Latest news with #borderpatrol
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.
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Trump Admin Denies It Deported Tourist Over Bloated JD Vance Meme on His Phone
This week, a 21-year-old Norwegian tourist claimed to have been turned away from entry into the U.S. after border patrol found a meme of a bald, puffy JD Vance on his phone. The government has since disavowed the man's claims, but that hasn't stopped the internet from taking the opportunity to remember just how much they love that meme. The tourist in question, named Mads Mikkelsen (not to be confused with the Casino Royale actor of the same name), arrived at Newark airport on June 11th and planned to stay in the U.S. for a short vacation. However, he told reporters he was deported not long after CBP authorities found the meme on his phone. In an interview with a Norwegian news outlet, Mikkelsen claimed that he after the meme was discovered, authorities proceeded to grill him on a series of criminal activities that had nothing to do with him: 'They asked questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots and right-wing extremism totally without reason,' Mikkelsen told the outlet. Not long afterward, he was sent packing. After rumors circulated that Mikkelsen had been ejected because of the meme, the government attempted to denounce the story. On Tuesday, the X account for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol shared a screenshot of the meme, adding: 'Fact Check: FALSE.' The account added: 'Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use.' Ironically, the incident served as yet another opportunity for the internet to revel in just how much they love that meme. The meme briefly had a surge of reshares on social media, as the story made the rounds. Irish lawmaker Ivana Bacik held up a printout of the meme during a parliamentary session while denouncing the Trump administration's border policies. 'We're watching a major incursion on the freedom of expression, unthinkable in an electoral democracy,' Bacik said. Even U.S. Senator Ron Wyden shared the meme on Bluesky without comment. The bloated baby face J.D. Vance meme started last October and quickly spawned a million iterations. Creativity of the sort that isn't usually found outside of an experimental art class swept social media as web users delighted in the ability to make Vance as obese and grotesque as humanly possible. Under the Trump administration, CBP has been accused of turning away many tourists for similarly nebulous reasons. One man, an Australian journalist, claims he was interrogated and turned away for his reports on pro-Palestinian protests and Gaza. The Trump administration has also made it clear that it wants to intensively vet the social media histories of visitors to the U.S. As horrific as these invasions of privacy have become, at least we can rely on the Streisand effect to humiliate the vice president like clockwork.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Yahoo
Pregnant US citizen detained by Border Patrol agents: ‘We didn't do anything wrong'
(KTLA) – A pregnant U.S. citizen who was detained by federal agents approximately two weeks ago has since given birth to a healthy baby girl, but her boyfriend is now being held out of state and her problems are far from over. Cary López Alvarado told Nexstar's KTLA that she 'tried to remain strong' during the scary ordeal, which took place outside a building where her boyfriend and cousin were doing maintenance work on June 8. She was nine months pregnant at the time. Video taken by López depicts her struggling with a masked agent wearing a Border Patrol uniform asking to see her identification as she was protecting a truck carrying her boyfriend Brayan Nájera and cousin Alberto Sandoval — the latter of whom is also a U.S. citizen. All three of them were eventually detained. Further footage posted on social media shows agents detaining López after they had pinned her truck between a wall. 'He's a U.S. citizen!' Feds seen in violent arrest of L.A. County man 'They had my boyfriend on the ground already, and they had tackled my cousin down … that's when I was inside the car just banging on the door,' López said. '[I was asking] 'What are you doing? Why are you guys treating us like this? We didn't do anything wrong.'' According to a statement from a Department of Homeland Security representative, López was arrested because she was obstructing agents from accessing a car containing 'two Guatemalan illegal aliens' inside. 'During this incident, agents were assaulted, and an additional subject was taken into custody for pushing an officer,' the statement read. The then-soon-to-be-mother was taken to a processing facility in San Pedro, where, according to her, the agents automatically assumed she was undocumented. '[They said] 'But you're from Mexico, right?' And I'm like 'No, I'm from here,'' López said. '[They asked] … 'Where's here?' and I'm like, 'Here, the U.S., Los Angeles.' 'They put us in chains, so I had a chain from my hands under my belly that went all the way to my legs,' she added. 'Every now and then, I would fix my hands because I felt like I would be putting too much pressure because the chain went under my belly.' López was released after complaining of stomach pain and went straight to a hospital where she started having contractions, which she believes were caused by the stress of what she had gone through. L.A. artist who sang national anthem in Spanish at Dodgers game speaks out Four days after the incident, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but the stress isn't over yet, as the baby's father, Nájera, is said to be detained at a facility in Texas despite López saying he has a spotless record. 'He doesn't have any criminal record or anything,' she said. 'They took him while he was working, and that hurts because he didn't do anything wrong. He was just working and taking care of his family. Why are you treating other people this way when they aren't criminals?' 'The color doesn't matter, the race doesn't matter … at the end of the day, we are all human,' she continued through tears. Newsom: President Trump's 'illegal militarization' of L.A. has negative impact on firefighting López's legal team told KTLA that she has not been charged with any crime. In the meantime, she will remain at home with her new baby girl. A GoFundMe has been set up to help López hire an immigration attorney for her boyfriend and to alleviate costs associated with childcare in his absence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rodney Scott confirmed as head of CBP by US Senate despite ‘cover-up' claim
The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rodney Scott as commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), despite a former top official accusing him of orchestrating a 'cover-up' over the death of a man detained while trying to enter the country from Mexico. Scott was confirmed on a party-line vote, with 51 Republicans in favor and 46 Democrats opposed, along with three absences. 'I'm honored that the United States Senate has confirmed me, and I want to thank President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem for their trust and unwavering leadership,' Scott said in a statement following the vote. 'I started my career on the frontlines, and now I am ready to lead my CBP family with integrity and a clear mission to defend our sovereignty, enforce the law, and put America first.' He will take charge of one of the largest federal law enforcement agencies, which staffs ports of entry across the United States and also includes the border patrol, which he led from 2020 to 2021. Border patrol agents have recently been seen on the streets of a Los Angeles suburb as part of Trump's campaign to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants. Massive protests have broken out in response, and CBP has publicly announced that it is using drones to monitor demonstrations in the region. A critic of Joe Biden's immigration policies and supporter of Trump's desire to build a wall along the border with Mexico, Scott was nominated by Trump in December to lead CBP. Shortly before his confirmation hearing before the Senate finance committee in April, James Wong, a former deputy assistant commissioner of CBP's office of internal affairs, wrote to the committee's top Democrat with 'concern' about Scott's handling of the investigation into the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernández Rojas in San Diego, after he was beaten and tased by CBP agents who were preparing to deport him. As San Diego's police department was investigating the death, a CBP critical incident team used a subpoena to obtain Hernández Rojas's medical records, which Wong said Scott would have known about given his position at the time as a top border patrol official in the city. 'The use of a CBP administrative subpoena for this purpose was blatantly unlawful, and anyone signing it should have known that,' Wong wrote in a letter to the committee's Democratic ranking member, Ron Wyden. 'This was not an investigation, it was a cover-up – one Mr Scott supervised. This abuse of power disqualifies him from leading one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country.' At the hearing, Scott described the subpoena as 'information gathering' and a standard part of such investigations. Asked by the Republican finance committee chair, Mike Crapo, if he had acted 'to interfere with the investigation of that case', Scott replied: 'Absolutely not.' In 2021, a House oversight committee report found that Scott was a member of 'I'm 10-15', a private Facebook group for border patrol agents in which participants insulted members of Congress and posted 'racist and sexually violent content' directed at lawmakers. Scott told the finance committee: 'There were 9,000 people on that group. To say that a few that actually posted something inappropriate, were held accountable, and were disciplined are a reflection of everyone else on that group, I think, is just a [mischaracterization].' When the committee convened again in May before voting to advance his nomination to the Senate floor, Wyden warned Scott would act as a loyalist for the president: 'We don't need to question what Mr Scott would do if given a questionable order from Donald Trump, because we already know he has a history of covering up the truth when it benefits him in a willingness to enable Donald Trump's worst impulses to target American citizens exercising their constitutional rights.' Crapo said Scott 'knows what policies make CBP effective, and I'm confident he will implement these policies as soon as he is confirmed'.
