LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Southland communities are bracing for a third week of immigration enforcement activity while city of Los Angeles officials contemplate suing the Trump administration to prohibit federal agents from carrying out unconstitutional stops and arrests.
Last week, seven Los Angeles City Council members signed a proposal asking City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto to prioritize “immediate legal action” to protect the civil rights of Angelenos, arguing that such a step is needed to keep constituents from being racially profiled or unlawfully detained, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Council member Katy Yaroslavsky, who co-authored the proposal, cited reports of residents being stopped, questioned and detained by individuals claiming to be federal immigration agents, but who did not display an official badge or government identification.
“… you can’t do that under the 4th Amendment,” Yaroslavsky told the Times. “It’s not reasonable suspicion that they’re noncitizens just because they’re brown.
“Even if they’re here legally,[people are] afraid because the Trump administration has shown it’s willing to detain and deport people who are here legally. So, if ever there were an instance where it made sense for local government to step in on behalf of our people, now is the time.”
Fear of immigration enforcement activity led the city of Pasadena Saturday to cancel summer park programming
“The city of Pasadena is cancelling programming, including swim lessons and other programs at Villa Parke, Robinson Park and Victory Park today, Saturday, June 21, out of an abundance of caution after seeing social media posts of what appears to be federal enforcement activity at Villa Parke this morning and the potential escalation of conflict that unannounced federal enforcement activity causes,” city officials said in a statement on X at 8:50 a.m. Saturday.
Activists held an “emergency vigil” at the park Saturday to condemn the raids.
“The administration’s cruelty strikes again, tearing people from their lives and leaving their families terrified and without answers. The very places where people work, live, and contribute to this city have become scenes of chaos and confusion,” Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said.
“Those taken were not criminals — they were neighbors, workers, caretakers. Immigrants who rebuilt our homes, cleaned our streets, cared for our children, and stood with us after the wildfires. They risked their health and lives for the community then — and they continue to serve it now.”
Pasadena was also the site of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on Wednesday, when at least six people were detained, according to multiple media reports.
Saturday’s Pasadena raids came one day after Maywood and Bell became the latest Los Angeles County cities where protests against the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration law have been met with violence.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on social media Friday saying, “Today in Bell and Maywood, CA, Border Patrol vehicles were violently targeted during lawful operations.
A Trump administration spokeswoman chided local officials for complaining about the immigration raids and pointed out the continued threats Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents face.
“Attacks against ICE officers have increased 500% because of this unhinged, extremist rhetoric from Democrat politicians,” … Jackson told the Times. “The LA Times should do some real reporting, instead of just regurgitating Democrat propaganda.”
Last week also saw Vice President JD Vance in the Los Angeles area Friday to meet with federally deployed troops and accuse Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom of egging on violent reactions to the immigration crackdown. Bass labeled those claims “outright lies” and “utter nonsense.”
In Huntington Park, Mayor Arturo Flores condemned what he called “a wave of alarming immigration-related activity” across that city, and urged his police department to “enforce state and local laws concerning unmarked vehicles, visible license plates, and required agency identification.”
Flores said recent raids have been carried out by “masked and unidentified individuals reportedly abducting residents in broad daylight.
“These are not lawful arrests. These are abductions,” Flores said. “For more than a week, we have witnessed families being torn apart, children left without parents, and residents vanishing without explanation.
Men dressed in tactical gear, operating unmarked vehicles without displaying credentials or agency affiliation, have infiltrated our neighborhoods in direct violation of our community’s values, civil rights, and the basic principles of due process.
“ … I am calling for the immediate cessation of these raids and for the Huntington Park Police Department to begin verifying the identities and authority of any individuals conducting such operations within city limits.”
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