As the Department of Homeland Security helicopters are circling, dozens of heavily armed, masked ice agents wearing military tactical equipment stormed one of Southern California’s most popular swap competitions over the weekend, dealing with primarily Latinx crowds.
The incident unfolded at Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet at 13963 Alondra Blvd around 3:30pm on Saturday at Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet, according to a video of the event captured on on-scene television by Photojournalist.
KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo reports that the sight of ICE agents has led to many vendors and customers running in an attempt to escape the attack.
An estimated 60 immigrants and customs enforcement agents can be seen on the flea market site, and there is also a music venue.
While federal authorities move through the crowd, some onlookers are seen filming cell phone attacks.
It is unclear whether federal officials were expecting to detain many individuals at the event, but the latter, who said that despite the large numbers, was only Colombian, was seen in handcuffs when they were escorted.
Other unconfirmed reports suggest that at least a handful of arrests have been made. KTLA reaches out to DHS and waits for a response.
A large number of armed, masked ice agents raiding Swap Meat in Santa Fe Springs on June 14, 2025 saw a large number of heavily armed, masked ice agents raiding Swap Meat in Santa Fe Springs on June 14, 2025. 2025. (KTLA) Many heavily armed, masked ice agents saw them raid on June 14, 2025 at Swap Meat in Santa Fe Springs.
“The ice comes in and raids the entire location,” said Lopez, an outdoor market vendor. “All the entrances were wide open. There were helicopters circling the property. They were dragging people out of the bathroom. They went to every space in search of the identity of everyone.”
A former US Sal federal building accidentally detained by an ICE agent
Lopez lamented the attack, adding that these are all hardworking people and that her grandmother and parents are afraid to work at their main source of income, the swap convention.
“They’re scared to come to work,” she said. “I don’t think they’ll come in the next few months.”
The Santa Fe Springs raid comes shortly after the raids in other parts of Los Angeles County.
On June 11, Ice Agent arrested a man at Downey Church, urging protests from the community and religious leaders. Just a day later, the family home in Huntington Park was attacked by agents as seen from the street by DHS Chief Christa Noem.
According to ICE, David Garcia, the target of the search, was an undocumented man with no criminal history and was not at home. His pregnant wife and four children, a US citizen, were kicked out of the house while armed agents searched the residence room in the room.
The ongoing ice attack has prompted more than a week of protest across the Los Angeles area, particularly the downtown area, with the Los Angeles Police Department reporting about 561 arrests since the anti-Ic demonstrations broke out on June 7th.
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