Dozens of heavily armed ICE agents swarm popular L.A. County swap meet

With a Department of Homeland Security helicopter circling, several dozen heavily armed, masked ICE agents dressed in military tactical gear raided one of the most popular swap meets in Southern California, which caters to a predominantly Latino crowd, over the weekend.  

The incident, as captured in a video of the event by photojournalists with OnScene.TV, unfolded Saturday at around 3:30 p.m. at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet at 13963 Alondra Blvd.  

KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo reports that the sight of ICE agents sent many vendors and customers running in an attempt to escape the raid.

An estimated 60 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were seen on the flea market grounds, which also houses a music venue.  

Some onlookers are seen filming the raid on their cellphones while federal authorities moved through the crowd.  

It’s unclear if federal officials expected to detain a lot of individuals at the event, but despite their large numbers, only two people, a woman and a man, the latter of whom told an onlooker he’s Colombian, were seen in handcuffs as they were escorted away.  

“ICE comes in and raids the whole place,” Aracely Lopez, a vendor at the open-air market, said. “All the entrances were wide open. There was a helicopter circling the premises. They were dragging people out of the bathrooms. They went into all the spaces asking for everyone’s identification.”

Lopez lamented the raid, adding that these are all just hardworking people and that her grandmother and parents are afraid to come to work at the swap meet, which is their main source of income.

“They’re scared to come to work,” she said. “I don’t think they’re going to come for the next few months.”

A DHS spokesperson confirmed their presence at swap meet to KTLA, saying that only the two arrests were made.

“ICE administratively arrested two individuals. Both entered the United States near Yuma, Arizona in March 2022. They were placed into removal proceedings and released from custody in 2023. They will now remain in custody pending the completion of removal proceedings,” the spokesperson added.

The Santa Fe Springs raid comes on the heels of raids in other areas of Los Angeles County. 

On June 11, ICE agents arrested a man at a Downey church, prompting an outcry from the community and religious leaders. Just a day later, a Huntington Park family’s home was raided by agents as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem looked on from the street.  

The target of the search, David Garcia, an undocumented man with a criminal record, according to ICE, was not home. His pregnant wife and four children, all U.S. citizens, were forced out of the house while armed agents searched the residence room by room.  

The ongoing ICE raids have prompted more than a week of protests throughout areas of L.A., particularly downtown, with the Los Angeles Police Department reporting some 561 arrests since anti-ICE demonstrations erupted on June 7.