LAPD presence at South L.A. immigration raid sparks questions

Hoku Jeffrey, with By Any Means Necessary, stands in front of a home where two people were taken into custody Friday by immigration officials at 442 E. 41st St. in South Los Angeles. Los Angeles’ sanctuary law bars city employees and city property from being used to “investigate, cite, arrest, hold, transfer or detain any person” for the purpose of immigration enforcement. In a statement Friday evening, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were in the Newton Division “assisting with traffic control as Homeland Security was attempting to arrest a suspect wanted for human trafficking.” “I want to be absolutely clear: The LAPD does not participate in civil immigration enforcement,” he said. We’re getting it piecemeal because there’s no formal announcement.” California Kern County immigration raid offers glimpse into new reality for California farmworkers Advocates on the scene said the Border Patrol raid in Kern County last month indiscriminately targeted Latino farmworkers commuting from the fields and day laborers soliciting work in the parking lots of big box stores. Immigrant rights activists have been on heightened alert since President Trump took office and promised “mass deportations.” Ron Gochez, a member of the Community Self-Defense Coalition, a group of more than 60 organizations that has been patrolling the streets looking for immigration enforcement actions, said he arrived at the South Central apartment building around 7:45 a.m. “We got there, and there were a lot of federal agent vehicles there.