(Image Credit: IMAGN) FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers carried out a series of enforcement operations in Los Angeles in late-February, 2025.
Pomona, California – A federal immigration raid at a Pomona auto repair shop Friday morning has sparked outrage and renewed fears in the city’s Latino community, after agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security arrested ten individuals — most of whom were not the original target.
The early-morning operation took place at a business on the 200 block of E. Holt Avenue, where agents said they were attempting to apprehend a single individual with an outstanding immigration warrant. Instead, nine other workers — all undocumented — were also detained in what officials described as a “routine enforcement action.”
According to a federal statement, several of those arrested had prior criminal charges, including child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, immigration violations, and DUI. However, immigration advocates and city leaders say the sweeping nature of the raid — and its chilling effect on the wider community — cannot be ignored.
“Federal agents are coming into our city, targeting individuals, and leaving entire families in fear,” said Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval, who arrived at the scene during the operation. “We are deeply concerned about the way these raids are being conducted. People feel terrorized in their own neighborhoods.”
Friday’s enforcement action came just days after another immigration sweep at a Home Depot parking lot in Pomona, where witnesses say as many as 25 day laborers were detained. Both incidents appear to be part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, which has intensified across California in recent weeks despite opposition from state and local officials.
“It’s not just about who’s being arrested — it’s about the trauma these actions cause,” said Laura Salazar, a local immigration attorney. “People are skipping work, afraid to send their kids to school, afraid to call the police when something goes wrong.”
The Pomona raids also come amid growing national controversy over the administration’s immigration policies. On the same day as the auto shop sweep, the federal government announced it would reverse the sudden termination of legal status for more than 1,200 international students. The decision followed a wave of legal challenges and public outcry after many students lost their visas for unclear or minor violations — forcing some to leave the country, go into hiding, or stop attending class altogether.
Advocates say the rollback offers only partial relief, and warn that aggressive enforcement tactics — from visa revocations to workplace raids — are reshaping the lives of immigrants across the country.
“We’re seeing a strategy of fear,” said Salazar. “And Pomona is feeling it firsthand.”
