WASHINGTON – Homeland security figures released Tuesday show a continuing arrest in an offensive federal operation that began more than a month ago to track and detain undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles.
“The immigration enforcement business for DHS and its components is currently underway in Los Angeles,” Homeland Security officials said in a statement provided to the Times. “Since the operation began in June, ICE and CBP have arrested 2,792 illegal aliens in the LA area.”
Federal authorities said 1,618 undocumented immigrants were in custody between June 6th (starting the DHS project in Los Angeles) and June 22nd. The new total includes nearly 1,200 arrests in just two weeks since. President Trump deployed the National Guard and the US Marines in the city after the operation began amid a fierce protest.
The latest figures were released on the 1st after dozens of immigration agents and National Guard members swept MacArthur Park just west of downtown, charging through the children of summer camp.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “stigma,” and the lawsuit elicited widespread criticism from local officials. They have repeatedly criticised federal operations to terrorize immigrant communities. There, businesses were slowing down and many people drilled holes in their homes.
“The actions from the federal government last month do not represent the values of our city or our country,” said eunisses Hernandez, a city council member representing the region. “Sending US soldiers at bus stops to intimidate camps and Senora makes no one safer. Attack Home Depot has not stopped crime. Tearing families from children does not support family values.
The president’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles was a test case for the Trump administration as it pushed the boundaries of enforcement agencies and deployed federal agents and troops to major metropolitan cities hostile to the cause of deporting large numbers of immigrants.
Detention has proven to be a challenge for local and state officials who have set up in federal courts about the White House’s ability to carry out local enforcement activities.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit also ruled that for now, after Trump took the extraordinary step of federalizing security guards and deploying them to Los Angeles.
Wilner reported from Washington, Ulanga, Los Angeles.
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