Moment Border Patrol use huge explosion to blast their way into house with woman and two children
A California mother-of-two was left in tears after Border Patrol agents used a massive explosion to blow down her front door during a terrifying early-morning raid caught on camera.
The shocking scene unfolded in Huntington Park, Los Angeles, where Jenny Ramirez and her two young children, ages one and six, were jolted awake by a deafening blast before a dozen armed agents in full tactical gear stormed the home.
Surveillance footage obtained by NBC Los Angeles shows agents planting an explosive device on the door before detonating it - shattering a window and sending shockwaves through the quiet neighborhood.
Moments later, around a dozen federal agents charged toward the house with weapons drawn.
Inside were Ramirez, her boyfriend Jorge Sierra-Hernandez, and their two children. Speaking through tears, Ramirez told NBC it was one of the loudest explosions she'd ever heard.
'I told them, 'You guys didn't have to do this, you scared by son, my baby,' Ramirez told NBC.
Ramirez said she was given no warning about the raid and insisted that everyone in the home is a U.S. citizen.
According to Ramirez, the agents said they were searching for her boyfriend, who she claims was recently involved in an accidental collision with a truck carrying federal officers.
She said the explosion traumatized her children - and that agents flew a drone into the house during the chaos.
A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection said Sierra-Hernandez was arrested for allegedly ramming a CBP vehicle, 'causing significant damage,' and obstructing law enforcement efforts.
They added that agents were 'assaulted' during the incident, and that 'additional rioters threw rocks and other objects at our personnel.'
The explosive raid comes amid an aggressive ramp-up in federal immigration enforcement across Southern California.
In recent weeks, ICE agents have detained immigrants at courthouses, restaurants - and even in public spaces. Some of those targeted have turned out to be American citizens.
One particularly disturbing case involved a Honduran asylum-seeker and her children, including a six-year-old boy undergoing treatment for leukemia.
In a separate incident also in Huntington Park on Friday, a man was arrested for allegedly impersonating an ICE agent.
Authorities said he had parked in a disabled spot and was found with a firearm and documents appearing to be from Homeland Security Investigations and CBP.
He was later released on bail.
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