US immigration and customs enforcement operations took place across Los Angeles on Friday, sparking protests after allegations emerged that agents used excessive force to break doors and windows in at least two separate cases.
When such tactics were first adopted after ice surgery, some families who claim that Los Angeles Police Department officials also exist are making the situation even more complicated.
In one of the cases, an agent smashed the window and Alex Gonzalez was live streamed from his home.
Gonzalez’s family claims he stayed in place after an agent misapproved the name of someone else.
Gonzalez’s cousin, Ricardo Gomez, explained that the agent was looking for another individual. Nevertheless, the agents are allegedly forced to open the door, even though they never showed a warrant, as their families claimed.
According to his family, Alex Gonzalez, who lives in the United States without a document but has no criminal history, was arrested and taken to ice custody. This happened far from a similar procedure on Connecticut Street in the Westlake area. There, agents also smashed doors and windows while searching for the 18-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who recently moved.
In both cases, the lessor said that ICE agents claimed they had a warrant but never provided documentation on the effectiveness of the matter.
“Even if you have a warrant, if you have to let go, you can’t just break in with a warrant,” emphasised immigration lawyer Alma Rosa Nieto.
It was the presence of LAPD officers in both scenes that raised additional concerns to the families involved. Despite years of policy that vows not to participate in federal immigration enforcement, LAPD executives are said to have provided traffic controls during their operations.
“The police are helping us with the ice instead of helping us,” Gomez said.
“This morning, LAPD was in the Newton division supporting traffic control as Homeland Security was trying to arrest a suspect who wanted human trafficking,” LAPD chief Jim McDonnell replied in a statement. “I absolutely want to be clear. LAPD is not participating in citizen immigration enforcement. This is the first departmental policy since 1979 and remains the same today.”
ICE responded by stating it was unable to comment on a particular incident or address rumors related to the operation.
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