Lost Angeles - Immigrant rights activists block Homeland Security van from accessing

Immigrant rights activists block Homeland Security van from accessing Metropolitan Detention Center

By ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN
FEB 15, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Immigrant rights activists block a Homeland Security van outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A.. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

A crowd of immigrant rights advocates blocked a Homeland Security van late Thursday from accessing the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Video footage showed dozens of people standing in the street, in front of a marked van, chanting, "Drive out ICE!" and "Stop the deportations!" Some held signs.

The protest was in response to raids this week that led to the detention of more than 100 people suspected of violating immigration laws.

The event was organized by the Koreatown Popular Assembly and publicized by Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and other groups.

Activists believe Southern California was a target in the sweep in retaliation for so-called sanctuary laws around the region.

"The original goal was to really loudly proclaim that we're not going to stand for ICE destroying families … on Valentine's Day of all days," said Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, who is on the board of an organizing group.

"When the ICE/DHS van came, our group of people decided it was time to put their bodies in front of the machinery of deportation," he said.

Cohen said two agents stayed in the van during the protest. It's unclear whether anyone was detained inside the van.

Los Angeles police officers were called to the protest shortly after 7 p.m., said Officer Tony Im, a spokesman for the department.

"We have a group of protesters that are not allowing ICE agents to enter in or out of the federal building," Im said. "We're currently out at scene addressing the issues."

Activists said police issued a dispersal order about 9 p.m. No one was arrested.

Immigration authorities said this week their enforcement operation began Sunday and focuses on "individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security."

"This means that, ideally, we are working with local police and county jails to identify public safety threats in their custody, who are also in the country illegally, for deportation," said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez.

But "uncooperative jurisdictions" such as Los Angeles, she added, have forced ICE agents to "conduct at-large arrests in the community, putting officers, the general public and the aliens at greater risk, and increasing the incidence of collateral arrests."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...215-story.html

Send in National Guard to assist ICE with transporting illegals.

Transport them all to Federal Tent City on Federal Land.

Process them with a panel of Federal Judges and deport them on the spot.

Hit California hard...then move on to Florida...then to TX, NY, IL and on down the list.

No pin prick hits...go in FULL force in one State at a time and knock this out.

Our resources are stretched thin...do not spread them out.

Target areas and go in full force.

This is the result of doing nothing substantial to fight illegal immigration or reduce legal immigration for decades. Now their numbers are large and they've become very embolden!

Who do we have to thank for this? Every President and U.S. Congress dating back to, and including, Ronald Reagan. Oh, and I guess we can also thank Lyndon B. Johnson and Ted Kennedy for the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. That little nugget is responsible for a large portion of our legal immigration.

ICE Raids Across Southern California Prompt Protests

February 16, 2018 at 9:35 am

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A group of immigrant rights activists protested recent raids across Southern California by briefly blocking a Homeland Security van from leaving a downtown Los Angeles jail.

A crowd gathered at about 7 p.m. in the area of Aliso and Alameda streets, later surrounding a van trying to leave the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The protest eventually dispersed and no arrests were made.

The protest was in response to raids across Southern California this week. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents arrested 212 undocumented immigrants in a five-day operation that ended Thursday.

Federal officials say of those arrested 195 were either convicted criminals, had been issued a final order of removal but had still not left the country, or had already been deported and returned illegally. More than 55 percent had prior felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, including child sex crimes, weapons charges and assault, according to ICE.

The operation also included the delivery of 122 notices of inspection to Los Angeles-area business, alerting them that ICE is going to audit their hiring records to determine whether employers had verified the identity and employment eligibility of their workers.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/...raids-protest/