Skip to Content
Featured

Daily Memo: Over 20 Kidnapped by ICE and CBP, Including Another U.S. Citizen, Amid Escalating Southern California Raids

More than 30 people were confirmed to have been detained in the last couple of days, including 3 U.S. citizens.

Memo Torres breaks down immigration raids and related news in Southern California today. Below, you'll find links and references to everything discussed in the video, allowing you to take a closer look at each topic.

Thursday. December 4th. It’s day 181.

In the last two days, Federal immigration agents almost broke their previous two-day record, set on November 12th and 13th, when we documented over 50 raids, in which more than 50 people were taken.

Yesterday and today, we documented just shy of 50 incidents, including raids, scoutings, and sightings. 

More than 30 people were confirmed to have been detained in the last couple of days, including 3 U.S. citizens.

Considering that back on November 13th, 15 of those taken were from a single raid in Santa Maria that also included a pregnant woman and a baby, ICE and Border Patrol drew close to another record-setting two days.

If not for community watch and responders, everyday citizens like yourselves watching and listening on the frontlines, donating their time, gas, and risking themselves to alert and protect you and your neighbors. They are the real heroes working tirelessly out there. 

Yesterday, December 3, Border Patrol focused their attention on West Covina, Baldwin Park, and La Puente, detaining two U.S. Citizens in the process, one at the Fontana courthouse, who had just recently become a naturalized citizen and was appearing in court to clear up a misunderstanding with his social security. The other, a construction worker, was at work. He was later released in a neighborhood he was unfamiliar with. We’ll have that full story up soon on L.A. Taco. 

They took street vendors as well, including three from the Don Chilaquiles stand, then came back for their cash box in the process. We have the full story on Lataco.com. Meanwhile, ICE again was in Lynwood, Chinatown, Fillmore, and the Simi Valley.

Down in San Diego, there’s been an increase in activity as well, but many potential raids were thwarted by community members pressuring agents out of their neighborhoods.

Today, the same strategy again, ICE raided through Chino, Montclair, Simi Valley, Pomona, and Ontario, while Border Patrol swarmed Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena, and Carson. Again, there was a significant presence in the San Diego area. 

Lastly, I recommend you watch the video by Sandra of the Orange County Rapid Response Network, noting that USCIS has been notifying ICE of individuals scheduled for interviews when they arrive, allowing ICE to exercise discretion when showing up.

This applies to San Diego as well. We are unsure of the total number of these kidnappings that have occurred in private, but they include folks with green card hearings and asylum hearings.

TODAY’S RAIDS

AT L.A. TACO

If you appreciate reporting like this, please consider becoming a member, buying some merch, or dropping a dime in our fundraiser so we can continue bringing you this vital information.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Exclusive: Wife of Hunger Striking Detainee Speaks Out on Inhumane Treatment

According to a lawyer with the National Day Labor Network, a hunger strike is a last resort—it is what people do when every other option has been taken away.

Weekend Eats: On-Tap Sarsaparilla and Soylent Green Cocktails At This Apocalypse-Themed Bar

Plus chocolate-and-ice cream tacos, a new Argentine asado up on the eight floor, and a taco fundraiser for Gaza emergency medical workers.

May 22, 2026

Investigations Newsletter: L.A. TACO Reporter Detained While Reporting (Again)

“Sign right there,” LAPD Officer Lockhart ordered. “If you don’t sign, you go to jail, it’s simple.”

May 22, 2026

Craft Breweries Are Struggling. So How Does This One Keep Expanding?

Everything there is to know about the hyper-dank and extremely brave brewery opening at Union Station’s iconic Fred Harvey space tomorrow.

Daily Memo: Immigration Lawyers Overwhelmed With the Number of Detainees Needing Representation

“The system has been set up in a way to make people lose hope, to make them give up fighting their case before they talk to an attorney, before they even really know what their options are," says one of the immigration lawyers from the Immigration Defenders Law Center stepping up to help.

This WWE Power Couple Is Venturing into L.A.’s Coffee Roasting Scene

World Wrestling Entertainment stars Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have launched AMO, inspired by their true life, non-kayfabe romance; plus, a short guide to a few of their favorite spots in L.A.

May 20, 2026
See all posts