A man who witnessed an immigration raid at a Pacoima shopping plaza said he was forcefully removed and taken into custody for simply filming the activity.
On June 19, Arturo Hermosillo, 36, said he spotted federal agents detaining day laborers outside a Lowe’s store.
He was sitting in his work van when he noticed an older woman lying on the ground. She was a street vendor in the area who often sold tamales. He was angry at the sight and began recording the activity with his cellphone.
He yelled out at the federal agents, but remained seated in his van. When the agents spotted Hermosillo filming, they approached him and allegedly said he was blocking the path for an ambulance and that he had to move his van.
Hermosillo said he complied, but accidentally bumped a vehicle behind him when reversing. That’s when the agents quickly moved in on Hermosillo’s van, opened the car door and demanded that he step outside.
“They opened the vehicle and they dragged me out,” Hermosillo told KTLA’s Ellina Abovian. “I told them I’m not doing anything illegal.”
Footage from a bystander showed several agents forcefully removing Hermosillo from the driver’s seat, grabbing him by the neck, upper body and legs, before he was pushed onto the ground and handcuffed.
He was arrested and placed into a van before he was taken to a Department of Homeland Security building in downtown L.A..
Hermosillo was later released. He said the ordeal was frustrating because he was not committing a crime. He believes there’s a lack of transparency when it comes to federal immigration raids happening across Southern California.
“We should be able to have open arms for people who want to work,” he said. “These are hard-working people. This is Indigenous land. They belong here, we belong here. They’re taking people off the streets with violence.”
Hermosillo said government officials told him he was under investigation for interfering with federal agents and could face up to six years in jail if convicted.
KTLA reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for details on Hermosillo’s arrest and whether he would be charged with any crimes and is awaiting a response.
