Local law enforcement organizations are facing challenges as a result of increasingly forceful immigration raids conducted by masked federal officials, occasionally utilizing unmarked cars.
Police frequently have to deal with the aftermath, including demonstrations and inquiries from locals about the specifics of what happened, but they have little to no knowledge of the locations of the federal enforcement efforts. Local police officers have occasionally been confused for federal agents, undermining years of efforts to build police trust in immigrant neighborhoods.
Before they were forced to quickly drive over curbs and street islands to escape, residents and immigration rights advocates confronted the masked men who had come at a car wash in Bell and started holding its employees.
Last week, at a junction in Pasadena, a man got out of his unmarked car, unholstered his pistol, and pointed it at a group of people on foot. He then went back to his car, turned on the red and blue emergency lights, and drove off. The incident’s video went viral.
In order to determine whether the occurrence was a crime or a component of a federal operation, the Pasadena police chief resigned.
Police Chief Gene Harris stated, “There is no way for us to verify.”
According to the chief, the department viewed the credentials on the man’s clothing while reviewing security footage and other videos.
To the best of our knowledge, we were able to identify him as an ICE agent. He stated, “We won’t investigate it further than that.”
California
The previous week has seen a surge in immigration raids around Southern California, raising greater concerns than ever before about how to deal with a run-in with federal authorities.
Last week, immigration officers stationed outside Dodger Stadium’s parking lot sparked demonstrations and inquiries that local authorities had to respond to.
They arrive without their uniforms. They arrive fully disguised. At a press conference following the Dodger Stadium incident, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated that they would not provide identification. Who are these individuals? To be honest, the vests they are wearing appear to have been purchased from Amazon. Are they bounty hunters? Are they vigilantes? Why don’t they identify themselves if they are government officials?
Federal agents have a considerable deal of autonomy and are free to act however they like in their official role, according to Ed Obayashi, a Northern California deputy and authority on the use of force.
According to Obayashi, local police cannot intervene under any circumstances if they point a gun or take someone in.
He claimed that although government agencies have comprehensive use-of-force procedures regarding the drawing of weapons, the standards are ultimately irrelevant if the general command is to take this action.
“The gun-and-force policy guidelines don’t matter if Homeland Security says this is what we want,” he continued. Compared to local police, federal law enforcement faces limited civil court remedies.
Federal agents are exempt from the same laws that apply to local police, including Section 1983 claims, which let citizens to bring civil rights violations against specific government agencies and workers.
According to Obayashi, the U.S. Supreme Court has frequently protected government officials from legal action.
The events in Bell, Pasadena, and Dodger Stadium occurred over two weeks after masked immigration officers invaded the area and conducted a series of immigration sweeps in primarily Latino neighborhoods. Without any obvious signs that they are members of federal immigration enforcement, masked men are showing up and arresting friends, family, and neighbors while refusing to produce identity or a warrant, which has residents on edge.
The Pasadena incident demonstrated how social media may magnify an event and draw attention to local authorities’ inaction.
A suspected federal agent can be seen getting out of a Dodge Charger at a junction and waving his gun at onlookers in a Pasadena video that was uploaded to Instagram.
The footage shows someone approaching the rear of the Dodge Charger and seemingly taking a picture of the license plate. At that time, the driver exits the car and points a gun first at the person behind it and then at a second person beyond the frame of the video. The driver has a badge on his hip and the word “Police” is visible on his vest. A few seconds later, while onlookers yell at him, the man puts the gun away and returns to the car. After turning on the car’s standard red and blue lights for police cars, the man leaves.
On social media, somebody posted the car’s registration plate, which raised more questions than it did answers.
The license plate on the car is a cold plate, or untraceable, which is what law enforcement usually uses in covert criminal operations, according to Pasadena officials.
“There is no good answer to the question of whether this is a law enforcement agent or someone posing as one,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo told The Times. It demonstrates a lack of training and a lack of restraint in the use of force when a law enforcement officer pulls out his weapon and points it at a crowd and someone using an iPhone.
He continues to hold out hope that the federal government will recognize the incident and offer some clarification. Gordo is concerned about the possibility of an unintentional gunshot or cops being caught in the middle if unidentifiable federal agents are drawing their weapons in public as more immigration sweeps take place.
According to Gordo, previous administrations notified the city of enforcement actions to prevent unintentional clashes between law enforcement.
Undercover or unmarked law enforcement operations are something that our police must be aware of. He claimed that everyone in our areas is at risk as a result of these actions.
Harris advised folks to dial 911 if they come into an issue where it seems like someone is posing as police enforcement.
However, he stated that local law enforcement will not impede federal operations.
“I recognize that there is still a lot of fear in the community,” Harris remarked. I would advise [people] to respect their own emotions and be aware of their surroundings.
He also stated that local police reaction times and efforts have not been hampered by federal immigration activity in Pasadena. According to officials, protests against the immigration sweeps in Pasadena have not resulted in any violence, property damage, or arrests.
The lack of clarification is making it more difficult for local police, who have been mistaken for federal immigration officers in Fontana, which is about an hour’s drive inland.
According to Fontana Police Sgt. Nathan Weiske, officers looking into a recent break-in were misidentified as federal immigration agents on social media.
Another incident included demonstrators confronting undercover officers who believed they were spying for an immigration sweep.
In a Facebook post, Fontana Police Chief Michael Dorsey stated that it is unsafe for our officers and anybody else participating in any ongoing police operations if miscommunications or misunderstandings result in inappropriate interaction.
The reaction to the immigration raids can be severe and quick in some areas of the Southland.
At least three people were detained at a car wash in Bell by masked men wearing fatigues, sparking a widespread outcry.
The area was crowded with people who yelled, “Are you a bounty hunter?” at the agents. What is the current bounty for an illegal? doubting who they are.
The soldiers, armed with long guns and dressed in balaclavas and fatigues, were shown on camera using tear gas to scatter the throng and allow them to evacuate. Vehicles from the Border Patrol suffered damage during the event, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Arturo Flores, the mayor of Huntington Park, describes the federal government’s presence in the area as political theater intended to enrage the Latino community.
Flores intends to present a proposal to the City Council directing local law enforcement to request identification from federal officials attempting to conduct an immigration operation within the city.
What would happen if bad actors choose to dress in drab clothing and start kidnapping people? The Times heard Flores’s words. I wouldn’t request that our officers meddle in federal affairs. However, we must be ready to hold these entities responsible for their deeds. A catastrophe is just waiting to occur.
