A person leaves an immigration hearing in handcuffs, walking past a crowd of protesters, and is put into a van to be taken from the U.S. Immigration Court on May 21, 2025, in Phoenix.
Los Angeles, California – As federal immigration raids continue across Southern California, hundreds of families remain in the dark about the whereabouts of their loved ones. Since the enforcement actions began on June 6, more than 300 people have been detained, according to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). Yet for many families, the question isn’t just why — but where.
Some of those arrested have reportedly been moved multiple times between detention centers, including the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in downtown Los Angeles. The facility, now under military protection, has become a flashpoint for protests and prayers, with demonstrators gathering outside in solidarity with detainees whose access to attorneys and family has been restricted.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, speaking on KTLA 5, expressed frustration and alarm. “People are being detained without notifying their families or granting access to legal counsel,” she said, adding that some were arrested during routine immigration check-ins. “None of these things happened in past immigration enforcement.”
Despite repeated requests, the Department of Homeland Security has not provided a total number of people in custody or detailed the criteria used for their arrests. When asked for a statement, DHS instead sent images and criminal histories of select individuals they described as “the worst of the worst.” Yet reports continue to emerge of people with no criminal history also being taken into custody.
In Oxnard, ICE agents arrested Erica Perez’s mother while she was attending a court-ordered immigration hearing. Perez, holding back tears, described the chilling conditions inside the federal facility. “She told me about the women banging on doors, begging for food. They were so hungry they would pretend they were drinking Starbucks.”
Others, like Kamilla Ponce, say their relatives have been completely cut off. Her uncle was arrested in the Los Angeles garment district. “They wouldn’t let us see him. Not even the lawyers,” she said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the raids in a statewide address Tuesday night, calling them an overreach of federal authority. “This is not targeted enforcement — it’s mass deportation,” he said.
Federal officials remain defiant. “ICE will not be deterred,” said Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in an interview with Fox News, promising that operations would only “ramp up.”
As the raids intensify, so too does the uncertainty — not just about who is being taken, but about what kind of immigration policy is taking shape in Southern California. For now, families, attorneys, and local officials remain largely in the dark.
