LA ICE Raids: Families Seek Missing Workers & Protests Erupt
- A series of immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles over the weekend has ignited a firestorm of protest, prompting the deployment of the National Guard.
- Families of those detained are struggling to get information.
- The immigration raids, targeting workplaces, have drawn sharp criticism from legal advocates.
ICE raids in los Angeles have sparked widespread outrage and protests, leading to the deployment of the National Guard. Families are desperately seeking missing workers, reporting a lack of interaction and clarity following the arrests. Lawyers are stepping up, alleging rights violations and demanding due process for those detained. As workplace and community arrests escalate, the focus sharpens on the scope of the immigration enforcement actions alongside the treatment of detainees, with reports of inadequate conditions emerging. News Directory 3 is covering the developing story around the arrests, offering insights from advocates and government officials. With more enforcement actions slated for this week,how will the legal challenges to the raids play out? Discover what’s next.
Los Angeles Immigration Raids Spark Outcry, National Guard Deployed
Updated June 09, 2025
A series of immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles over the weekend has ignited a firestorm of protest, prompting the deployment of the National Guard. Dozens were arrested in the Los Angeles fashion district, including at the Ambiance Apparel warehouse, and in nearby Paramount and Compton.
Families of those detained are struggling to get information. Gabriel said he has been unable to contact his brother Jacob since his arrest.Yurien Contreras also reported being unable to reach her father, Mario romero, after witnessing his arrest. “I witnessed how they put my father in handcuffs, chained him from the waist and from his ankles,” Contreras said at a Monday news conference. “My family and I haven’t had communication with my dad. We don’t know anything.”
The immigration raids, targeting workplaces, have drawn sharp criticism from legal advocates. Elaina Jung Hee Vermeulen, a legal fellow at the California collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said she was denied access to detainees. She accused authorities of repressing those protesting the actions.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that 118 immigrants were arrested and alleged criminal violations. However, Tom Homan, the administration’s border czar, acknowledged that some individuals without criminal records were also arrested. These immigration enforcement actions are part of a broader effort to accelerate arrests and deportations.
Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), described “deplorable conditions” where detainees were held without adequate food, water, or beds. She called for the contry to “wake up to the terror ICE is inflicting on communities.”
The American civil Liberties Union (ACLU) organized a rally in downtown los Angeles, advocating for “humane treatment and access to lawyers for all detainees.”
Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, a deportation defense attorney, said some of those arrested were quickly deported to Mexico without proper paperwork. others were transported to detention centers in Adelanto, California, and El Paso, Texas.
“Fourteen members of one of our Episcopal churches couldn’t be in church this morning on the Day of Pentecost. Their government ripped them from the arms of their families at home and the body of Christ at church,” said Los Angeles bishop John harvey Taylor.
“If the federal government can come and kidnap people without disclosing any information as to the reason for those arrests, every person in this country should be appalled and terrified,” said Reyes Savalza.
What’s next
more enforcement actions are expected in the Los Angeles area this week, according to Homan, even as the National Guard remains deployed to manage potential protests. Legal challenges to the raids are anticipated, focusing on due process and potential rights violations.
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