As Los Angeles entered its fifth day of civil unrest over federal immigration enforcement, local immigrant rights leader Angelica Salas told elected officials Tuesday that in her 30-year career responding to raids and enforcement actions, she has “never seen anything like this.”
After four days of mostly peaceful daytime protests that have at times turned violent after dark, the City Council convened Tuesday to hear from Salas and Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
Salas recapped the events and their impact on migrants, beginning with the first day of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
“Beginning on Friday, June 6, what we saw was warrantless arrests and mass racial profiling,” Salas told City Council members, noting that the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) received a tip about the raids from a national newspaper.
Shortly after, the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network — a coalition of 23 organizations and more than 30 trained volunteers — was activated. The network received more than 2,000 calls, and received community sightings of ICE throughout the city. Salas estimated that more than 300 migrants were detained, based on accounts from affected families.
Salas said detained migrants are being denied access to attorneys and are unable to contact family members. She added that there are accounts that some are being coerced into signing “voluntary departure notices,” and those who refuse are being fined $5,000.
Salas said her biggest concern is that individuals will be transferred to detention centers outside California.
“Our communities are being terrorized,” Salas said. “We’re in a state of terror. People are outraged at what’s happening.”
The scale of federal force is unprecedented, she added. Salas also recognized the effort from residents and others who are protesting ICE enforcement. She emphasized that vandalism and looting is unacceptable.
“I have a message for all our protesters who are out there: When the story and the spotlight is on you, it means that you’re not actually getting the spotlight on the people who are being harmed,” Salas said. “That means we’re talking about you and your actions — and not about the people who have had their work sites raided, about the families that actually have been impacted.”
Founded by Father Luis Olivares in 1986, CHIRLA is a Los Angeles County-based organization that advocates for immigrant rights.
Several City Council members criticized the federal government’s deployment of military personnel to L.A. They also asked Salas about how they can best help.
Salas emphasized the importance of documentation, urging community members to record any instances of detention or harm. She also said business owners can help, noting that as private entities, entry to their property requires a warrant signed by a judge.
Protests have been occurring daily in the area since Friday, when ICE agents carried out a series of immigration enforcement raids, detaining dozens of people.
President Donald Trump has moved forward with his campaign promise to crackdown on “illegal immigrants.”
Trump previously federalized 2,000 California National Guard troops and deployed them to Los Angeles, despite objections from Mayor Karen Bass, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other local officials, who warned the move would escalate tensions and fuel further protests.
But Trump doubled down Monday, ordering another 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles and directing 700 U.S. Marines to support the Guard’s mission of protecting federal facilities and personnel. Pentagon officials said Tuesday the deployment is expected to cost about $134 million
On social media Tuesday, Trump again insisted that his deployment of the National Guard saved the city.
“If I didn’t `send in the troops’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great city would be burning to the ground right now,” he wrote, referring to Newsom and Bass as “incompetent.”