The Huntington Park Police Department arrested a man this week suspecting he was trying to posse as a federal immigration agent, owning an uncertified handgun and a list of US customs and border protection radio codes inside his vehicle.
Huntington Park police made an arrest late Tuesday at 7010 S. Alameda St., city officials said.
Officers took the man into custody after learning he was carrying unauthorized, hidden weapons to the vehicle. City officials also said the man has a bench warrant related to the DUI case. Police identified the man as Fernando Diaz. twenty three. He was subsequently released on $5,000 bail, city officials said.
Diaz’s representative could not be immediately contacted for comment.
Police investigators are trying to determine whether the suspect is trying to posse as a federal immigration agent.
City officials said the vehicle is equipped with police lights and several radios are installed in the center console. They said police officers also found a list of radio codes for US Customs and Border Protection Power.
The man told investigators that he worked for CBP in 2022 but could not confirm his current and past status with the agency.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and CBP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Arrests come in the wake of growing concern over recorded tactics of federal immigrant agents, often seen as raids without identifying clothes or badges, and often seen as raids on migrants armed with pistols. Our atty at a recent Senate committee hearing. General Pam Bondi claimed he was unaware that the agents were hiding their faces with masks during the immigrant sweeps, but suggested that this was for their protection.
Last week, two California lawmakers proposed a new state law that would prohibit law enforcement members from hiding their faces while they work. The bill encourages local, state and federal law enforcement officials to misdemeanor cover their faces with a few exceptions and wear a shape of identification in their uniforms.
Recently, Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores called the federal government presence in the region “political theatre.”
Flores plans to introduce the allegations to the city council, which instructs the city council to ask federal agents to identify themselves if they intend to carry out immigration operations within the city.
“What if there’s a bad actor who decides to throw a monotonous olive outfit and lure people out?” Flores told The Times last week. “I will not ask officers to sabotage federal issues, but we must prepare these agencies to take responsibility for their actions. There is a tragedy waiting for it to happen.”
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