Workers who arrived at Pomona on Tuesday morning, hoping to earn a day’s salary, met uniform immigration and customs law enforcement officers who reportedly began rounding up workers in parking lots.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said community members told her office about 15 to 20 people were detained.
“In response, I immediately directed the Los Angeles County Immigration Office to establish a connection with the Pomonaday Labor Center to ensure that affected people receive the support and resources they need,” she said in a statement. “While this remains a developing situation, I would like to reaffirm my unwavering commitment to ensure that all residents, regardless of their immigration status, are aware of and can exercise their constitutional rights.”
One of the day workers who avoided detention talked with ABC7 News about the traumatic effects of the raid.
“I got here and when I started to see the scene, I started crying. Tears started to leave,” the man said in Spanish. “We are here. We are human. We are just here to support ourselves and maintain our families.”
Immigration rights groups quickly condemned the action. The raid occurred around 8:30 a.m. and involved marked and unmarked vans, according to the nonprofit Day labor organization Pomona Center for Economic Opportunity.
“We won’t keep quiet. Seeking employment is not a crime. Providing crime to your loved ones is not a crime,” the center said in a statement on social media. “Please be alert and spread the power, don’t be afraid.”
The organization urges community members to report immigration enforcement to the landlocked coalition to report on (909) 361-4588 on the Quick Response Hotline for Immigration Justice. Community groups have been building tips throughout California to help track and spread information about ice activity after President Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.
ICE did not immediately respond to the Times’ request for comment. It issued a statement to ABC7 saying that due to the pace of work of the agency and the large number of requests it received, specific information about daily operations could not be provided.
The Pomona Police Department confirmed that immigration action was taken on Tuesday but said it had no prior knowledge or participation in the raid.
“Remind that the Pomona Police Department does not conduct immigration enforcement, which is a function of federal enforcement,” the department said in a statement. “Pomona PD is not involved in the detention of individuals near Home Depot today, nor does it operate in partnership with any federal agencies.”
Trump vowed to make the biggest deportation effort in U.S. history and declared a national emergency on the southern border where troops were deployed.
He issued executive orders to limit legal access to the United States, strengthen efforts to block the U.S.-Mexico border and promote sweeps to round up and deport people unauthorized in the United States.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are an estimated 11 million to 15 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, including more than 2 million.
Under the Trump administration, ICE has already conducted grand operations in Chicago and New York. Many doubt whether Southern California will be the next target of mass immigration operations.
In February, U.S. immigration and customs law enforcement officers knocked down the doors of a few Los Angeles-area houses. Earlier this year, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted Three-day raids took place in rural Kern County Farm workers and day workers targeting Latinos.
