Armed and masked males leaping out of unmarked automobiles. Latino males taken from their locations of labor or whereas ready for the bus. Road distributors roughly tackled to the bottom and forcefully held down.
Since early June, the streets of Los Angeles have borne witness to frequent and aggressive immigration raids which have seen individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants detained. Some have been quickly deported.
Between June 6 and June 22 alone, the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) reportedly arrested 1,618 individuals for deportation from LA and the encompassing areas of Southern California. This averages out at about 95 individuals a day, and arrests and deportations have continued within the interval since.
These numbers symbolize a rise over the months prior and look like in keeping with stories of obvious White Home directives to up immigration-related arrests.
Bellingcat labored with our companions at Evident Media and CalMatters to assemble and doc social media and on-line footage of as most of the LA raids as doable.
We collected movies of simply over 100 incidents beginning on June 6, selecting out sightings and what look like recurring tendencies and techniques utilized by officers. A full checklist of the incidents will be seen and downloaded right here.
The footage reveals officers from businesses together with US Customs and Border Safety (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which function below DHS, arresting individuals in public areas, in locations of labor and outdoors residences. In some circumstances, it was unclear what company officers have been with resulting from an absence of clear identification.
In others, officers will be seen utilizing vital drive to detain individuals. Typically officers hold their faces coated, concealing their identification. Unmarked automobiles have been additionally used on quite a few events.
The raids bear similarities to incidents beforehand investigated by Bellingcat, CalMatters and Evident Media in California. Earlier this 12 months, brokers from the El Centro Border Patrol Sector travelled over 300 miles from the US southern border to the town of Bakersfield to participate in what they mentioned have been focused raids to apprehend immigrants with “legal information”.
Nevertheless, simply how focused that mission was grew to become a degree of serious pressure, with rights and labour teams claiming it was something however. Of 78 individuals arrested, just one had been flagged for prior removing.
In April, a federal decide issued a preliminary injunction within the wake of the Bakersfield raids barring Border Patrol from conducting warrantless raids in California’s Jap District, stating that “you simply can’t stroll as much as individuals with brown pores and skin and say, ‘Give me your papers.’”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and different trade and rights teams final week requested an analogous injunction be put in place in California’s Central District, which incorporates Los Angeles.
The pinnacle of the El Centro unit, Gregory Bovino, is now in cost of the operations throughout Los Angeles. Brokers from his El Centro Border Patrol unit have additionally appeared in movies of raids in LA neighbourhoods seen by Bellingcat. Bovino even appeared at a raid involving a whole bunch of officers in LA’s MacArthur Park on July 7.
To be clear, it isn’t doable to know precisely what transpired in each incident captured in our dataset. The overwhelming majority of movies solely provide snapshots of what occurred as most raids relied on the component of shock. Witnesses, due to this fact, typically didn’t seem to start out recording till raids have been below approach. Equally, most of the raids captured have been in public areas akin to in parking tons or at strip malls. Others did happen at personal residences, however incidents usually tend to be captured in locations the place extra members of most people are more likely to be current, akin to on busy thoroughfares. That is seemingly mirrored within the information.
Judging by the variety of individuals detained in LA over the previous couple of weeks, the movies additionally solely seize a portion of all of the incidents which have truly taken place. Regardless of that, the out there movies recommend a couple of tendencies that will provide clues as to the techniques being deployed by brokers throughout the town.
From Pasadena to Lengthy Seashore, and from Playa Vista to Baldwin Park, incidents have been recorded throughout LA. Some have even stretched past Los Angeles County, with raids recorded in Oxnard, Santa Ana and Fontana.
With billions in new funding heading for ICE operations within the close to future, some consider what has occurred in Los Angeles could possibly be simply the beginning of a fair greater immigration crackdown throughout the US. President Donald Trump additionally appeared to recommend as a lot in a June 16 Fact Social submit, stating that he wished to develop detention and deportation efforts to different cities like Chicago and New York.
Raids at Work
A putting variety of movies confirmed individuals being arrested at what seemed to be their locations of labor. These included arrests at automotive washes, meals stands and swap meets.
In one incident on June 22 at Bubble Tub Hand Automobile Wash in Torrance, quite a few brokers will be seen swarming the power and approaching blue-shirted workers. One bystander informed native broadcaster ABC7 Eyewitness Information that she was capable of cease the arrest of an worker by advising him to not reply questions. Nevertheless, others have been roughly dealt with by brokers, a few of whom seemed to be carrying ballistic armour and carrying weapons.
Emmanuel Karim, the supervisor of Bubble Tub Hand Automobile Wash – who will be seen within the video angrily remonstrating with brokers asking them “what are you doing right here?” – informed Bellingcat in a cellphone name that officers didn’t present warrants or identification.
He had beforehand informed the media that two of his employees have been taken in the course of the raid.
In complete, our dataset documented 12 raids that appeared to particularly goal automotive washes, together with one which hit the identical automotive wash twice. Business group CLEAN Carwash Employee Middle, nonetheless, has documented a a lot increased quantity. As of July 4, they informed Bellingcat that they had data detailing raids in at the very least 55 carwash places, with some experiencing a number of raids over the month of June. CLEAN mentioned that they had documented at the very least 96 arrests, together with of each carwash employees and clients.
One other video from June 8 in Westchester confirmed a avenue vendor wrestled to the bottom and surrounded by brokers close to his stall with their weapons drawn.
In one other case on June 22, avenue meals vendor Celina Ramirez clung to a tree as federal officers pulled up and arrested her exterior a Dwelling Depot within the Ladera Heights neighbourhood. A bystander informed ABC7 Eyewitness Information that officers didn’t present identification as to who they have been, nor did they supply a warrant. Whereas some wore Border Patrol identification, there have been additionally plain garments officers. All seemed to be masked.
Help Bellingcat
Your donations immediately contribute to our capability to publish groundbreaking investigations and uncover wrongdoing around the globe.
The character of such arrests has led some to declare that officers are racially profiling employees they could go on the likes of avenue meals stalls whereas additionally concentrating on companies they assume could have a excessive proportion of Latino employees, akin to automotive washes.
The ACLU lawsuit describes a “systematic sample” the place “people with brown pores and skin are approached or pulled apart by unidentified federal brokers, out of the blue and with a present of drive, and made to reply questions on who they’re and the place they’re from”.
Such practices, the place brokers don’t establish themselves or clarify why a person is being arrested are “opposite to federal regulation”, the ACLU lawsuit states.
Bellingcat requested DHS in regards to the claims throughout the ACLU lawsuit in addition to incidents at automotive washes and with the road distributors in Westchester and Ladera Heights. DHS didn’t remark particularly on the Westchester and Ladera Heights incidents. Additionally they didn’t reply to the proprietor’s claims that brokers didn’t present a warrant or identification once they raided the Bubble Tub Hand Automobile Wash in Torrance.
However in an e mail despatched after this text was initially printed DHS Assistant Secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, responded to particulars within the ACLU lawsuit, stating that: “DHS targets don’t have anything to do with an people’ pores and skin color. What makes somebody a goal is that if they’re in america illegally. Most of these disgusting smears are designed to demonise and villainise our courageous ICE regulation enforcement. ”.
McLaughlin added: “DHS enforcement operations are extremely focused, and officers do their due diligence. We all know who we’re concentrating on forward of time. If and once we do encounter people topic to arrest, our regulation enforcement is educated to ask a sequence of well-determined questions to find out standing and removability.”
Strip Malls and Dwelling Depot Parking Tons
On June 16, a video of a bystander questioning two ICE brokers handcuffing and arresting a person in LA county’s Hacienda Heights was shared on-line. The person mentioned his identify is Leo Torres and when the bystander questioned whether or not the brokers had a warrant for his arrest they replied: “This can be a public place, we don’t want a warrant.”
Torres was picked up exterior an space that seems to be a strip mall. Our dataset confirmed 25 incidents at such services. However raids have been captured on video most repeatedly close to shops of 1 model specifically.
In complete, incidents have been recorded exterior or near 17 completely different Dwelling Depots – a frequent place for day labourers to select up supplies for his or her work or to select up work itself.
For instance, in a video captured on June 19 an agent in a Border Patrol uniform will be seen chasing a person within the car parking zone of a Dwelling Depot in Burbank.
In one other incident on June 22, a person was pinned to the bottom in a Dwelling Depot car parking zone in Gardena. Indicators displaying costs of things on the market will be seen in the beginning of the video that match the font used at Dwelling Depot places.
In one other incident on June 9, video footage uploaded from a number of angles confirmed officers working after and questioning a person close to a Dwelling Depot in Huntington Park. The footage additionally confirmed different officers chasing others who have been close by.
Whereas it was not doable to establish the overwhelming majority of the individuals detained within the movies gathered, the raids at Dwelling Depots bear a putting similarity to the Bakersfield operation performed by El Centro Border Patrol earlier this 12 months.
Again then, eight of simply over 50 movies gathered by Bellingcat, Evident and CalMatters appeared to happen in Dwelling Depot parking tons.
Bellingcat requested DHS if brokers had been concentrating on Dwelling Depots with out essentially having warrants for individuals they anticipated to come across there however didn’t obtain a direct response on this query.
Masked and Unmarked
Figuring out who or, certainly, what company is finishing up a selected raid within the movies collected is just not a easy activity. Many brokers put on masks or hold facial options coated, concealing their identification.
As a result of it’s typically unclear who these brokers are, many movies present bystanders asking brokers for identification, a warrant, a badge quantity or who they’re with. In a single video on June 23 at a Dwelling Depot in Inglewood, an officer is requested for his badge quantity by a bystander who’s filming a person being taken away. The officer briefly flashes his badge earlier than dashing into the again of a automotive that speeds away.
Equally, officers will be seen carrying plain garments as a substitute of uniforms in lots of movies, thus making it tough to establish which company they belong to.
Some have warned that the heavy use of masks and shielding of identification makes it simpler for fraudsters or imposters to faux to be federal officers or regulation enforcement to commit crimes. There have already been plenty of circumstances the place this has occurred within the final month, together with in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. Nevertheless, appearing ICE Director, Ted Lyons, has mentioned officers are overlaying their identification to guard themselves and their households from harassment.
A brand new invoice being proposed known as the “No Secret Police Act” would require native, state, and federal officers from overlaying their faces throughout operations in California.
Unmarked automobiles are additionally repeatedly seen being utilized by arresting officers in movies. Bellingcat was capable of establish a number of cases the place the similar unmarked vehicles appeared in separate movies in several elements of the town. The vehicles have been identifiable by their quantity plates.
Different automobiles being utilized by officers, together with Border Patrol automobiles that bear particular person figuring out numbers, is also seen in a number of movies.
In an emailed response to questions despatched after this text was initially printed, a DHS spokesperson mentioned: “When our heroic regulation enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly establish themselves as regulation enforcement whereas carrying masks to guard themselves from being focused by extremely refined gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, legal rings, murderers, and rapists.”
Use of Pressure and Intimidation
A number of movies within the dataset seem to indicate vital drive being utilized by brokers.
Numerous incidents featured closely armed or aggressive officers. Brokers will be seen carrying rifles, handguns, and carrying navy put on, from camouflage uniforms to helmets and ballistic vests.
One notable occasion was the June 16 raid on the Sante Fe Springs Swap Meet that reportedly noticed dozens of brokers, lots of whom have been closely armed, raid a preferred swap meet the place households have been in attendance. Border Patrol filmed this raid and posted a video on their Instagram account. The video reveals plenty of officers carrying weapons, carrying protecting gear, getting ready for the raid and strolling by means of the swap meet. An indication which reads “Household Enjoyable Dwell Music Purchasing” will be seen within the video. The raid reportedly resulted within the arrest of two people. Companies there have since complained that the raids have put individuals off from coming again.
In one other incident on June 29, video footage confirmed the arrest of two males on a avenue in Santa Ana. Brokers appeared to make use of batons on each males as they lay on the bottom. An eye witness said that brokers used pepper spray after one of many males was already on the ground. Federal officers later informed native information outlet, KTLA, that one of many arrested males was a Mexican nationwide current within the US illegally, though they didn’t element how officers first engaged with the 2 males or in the event that they have been people identified to regulation enforcement. The identical officers additionally mentioned to KTLA that officers have been attacked by “a violent mob” protesting the detainments earlier than all suspects have been arrested.
Different incidents confirmed officers pointing weapons at a person making an attempt to flee in a automotive and one other who was making an attempt to take a photograph of a federal agent’s licence plate. One man could possibly be seen with blood pouring from his head after officers smashed his automotive window and dragged him from his car in one other incident captured within the dataset.
Subscribe to the Bellingcat publication
Subscribe to our publication for first entry to our printed content material and occasions that our employees and contributors are concerned with, together with interviews and coaching workshops.
On June 24, throughout an ICE raid within the Style District in Los Angeles, brokers from a number of businesses have been seen tackling a person, Luis Hipolito, pushing him on prime of a curb. A video reveals one officer put an arm round his neck as a number of brokers pile on prime of him and seem to punch the again of his legs. Moments later, he begins convulsing on the bottom.
Hipolito is a US citizen and was apparently filming the arrests of avenue distributors within the space. As reported by the LA Instances, officers ordered Hipolito to go away the scene. When he didn’t, an officer sprayed him within the face with a substance, the LA Instances reported. Video reveals Hipoloito swinging his arm in response however it isn’t clear within the video if his hand related with the officer. He’s being charged with assault for allegedly punching an agent earlier than he was tackled and wrestled to the bottom. Hipolito’s household has since mentioned that he didn’t deliberately contact the agent and that he had been blinded by what they mentioned was pepper spray to his face. They mentioned it was a pure response to being unable to see after being pepper sprayed. The LA Instances reported that DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin had mentioned the actions of Hipolito and one other US citizen had “saved ICE regulation enforcement from arresting the goal unlawful alien of their operation.”
There have been quite a few stories of US residents being detained by ICE. In a single June 12 incident, a video confirmed a US citizen being chased and detained by Border Patrol earlier than being finally let go. Earlier than leaving, nonetheless, one of many officers asks: “Why did you run?”
Whereas it isn’t clear if the one motive they sought to detain this particular person was as a result of he ran, that would appear to align with a promotional video printed on the Customs and Border Safety YouTube web page the place an officer will be heard saying, “In the event that they run, we go”.
In response to questions from Bellingcat about whether or not drive utilized by officers was at all times proportional or if there have been cases the place any had gone too far, DHS responded after this text was initially printed. McLaughlin mentioned that brokers are educated to “use the minimal quantity of drive essential to resolve the state of affairs in a fashion that prioritises the protection of the general public and our officers”.
She added: “Resisting arrest locations these being arrested, the brokers, and the group in danger. Regulation enforcement is now going through an almost 700 p.c enhance in assaults whereas finishing up enforcement operations. However this won’t deter [Customs and Border Protection] – we are going to proceed imposing the regulation and defending American communities.”
This text was up to date on Wednesday July 9, 2025, to incorporate responses from the Division of Homeland Safety which have been acquired after preliminary publication time.
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the power to hold out our work relies on the type assist of particular person donors. If you need to assist our work, you are able to do so right here. You can too subscribe to our Patreon channel right here. Subscribe to our Publication and comply with us on Bluesky right here and Mastodon right here.
