Latest news with #HuntingtonPark
CBS News
7 hours ago
- CBS News
Huntington Park man arrested for collision with immigration agents
Federal agents arrested a Huntington Park man Friday morning after he allegedly "rammed his car" into a border patrol vehicle last Friday during an immigration sweep in the city of Bell, according to Customs and Border Protection. CBP said Jorge Sierra-Hernandez caused significant damage to the agent's vehicle and obstructed the operation. The federal agency said a crowd of people assaulted, threw rocks and surrounded agents immediately after the crash. Marissa, a friend of Sierra-Hernandez and his girlfriend Jenny, described the collision as "an accident." "They were in an accident in Bell trying to leave the area because of a raid," Marissa said. "They got brake-checked by an ICE vehicle." A week after the collision, federal agents tracked Sierra-Hernandez to his home in Huntington Park. Neighbors said they watched an armored vehicle park outside the house before agents used a drone to survey the property. Security video from a neighboring property shows federal agents using an explosive to blast open his front door around 6 a.m., Friday morning. As officers moved in, security video from Sierra-Hernandez's home shows a woman whom neighbors identified as Jenny being escorted out with her two children. "Why would you have 15 men going into their home, breaking down their door and sending in the drone," said Marissa, a friend of Jenny. "She was asleep with her kids." Marissa, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, said Jenny and her kids were sleeping when the agents prepared to blow open her door. "One of our neighbors called her and they moved in time," Marissa said. "It could have been a lot worse for them."
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Federal agents blast way into California home of woman and small children
Federal agents blasted their way into a residential home in Huntington Park, California, on Friday. Security-camera video obtained by the local NBC station showed border patrol agents setting up an explosive device near the door of the house and then detonating it – causing a window to be shattered. Around a dozen armed agents in full tactical gear then charged toward the home. Jenny Ramirez, who lives in the house with her boyfriend and one-year-old and six-year-old children, told NBC through tears that it was one of the loudest explosions she heard in her life. 'I told them, 'You guys didn't have to do this, you scared by son, my baby,'' Ramirez said. Ramirez said she was not given any warning from the authorities that they wanted to enter her home and that everyone who lives there is a US citizen. The raid comes as federal agents have ramped up immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and across southern California over the last few weeks. Huntington Park is in Los Angeles county. Immigrants have been swept up in raids at court houses, restaurants and straight off the street. Some of the people targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) have been US citizens. In one incident, Ice agents detained a Honduran woman seeking asylum and her children, one of which was a six-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with leukemia. The agents who raided Ramirez's home in Huntington Park on Friday also reportedly sent a drone into the house after setting off the explosive device. The agents told Ramirez that they were searching for her boyfriend, but did not tell her why, according to NBC. Ramirez told the news station that he was involved in a vehicle collision with a truck carrying federal agents last week. She said it was an accident and unintentional. A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection told NBC: 'Jorge Sierra-Hernandez was arrested because he rammed his car into a CBP vehicle, causing significant damage and obstructed the work of our agents and officers during course of a law enforcement operation.' The spokesperson said agents were 'assaulted' during this incident and 'additional rioters threw rocks and other objects at our personnel'. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately return the Guardian's request for comment. In a separate incident in Huntington Park on Friday, a man was arrested for apparently impersonating an Ice agent, according to another report by the local NBC station. Police said they arrested the man after he parked in a disabled zone. In his vehicle, they allegedly found a firearm and documents that appeared to be from Homeland Security Investigations and CBP. The man was arrested over possession of an allegedly unregistered firearm and later released on bail.
CBS News
11 hours ago
- CBS News
Man arrested, accused of posing as Border Patrol agent in Huntington Park
Huntington Park police arrested a man this week who they say was posing as a federal immigration agent. At a Friday news conference, the Huntington Park police chief and mayor discussed the arrest of 24-year-old Fernando Diaz, who they say was impersonating a federal agent, using it as an example of what they say is a broader issue. Diaz was arrested on June 24 after officers spotted a gray Dodge Durango parked in a handicap spot with no visible handicap placard and without a front license plate. Police Chief Cosme Lozano said officers thought the truck might be an unmarked law enforcement vehicle after spotting several police-like radios and a firearm magazine inside the SUV. Vehicle registration information showed that it was registered to a person in Los Angeles, not law enforcement. "The officers then initiated procedures to impound the vehicle for violations of the California vehicle code, and as they were doing so, a male individual approached, claiming to be the owner of the vehicle," Lozano said. Diaz claimed the items in the truck belonged to a friend, investigators said. Diaz also told officers that he works as a security guard and stated that he had previously worked for Customs and Border Protection; however, police say he was unable to produce any valid credentials to substantiate this claim. A further search of the vehicle revealed a loaded 9mm semi-automatic firearm, two holsters, additional ammunition for the gun, three cell phones, a sheet containing U.S. Customs and Border Protection radio codes, multiple copies of passports, red and blue lights hidden under the vehicles visors … "and other miscellaneous items indicative of possible criminal activity," Lozano said. Huntington Park police recovered items from a June 24 arrest of a man who they say was impersonating a federal agent. KCAL News Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores said residents across the region are reporting encounters with individuals claiming to be federal agents. "One recent incident prompted a resident to ask, 'Who are these people?' And frankly, the vests that they were wearing look a lot like they were ordered on Amazon, " Flores said. "Are they bounty hunters? Are they vigilantes? These questions reflect a larger breakdown of trust and accountability." During the news conference, Flores added that the Huntington Park City Council passed a resolution this week directing its police department to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a federal immigration agent in the city. CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and are waiting for a response.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Huntington Park mayor directs police to enforce ICE agents' self-identification
Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores released a statement Saturday, condemning what he called 'masked abductions' amid immigration raids across Los Angeles County, and directing police to intervene in unlawful or unauthorized operations. 'These are not lawful arrests. These are abductions,' said Mayor Flores. 'For more than a week, we have witnessed families being torn apart, children left without parents, and residents vanishing without explanation. Men dressed in tactical gear, operating unmarked vehicles without displaying credentials or agency affiliation, have infiltrated our neighborhoods in direct violation of our community's values, civil rights, and the basic principles of due process.' Last week, a raid on a Huntington Park home, attended by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, caused outrage in the community. The agency said that the federal immigration agents were targeting a man with a criminal record inside the home, but when about a half-dozen vehicles carrying heavily armed, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents converged on the home, it was occupied by a 28-year-old pregnant mother of four. ICE agents and Noem eventually left the home empty-handed, and the children were allowed back inside. However, this was not the only raid reported in Huntington Park, according to the mayor, and other times, federal agents have been seen masking their faces and driving unmarked vehicles. Flores said he's received reports of masked and unidentified individuals abducting residents in broad daylight. 'These actions have sparked rumors of unauthorized vigilantes or bounty hunters operating under the guise of federal enforcement, have triggered widespread fear and confusion throughout the community.' This message also comes a day after protesters were seen facing off with masked men in the neighboring Southeast L.A. city of Bell, where a large crowd was seen surrounding unmarked vehicles with federal agents around. Several people were seen detained, and a large crowd continued to move in on the unmarked vehicles. 'This is not immigration enforcement. This is state-sanctioned intimidation,' said Flores. 'I am calling for the immediate cessation of these raids and for the Huntington Park Police Department to begin verifying the identities and authority of any individuals conducting such operations within city limits.' The statement shared that the mayor formally directed the police department to enforce laws concerning unmarked vehicles, visible license plates and required agency identification. 'He is urging law enforcement to investigate and intervene in any unauthorized operations that place public safety or civil liberties at risk,' continued the message. 'We cannot allow Wild West-style bounty hunter tactics to unfold unchecked on our streets,' said Mayor Flores. 'Our residents deserve to know who is operating in their neighborhoods and under what authority. Allowing unidentified and unverified actors to engage in forceful detentions is not only reckless—it is dangerous and corrosive to the rule of law.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem attends ICE raid at Los Angeles County home
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the intended target of the raid. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined federal immigration agents Thursday on a raid targeting a man with a criminal record at a Huntington Park, California, home, the agency said. The raid occurred Thursday morning when about a half-dozen vehicles carrying heavily armed, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents converged on a home occupied by a 28-year-old pregnant mother of four. Sabrina Medina said she was in the shower around 6 a.m. when her brother-in-law first saw the menacing presence in front of the family's home. 'I was just terrified, I'm not going to lie to you,' Medina told KTLA's Rick Chambers. 'I was shaking. I was scared. I've never gone through anything like this.' Medina said she looked out the window and saw 10 men dressed in tactical military gear, all carrying rifles. 'I was like, 'Am I dreaming or is this real?'' she said. According to Medina, who is a U.S. citizen, the agents told her to exit her home with her children. Standing in the driveway, they showed her a warrant for her husband, listing his name as David Garcia. As she explained that her husband's name is Jorge and that he was not at the house, one of the agents was captured on an outdoor home surveillance camera turning the device away from what was transpiring. Cameras inside the home captured the heavily armed ICE agents going through the residence room by room, all while Noem, wearing a bulletproof vest and ballcap, watched from the street. DHS later posted on X that the target of the raid was 'an illegal alien from Mexico who had previously been deported. His criminal history includes drug trafficking and assault.' After hearing about the raid, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn went to the Huntington Park neighborhood and spoke with some of Medina's neighbors. 'I'm very disappointed in this government right now and what they're doing,' she told KTLA. Four months pregnant with her fifth child, the Huntington Park mother said if her husband is deported, the family's future is bleak. 'I'm not going to be able to pay my rent when I have to pay it,' she explained. 'My husband is not here. I don't know if they're going to pick him up tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. It's sad.' ICE agents, along with Noem, eventually left the home empty-handed, and the children were allowed back inside. For now, the family is unsure what the coming days will bring, but Medina said if her husband is deported, she and her children will likely follow him back to Mexico. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
