California immigration raid leaves families reeling, 5 detained near Mission Bay

San Diego, California – A pre-dawn immigration raid near Mission Bay on Tuesday has left a community shaken, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained five individuals — including one man ICE accuses of being part of a violent transnational gang — from cars and RVs parked near the water. The operation sparked confusion, fear, and outcry from witnesses who say the arrests were chaotic, lacked transparency, and traumatized bystanders, including young children.

The raid, which unfolded just after sunrise, resulted in one of the individuals allegedly kicking a Homeland Security agent and biting another officer during the arrest. ICE has since referred assault charges to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and released a statement warning that “physical assaults on federal officers will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”

But for those who know the man personally — including his sister, who arrived on the scene after learning of his arrest — the government’s version of events does not align with their lived reality. Speaking in Spanish, she described a different portrait: a father of two with medical issues, no criminal record in the U.S. or Venezuela, and someone struggling to survive after migrating last October.

“When we finally made it here to the U.S., we thought we were safe,” she said. “But it’s the same. People deserve the opportunity.”

A bystander captured the arrest on video, showing ICE agents forcefully pulling the man from a vehicle and subduing him on the pavement. Witnesses say agents did not show warrants or provide identification, leaving residents and advocates unsure who was taken or where they were taken to.

Arturo Gonzalez, a community activist who arrived shortly after the arrests, said he watched officers extract a father from an RV as his partner and children looked on in terror.

“There was a mother and her two children — she was in tears, her kids looked very, very scared,” Gonzalez said. “Their eyes were wide open, like, ‘Where’s my dad?’ They didn’t cry. They were just frozen.”

Adding to the confusion, some residents said San Diego police issued parking tickets early that morning before the ICE operation began. One man, who lives in his RV, said police told him to move his home or risk having it towed. Hours later, he said, officers returned banging on trailer doors as the raid began. It’s unclear whether the ticketing was related to the arrests.

The San Diego Police Department said it did not assist with the arrests and was only on-site for traffic control. A mobile home was later seen being towed from the area.