Liberal Los Angeles residents were outraged as ICE agents with bulletproof vests spent the Fourth of July holiday continuing to carry out Donald Trump‘s mass deportation promise.
One video showed a raid at a West Hollywood car wash, showing a man who alleged to have been in the country for 30 years.
His son, who had been alerted to the raid, was left asking: ‘Why? My dad is not a criminal. He was working at a car wash on 4th of July.’
‘My dad came to work today on the Fourth of July. He loves his country. We’ve been here as long as I’ve been around,’ the son, who wouldn’t identify himself, added.
The owner of the Santa Palm Car Wash was reportedly in the bathroom when the raid happened and enraged that he had not been informed.
They told NBC Los Angeles that they arrested several people who have worked at the car wash for decades in the span of ten minutes at around 11am.
Another employee was seen being tackled in a nearby alley.
The city of West Hollywood issued a statement criticizing federal officials for the holiday raid.
Liberal Los Angeles residents were outraged as ICE agents with bulletproof vests spent the Fourth of July holiday continuing to carry out Donald Trump’s mass deportation promise
Demonstrators close temporarily the Sixth Street bridge after a rally at Hollenbeck Park calling for an end to the immigration raids by ICE in Los Angeles
‘On a day meant to honor the ideals of liberty, democracy, and freedom from oppression, we instead confront a deeply troubling reminder of federal overreach. Independence Day should be a time for reflection and reverence, not fear and persecution,’ they said.
Federal agents arrested around 1,600 people for deportation in Southern California over the holiday, The LA Times said.
The mayhem Friday broke out just hours before the President signed his so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ into law – a sweeping $150 billion package that boosts funding for the border wall, ICE enforcement and deportations, while slashing Medicaid.
The massive tax and spending bill passed by the House on Thursday includes huge infusion of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tripling its annual budget for an agency that is under fire by Democrats.
‘ICE gets $45 billion more to supercharge their kidnapping and disappearing of people of all legal statuses,’ progressive Rep. Pramilla Jayapal, D-Wash., warned on Thursday after the bill passed.
The additional ICE funding represents a nearly threefold increase in the agency’s 2024 budget of around $10 billion, though additional funds were also provided to other border security efforts, like completing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries noted on Thursday that ‘a deportation machine will be unleashed on steroids’ under the new legislation.
The extra funding for ICE will help grow its migrant detention centers, boost its deportation efforts, and hire an estimated 10,000 additional agents.
The mayhem Friday broke out just hours before the President signed his so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ into law – a sweeping $150 billion package that boosts funding for the border wall, ICE enforcement and deportations, while slashing Medicaid
‘With this vote, Congress makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined,’ Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the left-leaning American Immigration Council posted on X.
Republicans, however, were jubilant about the increased border security funding.
‘I speak on behalf of the entire agency when I say that ICE is grateful to President Trump for putting in the hard work necessary to get the Big Beautiful Bill across the finish line — but the real win is for the American people,’ acting ICE Director Todd Lyons wrote in response to the bill’s passage.
‘The unprecedented funding for ICE will enable my hard-working officers and agents to continue making America safe again by identifying, arresting, and removing criminal aliens from our communities.’
Though not all of the funds are going directly to ICE, a significant portion will support ICE-related projects, particularly migrant detention and removal operations.
Under the new legislation, $45 billion is earmarked to expand migrant detention capacity to more than 100,000 beds.
Approximately $52 billion is allocated for the construction and maintenance of the border wall and related Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities.
The bill also authorizes $10 billion in grant funding to reimburse states for border security expenses incurred during the Biden administration.
The massive tax and spending bill passed by the House on Thursday includes huge infusion of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tripling its annual budget for an agency that is under fire by Democrats
Hundreds of Angelenos gather to peacefully protest Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactics that are affecting their communities during a rally at Vermont and Sunset in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on July 4
Up to $6.2 billion is approved for enhanced border surveillance technology and vetting systems.
Additionally, the bill includes $4.1 billion to hire more Border Patrol agents and $2 billion for retention and signing bonuses.
The increased funding will help authorities process and deport the estimated 10 million migrants who entered the U.S. illegally under the Biden administration.
‘The Big Beautiful Bill has officially passed! Here’s what it means for CBP and the American people: 701 miles of new, modern border wall, 3,000 new Border Patrol agents to defend our borders, 5,000 new Customs officers to secure our ports of entry,’ CBP posted on X.
‘Massive upgrades to technology, infrastructure, and enforcement power. This is historic. Border security is national security—and under President Trump, we’re getting the job done.’
