Department Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday promised an ongoing federal presence in Los Angeles and Southern California as immigration enforcement efforts continue — and she warned that protesters who incite violence will face arrest and prosecution.
During a news conference in West Los Angeles, Noem said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been conducting operations to arrest criminals who have been on city streets for far too long. According to Noem, federal agents plan to increase their operations in Los Angeles.
“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor (Gov. Gavin Newsom) and that this mayor (Mayor Karen Bass) placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into this city,” Noem said, referring to the state and city’s so-called “sanctuary” policies, which prohibit the use of state and local resources and personnel for federal immigration enforcement.
She said millions of people are in Los Angeles “illegally,” and that ICE has tens of thousands of targets they have been going after since November.
Noem emphasized that anyone who breaks the law and perpetuates violence will be brought to justice. The Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, as well as the Internal Revenue Service, are working under DHS’ Incident Command Center to investigate criminal activity and find individuals who may be funding “violent perpetrators” during protests.
Noem characterized protests unfolding in Los Angeles as “un-American.”
“Masked thugs are assaulting police officers. They’re setting vehicles on fire. They’re waving foreign flags on American soil while burning American flags and they damaged public property and destroyed private businesses,” Noem said.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons insisted that immigration enforcement is focused on gang members, human traffickers, violent drug dealers and rapists. He disputed claims that ICE agents were making warrant-less arrests.
“Yet the city turned against us, and we had violent protesters, and that just won’t happen because the men and women of ICE won’t be deterred by this,” Lyons said. “We’re going to be out there everyday conducting our law enforcement mission.”
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of FBI Los Angeles, said they are investigating allegations of violence, whether it’s assaults on law enforcement officers or civilians, looting, arson, doxing or vandalism to public property.
He announced the FBI was seeking information on Elpidio Reyna, who allegedly assaulted a federal officer and threw rocks at law enforcement cars during a protest on Saturday in Paramount. A $50,000 reward for information leading to Reyna’s arrest was previously offered.
Davis also highlighted that the FBI arrested Alejandro Orellana Thursday morning for allegedly “providing masks and face shields to violent rioters throughout the week.”
Protests have been occurring daily in the downtown area since Friday, when ICE agents carried out a series of immigration enforcement raids, detaining dozens of people.
Elected officials, led by Newsom and Bass, have criticized the deployment of 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to safeguard federal facilities and personnel, citing that militarization has escalated tensions in the city and region.
“Last Thursday, there was nothing happening in this town that called for the raids that took place Friday,” Bass told reporters at a downtown news conference Monday evening. “Nothing was happening. Nothing warranted the raids.”
The protests all generally began peacefully, but devolved into violent confrontations later in the day, with activists over the weekend damaging CHP vehicles parked on the Hollywood (101) Freeway and setting fire to multiple driver-less Waymo vehicles. There was also extensive graffiti and other vandalism throughout the Civic Center area.
Bass and several elected leaders have condemned the looting, noting in a social media post that people who are vandalizing and burglarizing stores are unaffiliated with people legitimately protesting on behalf of immigrants.
“Let me be clear: Anyone who vandalized downtown or looted stores does not care about our immigrant communities,” Bass wrote. “You will be held accountable.”
LA city officials enacted a curfew for the area in downtown impacted by protests, vandalism and looting — which is expected to stay in effect for “several days,” Bass previously announced.
Meanwhile, elected officials have challenged the federal government’s characterization of protests and events happening in the city.
On Wednesday, Bass alongside dozens of mayors representing cities across Southern California renewed their call to Trump to stop the raids. Bass blamed the White House for provoking unrest. The motive behind the federal actions remained unclear, she added.
She condemned the Trump Administration for carrying out raids at Home Depot stores, day labor centers, and workplaces, as well as in close proximity to schools.
“When you run armored caravans through out streets, you’re not trying to keep anyone safe. You’re trying to cause fear and panic, and when you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary,” Bass said.
The mayor emphasized that the Trump Administration is not targeting criminals, but mothers and fathers, restaurant workers, seamstresses, home care workers — everyday Angelenos trying to make a living.