What was supposed to be a normal Saturday at one of SoCal’s busiest swap meets turned into a scene straight out of a movie. Around 3:30 p.m., ICE agents in military-style gear raided the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet, with a DHS helicopter circling overhead. The popular open-air market is a weekend staple for Latino families—but on this day, fear took over.
According to video captured by OnScene.TV, about 60 agents swarmed the grounds, sending vendors and shoppers running. Some pulled out phones to record the chaos. The goal of the raid? Still unclear. But in the end, only two people were arrested—a woman and a man who identified himself as Colombian.
“They were dragging people out of bathrooms,” said vendor Aracely Lopez, who added that agents demanded IDs from nearly everyone. She says her family is now afraid to return to work. “This is our livelihood, and now my grandma and parents are scared.”
ICE later confirmed the arrests, stating the two individuals entered the U.S. in 2022 near Yuma, Arizona, and were already in deportation proceedings. Now, they’ll remain in custody.
The swap meet raid wasn’t an isolated incident. Just days earlier, ICE agents arrested a man at a Downey church, and then stormed a family’s home in Huntington Park—all while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly stood outside watching. The man they were after wasn’t even there. His pregnant wife and four children, all U.S. citizens, were forced outside as armed agents swept through the home.
These bold ICE actions have ignited outrage across Los Angeles. Since June 7, protests have erupted in multiple neighborhoods, with over 560 people arrested. Community leaders and residents are calling for answers—and an end to the fear.
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