'Collateral Arrests' by ICE Amount to Racial Profiling, Violate Immigrants' Rights, Lawyers Say

"They burst into View Park Automotive in South Los Angeles carrying semi-automatic weapons and wearing vests that simply read "police."

Four men, including Juan Hernandez Cuevas, were handcuffed and taken away.

Hernandez, 46, said he had no idea which law enforcement agency had just arrested him — or why — until he arrived at a downtown L.A. processing facility and saw the word "immigration" written on a wall.

On that late September afternoon, at least six agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived with a warrant for the owner of the shop, who had an outstanding deportation order based on multiple DUI convictions.

They didn't identify themselves or ask questions about the men's immigration status as they arrested every employee on the property.
"In the moment, I just had the worry and anguish about what would happen with my wife and child," Hernandez said.

The Trump administration calls immigrants who are not the original targets but are swept up during enforcement actions "collateral arrests." While some do have criminal records, some have none..."

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