L.A. deputies mistaken for ICE agents spark tense neighborhood confrontation

As federal immigration agents continue to carry out raids in Southern California, sparking fear in communities across the region, a South Los Angeles neighborhood confronted sheriff’s deputies Monday, believing they were with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement.  

The tense confrontation, much of which was caught on cellphone cameras, unfolded in South Park outside a home near McKinley Avenue and East 49^th Street.  

Footage of the incident obtained by KTLA shows crowds of residents swarming L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies and yelling at them as they carried out an operation that the department told KTLA was part of an ongoing investigation.  

A young child was seen in the arms of a woman who was being escorted by deputies to a pickup truck, where she loaded the child in and then slowly, with the help of law enforcement, drove out of the area.  

There were other reports that a woman was also taken into custody, a detail that was confirmed later by the sheriff’s department.

“Someone told us that ICE was outside,” a woman who lives in the neighborhood told KTLA. “By the time we got outside, we saw these quiet people that live over here, they don’t bother nobody…[deputies] were just all over the place. They claimed they weren’t ICE, but yes, they were.” 

Despite the sheriff’s department’s statements about the operation and the fact that they do not, per department policy, share information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, community members refused to believe their presence was unrelated to ICE.  

“They were laughing in people’s faces, [saying], ‘You guys are so ignorant, we’re not ICE,” Isabela Caltitla, who witnessed the incident, said. “I think they were because they were ripping people apart.” ‘ 

Union del Barrio, according to one of its members, Ron Gochez, has been patrolling the street looking for immigration enforcement activity since 2020.  

“What we’re seeing right now in South Central is resistance,” he told KTLA. “The people came out at 49^th and McKinley, and they were denouncing the sheriff taking away a 3-year-old little girl. People right now in this neighborhood are riding around, the youngsters on scooters, on their bikes, they’re patrolling the neighborhood looking for ICE because they know that our community, right now, is under attack. They’re kidnapping people.”  

Gochez added that many in the community feel they have no choice but to stand up and act, many of them saying it’s incredibly hard to know who to trust.  

“The politicians aren’t doing anything for us,” Gochez said. “The police and the sheriff are helping, they’re collaborating with ICE and so the people are the only ones that can defend the people.”  

In a statement released Monday evening, LASD identified the woman taken into custody as 21-year-old Lyla Avila, arrested in connection with an active murder investigation. Avila’s child, according to the department, was taken into protective custody by the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services.

“During the warrant operation, several residents mistakenly believed that the detectives were involved in federal immigration enforcement activities. Some began shouting at deputies on scene, and a small group formed near a DCFS vehicle,” the statement read. “A DCFS vehicle was vandalized and sustained damage. Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of everyone involved, deputies requested assistance from nearby patrol stations to assist with escorting personnel safely from the area.”

Officials also stated they are aware of federal law enforcement agencies within the community and reiterated that LASD does not enforce civil immigration laws, nor do they ask individuals about their immigration status.

“The law enforcement actions taken today were solely related to an ongoing murder investigation and unrelated to any federal immigration operation.”