Federal immigration officials clashed with protesters as they raided several downtown Los Angeles locations on Friday.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were spotted at a Home Depot, an apartment complex, federal courts and even in the fashion district.
The raids come just days after Donald Trump’s watch dog Stephen Miller demanded ICE crackdown on migrants at popular shopping destinations to bolster their arrest numbers.
Crowds of protesters swarmed the officers on Friday in an attempt to stop the detentions, reported KTLA.
However, there efforts were unsuccessful and at least 45 people across seven locations were detained, according to Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Executive Director Angelica Salas.
One of those detainees has been identified as Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta, who was pepper-sprayed and injured while being taken into custody, Mayor Karen Bass told NBC Los Angeles.
‘He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated,’ said Bass. ‘He’s going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon.’
Footage from local news station KABC showed officers throwing smoke bombs or flash bangs on the street to disperse the people so they could drive away in SUVs, vans and military-style vehicles.
In one video, a person was seen running backward with their hands on the hood of a moving white SUV in an effort to block the vehicle.
The person fell backward, landing flat on the ground. The SUV backed up, drove around the individual and sped off as others on the street threw objects at it.
Other video showed people being handcuffed by federal authorities in a Home Depot parking lot.
At one of the spots, immigrant-rights advocates used megaphones to speak to the workers inside a store, reminding them of their constitutional rights and instructing them not to sign anything or say anything to federal agents, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The advocates also told the federal agents that lawyers wanted access to the workers, and sometimes yelled out specific names.
Mayor Bass said neither her nor the Los Angeles Police Department were warned about the activity.
‘As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place,’ Bass said.
‘These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this.
Police Chief Jim McDonnell released a statement claiming the department is not involved in ‘civil immigration enforcement.’
‘We will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations, nor will the LAPD try to determine an individual’s immigration status,’ McDonnell said.
‘I want everyone, including our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in their time of need and know that the LAPD will be there for you without regard to one’s immigration status.’
The Los Angeles raids come as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has reportedly demanded ICE agents raid Home Depots and 7-Elevens as part of his lofty new target for arrests of illegal migrants.
Miller, one of Donald Trump’s biggest hawks on immigration, said last week that Trump wants the agency to conduct 3,000 arrests every single day in an ambitious effort to ramp up his deportation agenda.
He and ‘border czar’ Tom Homan have both suggested that the numbers are not currently where they want them.
Homan backed the ambitious new benchmark on Thursday morning, insisting: ‘We’ve gotta’ increase these arrests and removals.’
‘The numbers are good, but I’m not satisfied. I haven’t been satisfied all year long.’
During Trump’s first 100 days back in office, ICE officials arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants.