The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the arrest of four individuals accused of disrupting a federal immigration operation near Los Angeles. This incident occurs as law enforcement faces heightened challenges amidst the enforcement of the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies.
In response, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that it is “actively monitoring these assaults directed at our law enforcement officers and will ensure those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
A DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Any officials promoting anti-police sentiment and encouraging dangerous actions should reconsider, as this can lead to further violence and jeopardize the safety of federal agents.”
The incident happened while U.S. Border Patrol conducted what DHS categorized as a “target immigration enforcement operation” in Van Nuys, Calif., on Tuesday.
Border Patrol agents arrested (left to right) Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43; Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allard, 28; Sadot Jarnica, 54; and Daniel Montenegro, 30. (@USBPChiefELC/X)
Local outlets said nonprofit organization Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur De California (IDEPSCA) identified Ayala and Allard as “day laborer advocates,” or individuals who support people, including migrants, seeking short-term and informal jobs.
IDEPSCA operates a day labor center in the parking lot of the Home Depot where the immigration operation was being conducted, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The group claimed that the two men were arrested while exercising their legal right to observe and document the immigration raid and complained about federal agents tackling their advocates.
Officials documented two homemade tire-deflating devices with metal nails. (@USBPChiefELC/X)
Fox News Digital has also reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and IDEPSCA for more information.
The incident comes as DHS has reported a 700% increase in attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration enforcement agents since President Donald Trump took office this year.
Federal immigration agents have come under armed ambushes in Texas twice in recent days.
A man wearing a utility vest and armed with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents and a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, on Monday, authorities said. Ten individuals were charged in connection with a Fourth of July ambush outside a detention center in Alvarado, Texas, where a police officer was shot in the neck and other correctional officers came under fire, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ has also been monitoring repeated attacks and sabotage attempts on an ICE facility in Portland, Ore., since June.
