The protest crowd gathered outside Pico Rivera City Hall to protest after a US citizen who tried to intervene because a federal immigrant agent was talking to another man on Tuesday, reportedly being detained after a violent physical conflict.
The incident unfolded in the parking lot of a vast retail center that houses the Lowes’ home improvement store in the 8600 block of Washington Boulevard.
Footage of the incident shows at least half a dozen US immigrants and customs enforcement agents in the fight against a young man identified by his family as Adrian Andrew Martinez.
In the fight, you can hear someone scream, “He is a US citizen!”
The young man appeared to be fighting back, but was soon taken to the ground and overwhelmed by additional agents before being placed behind a US customs and border guard vehicle.
The family told KTLA’s Sarah Welch that Martinez was trying to stand up for the man who was being questioned by ice agents when the conflict got physical.
The footage of the incident did not capture the moment before the struggle. And it is unclear what led to the incident.
“I heard he was trying to defend the custodian they were trying to take,” said the man who witnessed the brawl but didn’t want to be identified on camera. “I went to school with him, he’s younger than me. I know his sister.”
Federal immigration agent seen in violent struggle with Pico Rivera men on June 17, 2025 (Instagram/@cameramanoscar) Federal immigration agent seen in violent struggle with Pico Rivera men on June 17, 2025 (Instagram/@@@cameramaNoscar) Federal immigration agent seen in violent struggle with Pico Rivera men on June 17, 2025 (Instagram/@@@cameramaNoscar) Federal immigration agent seen in violent struggle with Pico Rivera. Agent seen in a violent struggle with Pico Rivera men on June 17, 2025 (Instagram/@cameramamanoscar) Federal immigration agent seen in a violent struggle with Pico Rivera men on June 17, 2025 (Instagram/@@cameramamanoscar) Federal immigration agent seen in a violent struggle with Pico Rivara on June 17, 2025 (Instagram/@@cameramamanoscar) Federal immigration agent seen in a violent struggle with Pico Rivara/@@@@
The incident sparked protests outside city hall, where protesters were urging city officials to do more to help the community.
“We are actually very concerned about what happened here today,” Pico Rivera city manager Steve Carmona told KTLA. “We have been posting information on social media platforms over the past few weeks, as well as pushing other information from counties, states and federal lawmakers about how residents and immigrant communities can access resources and help them if needed.”
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Internal government documents obtained by CNN show that despite the federal government’s stance that it targets only undocumented residents with no criminal history, less than 10% of the estimated 185,000 people arrested on ICE between October 2024 and May 2025 are convicted of serious crimes, including rape, murder, assault and robbery.
Documents show that over 75% of those detained during that same period were not criminally convicted beyond immigration or traffic-related crimes.
“They’re getting everyone,” demonstrator Anthony Iras said. “They’re getting people who sell carbohydrates, flowers, ice cream that they work. It’s not just criminals.”
Other residents say they have found ice agents elsewhere in Pico Rivera, but Martinez’s family is still trying to find out where he was taken.
“It’s just heartbreaking that they’re taking people around,” said the man who witnessed the incident. “Sometimes those people are American citizens, and that’s just sad.”
KTLA has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and is waiting for a response.
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