Despite Rumors of Massive Immigration Sweep in L.A., Numbers Don’t Add Up
Rumors of Immigration Enforcement Sweep in Los Angeles
For days, rumors that the federal government was planning a massive immigration enforcement sweep in Los Angeles County on Sunday had put officials on alert and cast a pall of fear and unease across many immigrant communities.
Operation Doesn’t Materialize as Expected
But by midafternoon, it appeared that the operation — if indeed one had been launched — had not been anywhere nearly as widespread as many had predicted. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would not say whether any special operations had taken place or release arrest figures for the day. Representatives for the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department either referred questions to ICE, had no information, or said they were not involved in federal immigration actions.
Less Than a Dozen Detainees Processed
Officers at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles — a lockup run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons — had been asked to prepare for an influx of up to 120 new bookings from expected immigration raids this weekend, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Typically, the downtown facility is staffed to receive new inmates only on weekdays, the officials said, and handling weekend intakes required ordering staff to come in on their days off. The staff came in as directed, but by midafternoon, immigration officials had dropped off fewer than a dozen people for processing, according to one of the sources.
Rumors of Widespread Raids Debunked
When reached by email for comment, a federal prison spokesman confirmed that the agency is assisting ICE by housing some detainees, but declined to comment on any plans to house migrants in the Los Angeles detention center. He said the agency would not comment on the legal status of an individual, nor would it specify the legal status of individuals assigned to any particular facility, including numbers and locations.
Social Media Frenzy
Across Los Angeles County, from Alhambra to Highland Park, there were videos posted on social media showing unmarked vehicles and officers with vests showing up at homes. At least one group acting in defense of immigrants posted Sunday morning that it had followed ICE agents from a staging point at a Target store parking lot in Alhambra to a residence. Parts of their video showed law enforcement officers in bulletproof vests posted outside a stucco apartment building with their faces covered.
Eyewitness Account of Immigration Raid
Felipe Espinoza, a 56-year-old Los Angeles traffic officer, was doing planks and getting ready for work when FBI agents shouted, "Open the door." More than half a dozen agents were outside his home. He raised his hands to the screen, recalling all the police shows he had seen. They repeatedly asked for his father-in-law, whose car was registered to the address. "I haven’t seen him in a while," he told them. Meanwhile, his 7-year-old child came to the door along with his wife, who told the agents they couldn’t come in without a warrant.
Community Reacts to Rumored Raids
Neighbors were walking their dogs on the tidy tree-lined street in Alhambra, a largely middle-class community of Asian and Latino residents where 1 in 4 residents were born outside the United States. After seeing Sunday’s immigration crackdown, it became clear to Espinoza that the document showed several variations of his father-in-law’s name, and it was only then that it became clear that it was an immigration issue.
Conclusion
The rumors of a massive immigration sweep in Los Angeles did not materialize as expected, with fewer than a dozen detainees processed at the Metropolitan Detention Center and no widespread raids reported. While the rumors had put officials on alert and cast a pall of fear and unease across many immigrant communities, the actual operation did not match the hype.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What was the purpose of the alleged immigration sweep?
A: The purpose of the alleged immigration sweep was to apprehend and deport undocumented immigrants.
Q: How many people were detained as a result of the operation?
A: According to sources, fewer than a dozen people were detained and processed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
Q: What was the scope of the operation?
A: The operation was reportedly limited to a small number of individuals, with fewer than a dozen detainees processed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
Q: What were the reactions to the operation?
A: The reaction was mixed, with some community members expressing fear and unease, while others were more skeptical of the operation’s scope and impact.
