LOS ANGELES — Masked, unidentified agents have been “systematically” cornering brown-skinned people in a show of force across Southern California, tackling those who attempt to leave, arresting them without probable cause and then placing them in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers, a federal lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, filed early Wednesday against the Trump administration, describes the region as “under siege” by agents, some dressed in military-style clothing and carrying out “indiscriminate immigration raids flooding street corners, bus stops, parking lots, agricultural sites, day laborer corners.” The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, seeks to block the Trump administrationƵ “ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law” during immigration raids in the L.A. area.
”These guys are popping up, rampant all over the city, just taking people randomly and we want that particular practice to end,” said Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
The complaint centers around three detained immigrants, several immigrant rights groups and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification. It comes days after the Trump administration sued Los Angeles to overturn what it called an “illegal” sanctuary city law — and as the region takes center stage in a pitched battle with the administration over its mass deportation plans.
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has previously told The Times, “Any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.
“DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence,” she said. “We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.”
The lawsuit states, however, that people are fearful that their appearance alone is putting them at risk. A DHS official could not be immediately reached for comment.
Jorge Hernandez Viramontes, one of the two U.S. citizens in the lawsuit, was working at a car wash on June 18, as he has for around 10 years, when immigration agents who didn’t identify themselves arrived and began interrogating people about their identity and immigration status, the lawsuit alleges. Hernandez Viramontes said he told them he was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico and provided an ID.
But agents “explained that his ID wasn’t enough and since he didn’t have his passport, they were taking him.” According to the lawsuit, agents placed him in a vehicle, drove away, then after verifying his citizenship brought him back about 20 minutes later, “but not before his brother called his wife, who had become deeply worried.”
They dropped him at the car wash, with no apology. Shortly after, the car wash was raided again.
He and others are afraid that their “Latino appearance and accent” will make them a future target, the lawsuit says.
“The administration has been telling us that these actions are motivated by a desire to make streets safer,” said Mark Rosenbaum, an attorney at Public Counsel. “But itƵ been shown now, and this is what we’re going to show in our case, who their true targets are and what [their] true intent is and that is to terrorize and rip from families in our communities nannies and car wash workers and farmworkers.”
Between June 6 and 22, immigration enforcement teams arrested 1,618 immigrants for deportation in Los Angeles and surrounding regions of Southern California, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Arrests have involved controversial roving patrols and chases. Data that run through June 10 suggest the majority of those arrested have no criminal convictions.
Lawyers argue that the “pattern of illegal conduct” is “the predictable result of directives from top officials to agents and officers.” In May, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller reportedly directed top Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to go beyond target lists and have agents make arrests at Home Depots or 7-Eleven convenience stores as they sought to crank up their daily arrest numbers to 3,000.
The lawsuit notes the administration dismantled internal accountability mechanisms and restraints governing the conduct of immigration agents and officers, shutting down multiple oversight agencies.
After immigrants are detained, the lawsuit alleges that they are placed in a “dungeon-like” short-term processing center and ICE basement holding area in downtown L.A. known as “B-18.” Lawyers described the conditions as “deplorable and unconstitutional” and alleged that those arrested had been deprived of access to counsel.
Lawyers accused the administration of failing to “provide basic necessities like food, water, adequate hygiene facilities, and medical care.” Detainees were allegedly subjected to overcrowding and did not have adequate sleeping accommodations.
“Under such conditions, some of those arrested are pressured into accepting voluntary departure,” the lawsuit states. “The government is aware that its actions are unconstitutional and contrary to officers’ training, but deliberately persists because this system allows it to coerce removals, avoid public accountability, and ultimately —given the limited bed space at longer-term detention facilities in the area — keep arrest numbers high.”
The lawsuit stems from an existing case filed by an immigration lawyer in Pasadena on June 20.
Three of Stacy TolchinƵ clients were picked up at bus stops and surrounded by armed agents, with no flight risk established and no warrant.
“If you stop people and ask questions later, you’re gonna get everybody, and the law is really clear. You can’t do that. ThatƵ illegal,” said Tajsar. “We’re not saying the government can’t enforce immigration laws. We’re not saying the government can’t investigate whether somebody is in status or is not.”
But, he said, it must be done lawfully. “WhatƵ happening here is flagrantly illegal.”
