Federal agents were seen on camera Tuesday detaining what witnesses said were more than a dozen day workers at a Home Depot parking lot in Pomona.
Video showed several immigration officers outside the parking lot of the store and near the home improvement store on South Towne Avenue in the community east of Los Angeles. In one cellphone video, several day workers were seen sitting on the sidewalk, surrounded by federal agents.
A witness, who only gave his first name as Carlos, said he was in the area around 8 a.m. when he saw federal law enforcement.
“It hurts to see them,” he said. “I turned around and went the other way and saw various other officers there, too.
In response to the videos, several community groups came together demanding answers as to why those individuals were arrested.
“We are here to say that it’s not going to happen in Pomona because we have community support and organizations,” Lizbeth Abeln, Deputy Director of Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said. “We want immigration out of Pomona.”
Immigrant advocates say they saw a spike in calls from the community about federal agents in the same area before. At the rally, one immigration attorney said everyone, regardless of their immigration status, has rights.
“You have the right, everyone has the right – citizen or noncitizen – to remain silent,” said Jessica Bansal, an attorney with he National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “You don’t have to answer questions from immigration officers. Everyone has the right to speak to an attorney.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it was not part of the operation.
Home Depot declined NBC4’s request for comment. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not returned a request for comment.
Source: NBC Los Angeles