In a dramatic scene captured on video, a group of unauthorized immigrants was seen dashing across rooftops in California in an attempt to escape federal immigration officers conducting a raid at a small construction site.
The intense footage reveals two individuals rapidly climbing a ladder onto the roof of a Montebello residence on Wednesday, just as immigration authorities arrived at the single-story dwelling. Montebello is located in Los Angeles County.
One person seemed to try to topple the ladder in a bid to thwart the agents from pursuing them, but an officer managed to grab it and restore it to its position against the house.
The video shows these individuals navigating the rooftops amid a federal law enforcement operation targeting immigration violations at the site on January 14 in Montebello, California. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the operation resulted in the arrest of five undocumented individuals from Mexico and Guatemala. (FOX 11)
In their effort to escape, the group dispersed, jumping onto different adjacent rooftops.
A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security informed Fox News Digital that this event unfolded during a U.S. Border Patrol operation in the Montebello vicinity.
Anti-ICE agitators confront federal law enforcement agents in Bell, Calif. (Getty Images)
“These operations resulted in the arrest of five illegal aliens from Mexico and Guatemala, who have all broken the immigration laws of this country,” a DHS spokesperson said. “These individuals will remain in custody pending further immigration proceedings.”
Local outlet ABC7 reported that the workers’ boss initially claimed no one had been detained. DHS, however, later confirmed to Fox News Digital that five individuals were arrested during the operation.
An ICE agent monitors a scene near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minn. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)
DHS said the enforcement activity was carried out as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration.
The incident comes as the White House moves to carry out what officials have described as the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, a policy that has sparked backlash in sanctuary cities and other Democratic-led jurisdictions.
