In the bustling parking lot of a Los Angeles County strip mall, a civilian car persistently trailed an unmarked U.S. Border Patrol SUV, its horn blaring in a cacophonous symphony of disruption.
The civilian driver, so engrossed in his pursuit of the Border Patrol vehicle, failed to notice two other unmarked Border Patrol vehicles stationed in the same lot. This scene unfolded during a recent assignment where Blaze Media was embedded with Border Patrol, providing a firsthand glimpse into the operations of the large force of agents deployed to the area to apprehend illegal immigrants.
The civilian driver's fixation on the Border Patrol SUV was soon replaced by a masked man who began filming the vehicle. Assistant Chief Border Patrol Agent for the El Centro Sector, David Kim, engaged with the man, who expressed his discontent with the Border Patrol's presence.
"We don't welcome you here. We feel you put fear into our community. ... This is not good. You're scaring working people. You're not looking for criminals. You're not; you know that. This is wrong," the man challenged Kim. When Kim clarified that the Border Patrol was enforcing law 8 U.S.C. 1325, the man dismissed it as an "immoral law."
According to The Blaze, a few hours after this encounter, Border Patrol agents arrested Juan Diego Euan, an illegal immigrant, at a Home Depot in Cerritos. Euan, originally from Mexico, had a serious criminal conviction. In 2015, he was convicted for having sex with a minor under 16 years old and served two years in prison. He also had six previous arrests for illegal entry.
El Centro Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino highlighted Euan's arrest as an example of how "child sexual predators have day jobs. Contrary to what some mayors say, big box hardware stores *wink wink* are places where criminal aliens congregate." Bovino's comments were a pointed critique of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who has repeatedly criticized federal immigration officials for targeting hardware stores to arrest illegal immigrants. "Let me be clear chasing people through a Home Depot parking lot does not make Los Angeles safer," Bass has stated.
Bass has also argued that the crackdown on illegal workers will damage the local economy, as there are entire sectors in Los Angeles "that depend on immigrant labor. This administration is waging a war against our own economy." However, Assistant Chief Border Patrol Agent Kim countered this argument by referring to Euan's arrest.
"Someone is going to find a day laborer, bring them to their house, be around their family ... and no one is going to know that that person had sexually assaulted a child at some point in their life. And is that really the kind of person you want around your family?" Kim asked.
While the Border Patrol units Blaze Media was embedded with successfully apprehended illegal immigrants without interference from bystanders, the same could not be said for agents operating in Pico Rivera. In a Walmart parking lot, locals accosted the Border Patrol agents, who were driving marked vehicles.
The confrontation escalated into a physical altercation, resulting in at least one person being arrested by the agents. This incident underscores the contentious nature of immigration enforcement in the region, and the challenges faced by Border Patrol agents in the line of duty.
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