California Democrats and Trump administration officials are locked in a battle over a wave of immigration raids targeting Los Angeles this week, as protests over the detentions swelled in the Democratic stronghold amid President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown.
Federal agents in tactical gear appeared during protests on Friday afternoon against the detention of over 40 individuals in immigration sweeps across Los Angeles earlier in the day, sparking clashes between officers and protesters that turned violent and resulted in police throwing tear gas canisters in the middle of the crowd.
As the situation escalated, the president of the labor union SEIU California, David Huerta, was arrested, sustaining injuries during his detainment that required brief hospitalization, according to a statement from the union. A video of Huerta’s arrest shows officers knocking the labor union president to the ground.
Following Friday’s clash, a group of Democratic members of Congress from the Los Angeles area said they were barred on Saturday from visiting the federal building where people in immigration detention were reportedly being held.
“The reports of what is happening inside the Roybal Federal Building is a complete violation of our laws and a stain on our values as a country,” Rep. Luz Rivas (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “The Trump Administration blocked my colleagues and me from conducting our congressional oversight duties into the reported abuses and neglect that is taking place at this facility.”
According to a statement from SEIU on Friday evening, Huerta was released from the hospital but remains in custody. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli — a former lightning-rod Republican lawmaker — posted on X that he will be arraigned in federal court on Monday.
“What happened to me is not about me; This is about something much bigger,” Huerta said in a statement. “Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice. And we all have to stand on the right side of justice.”
Meanwhile, Trump administration officials sought to cast Friday’s events as a violent attack on federal immigration officials, spurred by Democratic politicians who have been outspoken in their condemnation of the administration’s immigration policy.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the situation that unfolded was a direct result of the “repeated vilification and demonization of ICE” by Democratic politicians, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens,” McLaughlin said, adding that the “violent rhetoric” of “sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale.”
ICE acting Director Todd Lyons also blasted local law enforcement, claiming it took the Los Angeles Police Department over two hours to respond “despite being called multiple times.”
Other administration officials also snapped back at Newsom and Bass, casting the two Democrats as supporters of violence against federal authorities.
After Newsom wrote a post to X in support of Huerta, saying that “no one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,” the official DHS account replied that “shoving ICE officers is not ‘witnessing government action.’ It’s assaulting law enforcement,” adding that “Governor Newsom must call on this violence to end — not glorify rioters that endanger our brave law enforcement.”
Bass got similar treatment from FBI Director Kash Patel on social media after she released a statement saying she was “deeply angered” by the detentions, and that “these tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.”
“We will not stand for this,” she captioned the posted statement on X.
Patel came back with an unequivocal response on Saturday.
“We will,” he wrote in a post replying to the mayor.
As outcry poured in on Saturday from major liberal organizations — including labor union giant AFL-CIO and the Southern California chapter of the ACLU — condemning the raids and demanding Huerta’s release, ICE doubled down on its position and warned that Friday’s events were by no means the end of their immigration clampdown.
“These violent rioters will be held accountable if they harm federal officers, and make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens. Sanctuary politicians would do well to remember that impeding our efforts only endangers their communities, law enforcement officers, and the detainees they claim to support,” the ICE statement read.