U.S. citizens detained in L.A. during ICE raids raise rights concerns

In Los Angeles, federal immigration enforcement operations have increasingly intersected with everyday civic life, drawing in U.S. citizens who say they were detained during protests and near raids, while border and immigration officials maintain that roving patrols are routine public-safety measures. Observers and legal advocates describe the detentions as troubling and potentially unlawful, raising questions about due process and the boundaries of federal authority in a city long accustomed to a complex relationship with immigration enforcement.

At least nine U.S. citizens were detained by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection after observing immigration raids or protesting in the Los Angeles area since early June. One documented incident occurred near a Hollywood Home Depot, where a delivery driver was tackled and detained by masked agents in green vests. Eyewitness video captured volatile interactions, including a shouted threat and the agents forcibly taking the man into custody. The detainee’s family described hours-long confinement preceding transfer to a federal detention facility, while civil rights advocates raised...