ICE sweeps through LA businesses as local Democrats cry foul over Trump administration’s enforcement actions

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out operations at businesses across Los Angeles on Friday, sparking protests and clashes outside at least one location, which resulted in authorities throwing flash bangs in an effort to disperse the crowd.

The Associated Press reported that immigration advocates confirmed at least 45 people were arrested across seven locations. The locations included two Home Depot stores, a store in the fashion district and a doughnut shop, according to Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), who spoke at an afternoon news conference to denounce the actions.

Videos of the operations taken by bystanders and TV news crews showed people being escorted across a Home Depot parking lot by federal agents. The videos also captured clashes between protesters and federal agents at detention sites.

KTLA shared aerial footage of agents outside a clothing store in the fashion district escorting individuals out of a building and toward two large white vans. The individuals were detained and had their hands tied behind their backs. Before being placed into the vans, agents were seen patting the detained individuals down.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement on X that as a mayor of a “proud city of immigrants,” who she said contributes to the city in many ways, she was “deeply angered” by the actions taken by federal agencies in LA on Friday.

“These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” Bass said. “We will not stand for this.”

Bass also spoke to reporters on Friday, saying, “We are gonna fight for all Angelenos, regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not. We are a city of immigrants and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called the ICE raids across Los Angeles a continuation of a “disturbing pattern of extreme and cruel” immigration enforcement operations across the U.S.

“These indiscriminate raids prove once again that the Trump administration cares about nothing but instilling harm and fear in our communities to drive immigrants into the shadows,” he said in a statement shared on X. “It will not work. This fearmongering is not going to change the fact that immigrants are valued members of our communities who contribute to our society and economy, and my office will demand accountability for today’s actions.”