Los Angeles council hears accounts of federal immigration raids, advocates and police give differing accounts of scope and response

Los Angeles City Council members on June 10 heard from immigrant-rights advocates, clergy and the Los Angeles Police Department about a series of federal immigration enforcement operations that advocates say have included mass arrests at workplaces and other locations across Los Angeles County.

Angélica Salas, identified to the council as a leader with the Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants (CHIRLA), told members the first wave of enforcement began May 23 and that local defenders had logged calls and field reports from multiple locations. “La capacidad de detención ya se llegó al límite,” Salas said, and she estimated “300 personas se les tuvieron, pero no hemos tenido acceso” to many detainees or to courts for legal counsel.

Why it matters: Council members said the reports of arrests, denials of lawyer access and the appearance of federal tactical units are producing fear in immigrant communities, disrupting workplaces and schools, and — they said — risking unlawful removals to out-of-state facilities. Councilmembers asked what the city can do to document cases, coordinate rapid legal response and support families while staying within the limits of local authority.

Angélica Salas told the council that defenders and pro-bono attorneys had been unable to see many detainees, that families reported coercion to sign so-called voluntary departure forms under the threat of fines, and that organizers had recorded detentions at multiple…