Federal agents arrested more than 40 people while conducting immigration raids and executing search warrants at multiple locations in downtown Los Angeles Friday.
A total of four search warrants were served at three different locations in Los Angeles, according to Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe of the Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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WATCH HEREAs nearly two dozen people were detained at the parking lot of the Home Depot location in Westlake District on Wilshire Boulevard near MacArthur Park, federal agents were also seen going into two offices of Ambience Apparel in downtown LA, one on Towne Avenue and another on East 15th Street.
Officials in tactical gear and helmets were also seen walking down the streets of the Fashion District as armored trucks followed them.
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SIGN UP U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli confirmed to NBC Los Angeles Friday that the search warrants were served at the businesses Friday because “there’s probable cause that they are using fictitious documents to employ people.”
In all, 44 people were “administratively” arrested while another person was arrested for obstruction, Pitts O’Keefe added.
The Los Angeles office of the FBI also confirmed that its agents were asked to assist the Homeland Security Investigations on “immigration operations,” providing investigative and technical support.
“The FBI is supporting our partners at the Department of Homeland Security in their immigration operations all over the country, as directed by the Attorney General,” Laura Eimiller of the FBI said, adding FBI special agents are embedded on operational teams with the Department of Homeland Security.
“Our help may vary depending on what DHS needs, such as SWAT operators, who can support high risk arrest operations, and other resources such as intelligence analysts and technical support working from command posts,” Eimiller explained.
The immigration raids sparked outage and anger among Los Angeles officials and immigrant advocates as a couple of immigration groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, held protests Friday evening.
Following one of the rallies, hundreds of demonstrators marched along the streets of downtown LA. There was at least one incident of vandalism as a protesters sprayed graffiti on the federal building.
