Late last week, images of masked agents snatching up at least 20 day laborers at the Westlake Home Depot and another dozen or more at Ambiance Apparel in the garment district, loading them into vans, and spiriting them away to a federal detention center frightened and enraged people across the Southland.
The LAT reports a total of 44 people were detained administratively in the raids and an additional person - David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union of California, who was pushed to the ground and injured as he documented the detentions - was charged with impeding ICE officers.
Much to the delight of the Trump administration, which was itching to flex its muscle in a Blue state, Angelenos immediately - and rightly - pushed back.
Local and independent journalists posted a steady stream of content from the demonstrations over the weekend, showing how Angelenos came together to show support for their co-workers, friends, family members, and neighbors and ... take out their collective anger on Waymos (as captured by Sergio Olmos).
Highlights include:
- Why now: Trump adviser Stephen Miller recently excoriated ICE for not rounding up people at Home Depot and demanded ICE triple its number of daily arrests (Washington Examiner)
- At the Westlake Home Depot, traumatized witnesses say agents grabbed whomever was within reach (WaPo)
- As rumors of a potential raid spread Friday morning in Paramount, protesters gathered and were met with tear gas and flash bangs from the Feds (LAT, ABC7).
- Because people in Los Angeles, Paramount, and Compton immediately pushed back (ABC7), Trump federalized the National Guard and sent 2000 troops to L.A. - the first time the president has done so without a request from the governor since the 1960s. He also warned it could be just the beginning for U.S. streets.
- But the troops' presence created chaos. Sunday morning, Boyle Heights protesters demonstrated peacefully, but encountered tear gas outside detention center in downtown L.A. (Boyle Heights Beat)
- LAPD handled things by shooting at an Australian reporter with a less lethal round live on air, shooting multiple protesters with less lethal rounds, beating protesters with batons, and deliberately trampling a protester with horses. Washington Post maps out some of the more heightened moments from Sunday's protest, starting with the 6 a.m. arrival of the National Guard (WaPo)
What it all means:
- ‘Everybody stood up’: Why a union leader’s arrest galvanized California Democrats on immigration (CalMatters) Arrest of Union Leader Highlights Link Between Workers’ and Immigrants’ Rights (NYT)
- ICE raids tried to split LA apart, but might have made it stronger (LA Public Press); Trump Can’t Win The Battle for Los Angeles (L.A. TACO)
- California to sue Trump over National Guard deployment; L.A. braces for more protests (LAT; KQED)
- Glendale ended its contract with DHS/ICE to hold federal detainees. The contract was first exposed by West Side Storytellers: Glendale Police Department Is Holding People For ICE In The City Jail And Getting Paid For It
Meanwhile, L.A. life also goes on:
- School murals highlight L.A.’s art culture (CALÓ News)
- As Altadena rises from the ashes, a new mural speaks to those longing for home (LAist)
- WeHo Celebrated Pride (See full parade coverage via KTLA); so did L.A. (NYT, Daily News; L.A. Pride IG)
- LAT's Steve Lopez Questions Olympic Transpo Readiness
- More on Metro LAX Station Opening (LAT, LAist, Urbanize, KTLA, ABC7, NBC4)
- San Dimas Celebrates New Metro A Line Station (Rep Cisneros Fb)
- Mayor Bass Signs City Budget (LAist, ABC7, KTLA)
- Federal judge orders LA to verify thousands of rental subsidies for unhoused people (LAist)
- Erratic driver careened through protesters, multiple red lights, and Placita Olvera, crashed into a dumpster, and sideswiped a bicyclist before eventually being detained by LAPD (KCAL, FOX11 Live)
See state headlines at Streetsblog CAL; National headlines at Streetsblog USA
