‘Large scale’ immigration enforcement to take place in LA, says report
Los Angeles riot police officers assist paramedics evacuating an injured high school student after a fist fight broke among students at a rally to stop President Trump’s mass deportations and demand immigration reform at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LOS ANGELES – Amid fears of mass deportations, a “large scale” immigration enforcement action planned for Los Angeles is reportedly scheduled to take place before the end of February.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will concentrate on undocumented immigrants who have pending orders of removal, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing an internal document.
The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles field offices are being ordered to participate in the raids, the LA Times reported.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller declined to comment on any upcoming large-scale operation, but said the agency has been assisting in immigration operations since the end of January.
Meanwhile, protests against President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on illegal immigration took place as scheduled in downtown Los Angeles Saturday.
Demonstrators blocked all lanes of southbound Spring Street between First and Temple streets, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has acted on his campaign promise to increase deportations, with ICE conducting raids in major cities.
The Saturday protest followed Friday’s demonstration by high school students that turned violent and left a teenager with stab wounds.
Video from the scene showed a crowd of people tending to the bleeding victim on the ground, whose shirt was stripped off. He was reported to be 17 years old.
BREAKING 🚨: It’s being reported a student was just stabbed during a fight with a fellow student. The student is on the ground and no first responders on sight.
VC: @IRT_Media pic.twitter.com/GbqfmN8NuN
— Anthony (@AnthonyCabassa_) February 7, 2025
The victim was eventually rushed to a hospital with stable vital signs, the LAPD’s Media Relations Division told City News Service on Saturday.
A suspect, a male between 15 and 18 years old, was detained in connection with the stabbing, but police did not say whether that suspect was subsequently arrested.
Multiple reports from the scene suggested that the stabbing might not have been related to the protest, but possibly involved a separate dispute.
Shortly before the stabbing, over a dozen protesters chased and beat another man to the ground in front of City Hall. Video showed the crowd landing several punches and kicks to that victim, but police did not have any information about that attack on Saturday.
Police declared the remaining protesters to be involved in an unlawful assembly and ordered the group to disperse, which they ultimately did.
Demonstrations against Trump’s deportation policy have been held daily in the downtown area since last weekend, some involving high school students. (With CNS report)
