Dozens of heavily armed ICE agents swarm popular L.A. County swap meet
With a Department of Homeland Security helicopter circling, several dozens of heavily armed, masked ICE agents dressed in military tactical gear raided one of the most popular swaps meets in Southern California, which caters to a predominantly Latino crowd, over the weekend.
The incident, according to video of the event captured by photojournalists with OnScene.TV, unfolded Saturday at around 3:30 p.m. at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet at 13963 Alondra Blvd.
KTLA's Carlos Saucedo reports that the sight of ICE agents sent many vendors and customers running, in attempt to escape the raid.
An estimated 60 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were seen on the flea market grounds, which also houses a music venue.
Some onlookers are seen filming the raid on their cellphones while federal authorities moved through the crowd.
It's unclear if federal officials expected to detain a lot of individuals at the event, but despite their large numbers, only two people, a woman and a man, the latter who told an onlooker he's Colombian, were seen in handcuffs as they were escorted away.
Other unconfirmed reports suggest that at least a handful of arrests were made. KTLA has reached out to DHS and is awaiting a response.
'ICE comes in and raids the whole place,' Aracely Lopez, a vendor at the open-air market, said. 'All the entrances were wide open. There was a helicopter circling the premises. They were dragging people out of the bathrooms. They went into all the spaces asking for everyone's identification.'
U.S. Marshal wrongly detained by ICE agents in lobby of federal building
Lopez lamented the raid, adding that these are all just hardworking people and that her grandmother and parents are afraid to come to work at the swap meet, which is their main source of income.
'They're scared to come to work,' she said. 'I don't think they're going to come for the next few months.'
The Santa Fe Springs raid comes on the heels of raids in other areas of Los Angeles County.
On June 11, ICE agents arrested a man at a Downey church, prompting an outcry from community and religious leaders. Just a day later, a Huntington Park family's home was raided by agents as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem looked on from the street.
The target of the search, David Garcia, an undocumented man with a criminal record, according to ICE, was not home. His pregnant wife and four children all, U.S. citizens, were forced out of the house while armed agents searched the residence room by room.
The ongoing ICE raids have prompted more than a week of protests throughout areas of L.A., particularly downtown, with the Los Angeles Police Department reporting some 561 arrests since anti-ICS demonstrations erupted on June 7.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump on who should be prosecuted for Iran intel leaks
All times eastern Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: Senate convenes over President Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill'
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mayoral hopeful claimed Florida tax break meant for full-time residents
Jun. 29—By Justin Garcia A beachside home in a small Florida town belonging to Albuquerque mayoral candidate Darren White has been receiving a $50,000 tax exemption since 2022, a tax break that requires the owner to be a Florida resident and allowed him to save a few thousand dollars a year on property taxes. Despite having a multi-decade history as a prominent player in New Mexico politics, White's tax exemption on his Florida property could create a contradiction in the candidate's residency status as he gears up for a run at the mayor's office. New Mexico law requires candidates to reside in the district for which they are running and to be registered to vote in that district to qualify for the ballot; otherwise, they can be removed from the ballot, according to state law. The Albuquerque City Clerk cited the law to the Journal, but declined to specify whether it might apply in this case. "The City cannot comment on issues that could come before the Board of Ethics or other adjudicatory bodies," a city clerk spokesperson said. White has an address in Albuquerque, a long voting record in local elections and no history of voting in Florida, according to publicly available documents. When reached by phone, he confirmed that he owned the house in Florida but stated it is not his permanent residence and that he would contact the appropriate appraiser to have any $50,000 exemption changed. "We are confident voters care more about crime in Albuquerque than property tax technicalities in Florida," White said in a written statement. He further argued that the situation amounted to nothing more than a simple oversight when asked if he felt like he should reimburse Gulf County. White was the Bernalillo County sheriff in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006. He also served as secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety under Gov. Gary Johnson and was a chief public safety officer under former Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry. More recently, White has become the CEO of PurLife, a cannabis company. He is now part of a crowded field of seven candidates seeking the mayor's office. White secured enough signatures last week to appear on the ballot. 'It has been corrected' Publicly available emails, voting records and property records first shared with the Journal by an outside source affiliated with a Republican political consulting firm, but independently verified by the Journal, show that White has claimed a house in Port St. Joe, Florida, as his primary residence since 2022. In doing so, White received a yearly $50,000 tax exemption, known as a homestead exemption, which allowed him to save a few thousand dollars a year on property taxes. According to the Florida Department of Revenue, such exemptions require a person to declare that the house for which they're receiving an exemption is their primary residence. The Gulf County Appraiser's Office, which oversees property assessment duties for Port St. Joe, confirmed to the Journal that White has received the homestead exemption since 2022, although he's paid taxes on the house since buying it in 2019. An email from 2022 between White and the Appraiser's Office shows that White confirmed he wanted the exemption. To receive it, the Appraiser's Office must receive copies of utilities bills, bank information and a Florida driver's license. The Appraiser's Office confirmed they had received all three of the required documents and White confirmed in an email that he had a Florida driver license at one point. Additionally, publicly available documents on the Gulf County Appraiser's Office website listed White's Florida residence as currently receiving a homestead exemption. However, White said he planned to change that after talking with the Journal on June 18 and as of June 25, the Appraiser's Office lists the property as no longer receiving it. "I briefly lived in Florida but moved back in 2022 and changed my voter registration accordingly. I still have a home in Florida that is now a rental property. The property tax designation was inadvertent. It has been corrected, and all my taxes are up to date and paid in full," White said. The house is a single-family home located in Port St. Joe, a town in the panhandle with a population of approximately 3,775 residents. Documents show White purchased the property in 2019. Meanwhile, voting records obtained by the Journal show that White has been a consistent voter in New Mexico over that time. The records reveal that White voted in the 2022 general election, the 2024 primary election, and the 2024 general election, despite receiving the homestead exemption on the Port St. Joe house. There are no Florida records that suggest he voted in that state. Eligibility questions are district court matters, according to a spokesperson from the Albuquerque City Clerk's Office. "I am very clearly a resident of Albuquerque — and live and pay taxes here," White said.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gov. Tina Kotek to OR lawmakers: ‘Your work is not done' on transportation bill
PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN) — After the Oregon Legislative Session concluded for the year late Friday night, Governor Tina Kotek held a press conference the following morning acknowledging 'major progress' in certain areas. However, she had choice words to say on the transportation bill which has yet to pass. State lawmakers faced a mountain of bills this session, coming in at 2,200. This marks the most in a quarter-century, running the gamut from important issues such as housing and education to trivial matters such as cleaning up administrative language. Gov. Kotek said she came into this legislative session with 'clear priorities for the state,' including working to solve the homelessness crisis, housing supply issues, mental health and addiction treatment, improving schools, as well as dedicated funds for wildfire fighting and prevention. Kotek signs bill bringing Portland a 'step closer' to an MLB stadium 'We had success in all of those areas,' she said. 'We made progress, it was good work, it was bipartisan progress, particularly in the area of housing. A lot of work together – Republicans and Democrats to work on our housing ad homelessness crisis – and we have more work to do.' However, issues began to arise when House Rules Committee discussed the amendment to HB 3402, looking to bridge the ODOT's funding gap, after a . ODOT has said if its $350 million shortfall is not addressed, several hundred jobs will be on the chopping block. The new amendment featured bumps to registration and titling fees, with a 3-cent increase to the gas tax, allowing for all that money to go to ODOT. Meet Yang Hansen: The Portland Trail Blazers' newest draft pick Republicans largely said working Oregonians don't want more taxes. This led lawmakers to 'not produce anything on transportation that we need in the state' by Friday night, concluding the legislative session two days before it constitutionally had to end, according to Kotek. 'Republican leadership in both the House and Senate refused to provide that collaborative procedural motion to move a bill that had the votes forward to pay for basic transportation services in our state,' she added. 'What didn't happen was support from Republican leaders who just wanted to go home. So here we are.' Kotek previously stated that the possible ODOT job cuts include roles like incident response teams and maintenance crews, which would be 'unacceptable' for Oregonians. Without the funding, ODOT could face 700-800 layoffs on Monday. Given this, Kotek said she is not giving up on the bill, telling lawmakers, 'your work is not done.' 'Legislators will be hearing from me,' she said. 'Because all 90 lawmakers and all the communities they represent depend on the Oregon Department of Transportation to support vital services. This conversation will continue.' Another bill centering on banning student cell phones in schools statewide also did not pass. But Kotek noted she is still considering making that happen. What's more, with 30 days to sign bills into law, the governor can choose to call lawmakers back into a special session. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
