Skip to content

Watch: Migrants Scatter as Penske Truck Door Swings Open During DHS Raid at LA Home Depot

Watch: Migrants Flee After Penske Truck Door Swings Open During DHS Raid Outside LA Home Depot

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration enforcement operation unfolded Wednesday near a Home Depot in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park, prompting several individuals to flee the scene. The area is reportedly under the influence of the notorious MS-13 gang, according to authorities.

Fox News correspondent Matt Finn shared video footage on X, capturing the moment DHS agents jumped out of Penske rental trucks in a surprise raid.

“Breaking: DHS arrives in Penske trucks at a Home Depot in [MacArthur] Park area of LA for early morning immigration enforcement,” Finn posted.

He added that the area was crowded with migrants who quickly scattered as the raid began. DHS officials cited MS-13’s stronghold in the neighborhood as a key factor behind the operation. Authorities confirmed that 16 individuals were taken into custody.

In a follow-up post, Finn noted that Los Angeles’ progressive Democratic Mayor, Karen Bass, had recently visited a location near the site of the raid to criticize former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Related article  Officers seen 'laughing and joking' at military veteran they strapped to a chair

“BREAKING: Federal immigration operation underway right now … near site where Karen Bass showed up last month during immigration enforcement,” Finn wrote.

In July, Mayor Karen Bass issued Executive Directive No. 12, ordering all Los Angeles city departments to develop strategies to protect undocumented immigrants and push back against federal immigration enforcement efforts.

The directive aimed to safeguard the “dignity, safety, and constitutional rights of all City of Los Angeles residents, regardless of their immigration status.” Bass cited a 1979 Los Angeles Police Department policy that bars officers from initiating enforcement based solely on a person’s suspected immigration status.

“These operations have heightened fears, torn apart families, disrupted the immigrant community, and interfered with businesses and day-to-day life across the city,” the directive stated. “These enforcement actions have deterred City residents from attending school and church, seeking city services, accessing healthcare, and going to work.”

Related article  Harvard Poll Deals Another Body Blow to Dems as Voters Flock to Trump on Deportation

In contrast, Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli commented on the Home Depot raid, underscoring the federal government’s commitment to immigration enforcement:

“For those who thought immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again. The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable, and there are no sanctuaries from the reach of the federal government,” Essayli wrote in a social media post.

The latest immigration enforcement actions come on the heels of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision rejecting a Trump administration request for an emergency stay on a federal injunction. That injunction had restricted ICE and DHS from conducting operations in Southern California based solely on individuals’ language or ethnicity.

Despite the legal setback, the Trump administration appears intent on sending a clear message: deterrence is once again a central pillar of immigration enforcement. In this approach, entering the U.S. illegally means being subject to arrest and possible deportation—regardless of identity or circumstances.

Related article  Sicko liberals celebrating the death of little girls in Texas floods tells you everything about the new evil rot

This stance was reinforced by former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, who appeared on CNN Tuesday to criticize the Biden administration’s prior enforcement strategy.

“We saw that during four years of the Biden administration, where they said, ‘We’re not going to deport. We’re not going to arrest and therefore deport certain classes of illegal aliens here in the United States,’” Wolf said.
“Unfortunately, what that does is, it just encourages more and more of those types of individuals to come to the country, knowing that they’ll never be deported.”

With DHS now targeting areas allegedly influenced by violent gangs like MS-13, officials are signaling a renewed focus on law and order.

Critics of sanctuary cities argue that such policies shield dangerous criminals, contribute to rising crime, strain public services, overcrowd schools, and enable millions to live outside the tax system.

Supporters of the latest operations say they serve a critical deterrent function, proving that federal immigration laws will be enforced consistently—and not ignored.

Some undocumented individuals, facing the reality of increased enforcement, have reportedly begun self-deporting. And if such operations continue, observers believe the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. could begin to decline more sharply.

Published inNEWS