As many as 44 people were detained across Los Angeles on Friday amid a chaotic, protest-guided raid by US immigrants and customs enforcement officials, with local lawmakers claiming that the attacks by federal officials were taking place outside of the boundaries of the law.
Speaking to KTLA 5’s Carlos Herrera shortly after Saturday’s press conference, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) said he and his federal counterparts were barred from entering a facility in downtown Los Angeles where detainees are believed to be in custody. Rep. Gomez was one of several lawmakers who denounced the attack at a Saturday morning meeting and called for transparency.
“We received reports of individuals being detained here… We heard that this location has the capacity of 100 people and that is far higher,” Senator Gomez, which includes several prominent ethnic enclaves in the 34th district, told KTLA. “We have the right to conduct oversight as members of Congress… to confirm [detainees] There are places to sleep, they have access to their medicines, food, water, and toilets… They also have the right to advise. ”
“But we were given this excuse that we weren’t allowed to do so for safety,” Gomez continued. “And is it like, ‘What safety issues?’ [because] There are no safety issues. ”
Police use flash bangs, tear gas to quell protests in LA
Gomez also said there was another reason why he and other officials weren’t due to protests, but he retorted that it was actually the legal team of Congress members and detainees that preventing “protests” from entering them. He further said the current law states that prior notice or written permission is not required for lawmakers to enter such facilities.
“We can just show up, present ourselves and our ID and then be allowed,” he said. “It’s been done over and over again, and they usually limp, so they first showed up in the morning.
US Congressman Jimmy Gomez will speak with Carlos Herrera of KTLA 5 on June 7, 2025.
The lawmaker observed that the van was loaded and said people were “ships.”[ed] According to US Attorney Bill Essay, one of the people believed to be in the facility is union leader David Fuerta.
Not only is Fuerta a member of Gomez, he is a personal friend, and previously worked together in the labor movement. Lawmakers said they could not see Fuerta or other detainees on Saturday.
More individuals could be detained in the coming days. KTLA has already received reports of ice attacks at Paramount and Downey on Saturday morning, and Rep. Gomez says everyone has the right to be scared, whether he is a member or not.
Photo: Federal agents are running immigration enforcement projects in downtown Los Angeles
“This administration operates outside the scope of the law,” he said. “They use tactics that appear with masks, and instead of presenting themselves, they are appearing in unmarked cars. It’s all about enforcing immigration laws, as well as blackmailing them.”
“Additionally, they’re starting to go to sensitive sites, arresting people presenting themselves in court, going through the asylum process or checking in. [which has] It has never been done before…or at hospitals, schools, or alumni,” he continued.[ICE officials] Present this fear because people want to self-promotion because they want to permeate that fear. That is absolutely shameful. ”
Overall, Senator Gomez says the tactics used by the Trump administration are focusing on “intimidation based on how you look.”
“I have never seen Canadians living here illegally or have not been thrown into undocumented ground,” he said. “It’s always a Latino or a brown person who’s restrained.”
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