- Oct 17, 2011
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Videos showed federal agents running after people in the parking lot of the Home Depot in Westlake, not far from downtown Los Angeles
Another raid occurred at a business in the Garment District near 9th and Towne streets, with agents in riot gear detaining workers at a clothing store as dozens of people began to gather outside. As workers were hauled off in cuffs, throngs of people yelled at the agents and held up cellphones to record them, according to videos of the showdown. One person threw eggs at one of the vehicles as agents pushed members of the public back, the videos showed.
In the street, immigrant-rights advocates stood on a bed of a truck, using megaphones to speak to the workers inside the store, reminding them of their constitutional rights and instructing them not to sign anything or say anything to federal agents. They also told the agents that lawyers wanted access to the workers, and sometimes called out specific names.
“I want to talk to my clients Luis Lopez and Michel Garcia. We are here," one person could be heard saying. "The community is here with you. Your family is here with you."
Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE, said federal agents in downtown Los Angeles were executing search warrants related to the harboring of people illegally in the country. At least 44 people were arrested and one for obstructing No other details were provided.
The crowd remained mostly peaceful, but photos and videos of the scene showed some unmarked vehicles used by ICE had been vandalized with graffiti. As agents whisked away workers in white SUVs, members of the crowd walked and ran alongside the vehicles, videos from the scene showed. At one point, a man backpedaling in front of a departing SUV was nearly run over when he tripped and fell in front of the vehicle.
Officials from the Service Employees International Union said in a statement that its California president, David Huerta, was detained and injured during a downtown raid "while exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity."
An SEIU spokesperson said Huerta was taken to LA County General Hospital for his injuries and later released into federal custody.
Ilse Escobar, a United Teachers Los Angeles political organizer, told The Times she saw a scuffle take place before seeing Huerta being thrown to the ground by a federal agent.
"I told him, you just arrested a labor union president," Escobar said.
[Having watched some of the protest live on local TV, it looked like many union organizers were there and kept their protest disciplined and legal.]
Another raid occurred at a business in the Garment District near 9th and Towne streets, with agents in riot gear detaining workers at a clothing store as dozens of people began to gather outside. As workers were hauled off in cuffs, throngs of people yelled at the agents and held up cellphones to record them, according to videos of the showdown. One person threw eggs at one of the vehicles as agents pushed members of the public back, the videos showed.
In the street, immigrant-rights advocates stood on a bed of a truck, using megaphones to speak to the workers inside the store, reminding them of their constitutional rights and instructing them not to sign anything or say anything to federal agents. They also told the agents that lawyers wanted access to the workers, and sometimes called out specific names.
“I want to talk to my clients Luis Lopez and Michel Garcia. We are here," one person could be heard saying. "The community is here with you. Your family is here with you."
Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE, said federal agents in downtown Los Angeles were executing search warrants related to the harboring of people illegally in the country. At least 44 people were arrested and one for obstructing No other details were provided.
The crowd remained mostly peaceful, but photos and videos of the scene showed some unmarked vehicles used by ICE had been vandalized with graffiti. As agents whisked away workers in white SUVs, members of the crowd walked and ran alongside the vehicles, videos from the scene showed. At one point, a man backpedaling in front of a departing SUV was nearly run over when he tripped and fell in front of the vehicle.
Officials from the Service Employees International Union said in a statement that its California president, David Huerta, was detained and injured during a downtown raid "while exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity."
An SEIU spokesperson said Huerta was taken to LA County General Hospital for his injuries and later released into federal custody.
Ilse Escobar, a United Teachers Los Angeles political organizer, told The Times she saw a scuffle take place before seeing Huerta being thrown to the ground by a federal agent.
"I told him, you just arrested a labor union president," Escobar said.
[Having watched some of the protest live on local TV, it looked like many union organizers were there and kept their protest disciplined and legal.]
