployment of Texas National Guard soldiers. The following day on X he said “5,000+” National Guard personnel would help manage protests in the state adding: “Don’t mess with Texas.”

The move came after days of unrest in Los Angeles which began on June 6 when demonstrators clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempting to conduct raids in the city. The following days saw more violent disorder with Waymo self-driving vehicles set on fire and rocks thrown at police who responded with tear gas and other “less lethal” weapons.

…

In its editorial, the Houston Chronicle said Abbott’s decision to deploy National Guard troops following protests “seems like an overreaction,” adding: “But there was no serious indication Tuesday that Texas was on the verge of exploding. No burning cars. No looting. No mayors imposing curfews.”

Instead the editorial claimed the “most significant provocation to violence seemed to come from Abbott himself, citing the governor’s warning that “Peaceful protesting is legal. But once you cross the line, you will be arrested. FAFO.” FAFO is an acronym for ‘F*** around find out.’

The editorial described this as “the kind of thing that middle schoolers say before a fistfight” adding: “This isn’t the grown-up leadership that Texas needs.”

Greg Abbott is just another sycophant sucking up to King Donald.

Texas’ largest newspaper trashes Greg Abbott protest move: ‘Expect better’
Anti-Trump protests are expected across Texas on Saturday as part of the “No Kings” movement.

https://www.newsweek.com/texas-largest-newspaper-trashes-greg-abbott-protest-move-expect-better-2085043