More than six months after immigration enforcement operations began at workplaces in downtown Los Angeles, more people have been detained from the streets of Southern California, with communities continuously reporting immigration crackdowns.
In Cypress Park, a tamale vendor was arrested Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, a source confirmed to NBC News.
On the same day, a man was arrested in Highland Park as he was dropping off his son at school.
In Lincoln Heights, chaos and panic ensued when federal agents began following people, according to Blanca Izaguirre, who owns a tortilla shop in the neighborhood.
“We were here where our doors open, and suddenly, we heard a lot of girls and ladies screaming, saying ‘La Migra. La Migra,” Izaguirre said. “The agents were going back and forth, following the people on the streets, the ones that were selling on the street.”
She described that “everybody” was screaming and crying, and about eight people came rushing into her store.
“We locked the door, and we thought if they come here, we’re going to ask them for a warrant,” Izaguirre said.
Izaguirre said she’s doesn’t know whether anyone was taken by immigration authorities Tuesday in Lincoln Heights.
Last Saturday, when federal agents arrived in a Downey community, neighbors stepped in verbally intervening in an apparent immigration enforcement.
“It’s not a coincidence that these raids happened on the first day of the kids going back to school,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, whose district reported immigration enforcement incidents recently. “It’s so tragic that these kids that are going back are coming home with one less parent, this federal administration and ICE.
NBC Los Angeles reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
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