President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Los Angeles protests are making Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids more “difficult” and “dangerous.”
“It’s like we’re a third world nation where people think it’s okay to threaten the life and safety of federal law enforcement officers and their families,” Homan said during a Tuesday appearance on NBC Nightly News.
Demonstrators in Los Angeles have stormed federal buildings and set cars aflame after four local ICE raids sparked widespread outrage. Forty-four individuals were taken into federal custody on Friday, including a labor union president.
On Tuesday evening, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass instituted a curfew in an effort to curb vandalism and looting.
Homan on Tuesday pledged to charge ahead with arrests as outrage spirals amid a larger federal presence in the city.
“We’ve been running the ICE operation in Los Angeles every single day during this protest, and we’re arresting a lot of bad people in that city. We’re going to continue to do that,” Homan told host Tom Llamas. “They’re not going to stop us. They’re not going to slow us down.”
However, lawmakers say local ICE facilities are overpopulated and that detainees are living without power and being treated inhumanely.
“Overcrowding is so bad that women and children are being forced to sleep outside in tents. Meanwhile, the lights in the building shut off at 5pm. Families are sitting in pitch black…” Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said in a statement over the weekend.
“According to attorneys on site, ICE claims it can detain people indefinitely even if they have a legal stay. That means even if a court says they can’t be deported, ICE keeps them locked up anyway,” he added.
Gomez, along with California Democratic Reps. Norma Torres, Lou Correa and Luz Rivas, were denied access to a facility on Saturday while seeking more information on detainees.
