LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen and drove off with his 1-year-old daughter still strapped in a car seat from the scene of a raid in Los Angeles, according to advocates and family members who reported the incident on Wednesday.
Video footage shared by immigrant advocates shows masked and armed agents apprehending the man in a parking lot while his daughter is in the backseat. After he is led away, the agents enter the front of the car and drive off with the little girl still inside.
Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, confirmed that the arrested individual is a U.S. citizen who was present during a federal immigration operation targeting the Home Depot store. The law center was contacted by community members seeking assistance in reuniting the family but clarified that they are not representing the man due to his citizenship.
“It was reckless to have armed officials take a child away from her father in such a manner,” Toczylowski stated. Relatives later managed to pick up the child from federal offices, expressing concerns over the procedures followed by the authorities.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to provide details explaining why the agents took the man's car or left with the child inside.
In an email from an agency spokesperson, it was indicated that the man was arrested for allegedly assaulting Border Patrol agents during the raid by throwing rocks and wielding a hammer, while five additional immigrants were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations.
On Wednesday, the status of the arrested man remained uncertain. His mother, Maria, shared that they received a call directing them to the Border Patrol offices to pick up the girl, explaining that while the child is doing fine, she is asking for her father. Both Maria and the girl are also U.S. citizens, and she expressed her apprehension about the situation, saying, “It’s something very frightening; you don’t know who those people are.”
Video footage shared by immigrant advocates shows masked and armed agents apprehending the man in a parking lot while his daughter is in the backseat. After he is led away, the agents enter the front of the car and drive off with the little girl still inside.
Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, confirmed that the arrested individual is a U.S. citizen who was present during a federal immigration operation targeting the Home Depot store. The law center was contacted by community members seeking assistance in reuniting the family but clarified that they are not representing the man due to his citizenship.
“It was reckless to have armed officials take a child away from her father in such a manner,” Toczylowski stated. Relatives later managed to pick up the child from federal offices, expressing concerns over the procedures followed by the authorities.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to provide details explaining why the agents took the man's car or left with the child inside.
In an email from an agency spokesperson, it was indicated that the man was arrested for allegedly assaulting Border Patrol agents during the raid by throwing rocks and wielding a hammer, while five additional immigrants were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations.
On Wednesday, the status of the arrested man remained uncertain. His mother, Maria, shared that they received a call directing them to the Border Patrol offices to pick up the girl, explaining that while the child is doing fine, she is asking for her father. Both Maria and the girl are also U.S. citizens, and she expressed her apprehension about the situation, saying, “It’s something very frightening; you don’t know who those people are.”
