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The American nightmare continues as masked federal immigration agents allegedly attempt to intimidate voters and ramp up immigration detentions, both in the Southland and beyond, ahead of the midterm elections next week.
L.A. TACO has watched hundreds, if not thousands, of videos of brutal detentions from across the nation this past year. Each one has left its imprint on me.
Last week, in my hometown of Escondido, a group of children was allegedly pepper-sprayed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to a statement posted to Facebook by Councilmember Consuelo Martinez*. Video reviewed by L.A. TACO shows what appear to be at least four masked federal immigration agents detaining a man while piercing screams can be heard breaking the silence at an apartment complex. In a statement to CBS8 regarding the incident, DHS and ICE called the allegations that agents had pepper-sprayed children false.
Pepper-spraying children is nothing new to federal immigration agents. In June of 2025, ICE agents rammed, apparently tear-gassed, and shot less-lethals at a vehicle with a family inside, including a toddler and baby, in Boyle Heights, according to reporting by FOX 11 and ABC7.
There have also been at least three deaths of people in ICE custody in the past month—two of those occurred just days apart. Roberto Jimenez Gutierrez, 43, from Guatemala, died on October 24 inside the Otay Mesa Detention Center, according to an ICE press release. Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias died at the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, Texas, under ICE custody on October 17, 2026, according to another ICE press release. Luis Sandoval, 48, from El Salvador, died in ICE custody at Folkston D. Ray ICE Processing Center on October 23, 2026, according to yet another ICE press release.
There have been at least 81 deaths tied to federal immigration agencies since the second Trump administration began, according to reporting by L.A. TACO. Deaths continue to occur, marking one of the deadliest times in U.S. immigration policy history. A report published by the Migration Policy Institute think tank shows that almost a million people have been deported since the beginning of the second Trump administration, and only 20% had criminal records, according to reporting by Reuters.
Fear of ICE agents at the polls has people on edge. The federal government says federal immigration agents will not be patrolling those locations but also has not ruled it out entirely, according to the Associated Press. Federal law prevents the deployment of armed troops or agents to election sites, except in an extreme circumstance.
As the nation prepares for next week’s midterm elections, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice is attempting to intimidate voters across the states, including here in California, by filing a lawsuit that alleges that the state failed to review a list of alleged non-citizen voters.
A court declaration in the lawsuit by Monica Flores, a Los Angeles County assistant registrar-recorder, stated that a sample taken from the alleged non-citizen voter list found that 38.9% of the individuals said they were born in the U.S., according to reporting by NPR. A federal judge ruled Wednesday against the Trump administration’s request to segregate the alleged non-citizen mail-in ballots, according to reporting by NBC.
This is a pivotal midterm election that can turn the tide, and may help restrain the power amassed by unhinged federal immigration agencies.
SO GO VOTE!
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration, allowing for the Trump administration to restrict “administrative closure,” according to the Washington Post. The procedure allows for judges to close thousands of deportation cases each year.
ICE ACTIVITY
The latest alleged immigration enforcement surge began in early October and continues with increased activity in San Diego County, Inland Empire Counties, Central Coast counties, and in the San Fernando Valley, according to reporting by independent journalist Izzy Ramirez, who documents immigration enforcement.
After speaking with community watchers, Ramirez shared that at least 19 people were detained in Corona last Friday, noting that federal immigration detainments continue across the county at ICE check-ins, immigration appointments, at ISAP check-ins, an asylum office, and at city jails. Since the beginning of this alleged surge, he notes that new patterns have emerged, like ICE targeting local jails for detentions in the evening, and separate teams of agents leaving from different locations—which have made it difficult to track them.
IN OTHER ICE-RELATED NEWS
- According to Pew Research Center, of 5,062 U.S. adults interviewed, a majority of 56% have an unfavorable opinion of ICE.
- Members of Glendale’s Armenian community are reportedly growing alarmed by the threat of ICE raids, following the reported immigration arrest of a local family.
- Pro-ICE Canadian blogger Samuel Sey was reportedly detained by ICE in Ohio.
- The Pentagon gave the Department of Homeland Security permission to test a military-grade, non-lethal heat ray called the “Active Denial System” for potential use at the border.
- Residents of Springfield, Ohio, the town where Donald Trump targeted the Haitian community with vile hate speech, are sounding off about the detentions of Haitian neighbors and the appearance of a neo-Nazi gang at a support center for Haitian immigrants.
- Newly released documents support the claim that ICE has detained and tried to deport a mentally disabled U.S. citizen in Florida who may have said he was born in Jamaica due to his condition.
- A report from FWD.us suggests that state and local police are partnering with ICE on immigration enforcement at a rate that is double that of eight months ago.
- Rest in peace to San Diego-raised, Union Del Barrio activist Isamar Ayala Soto, who passed away unexpectedly. Funds are being collected for her funeral service and family.
ICYMI ON L.A. TACO
- Hackers Expose Personal Information of Over 40,000 DHS Employees
- A Completely Interactive Guide To L.A. Voter Guides
- L.A. TACO’s 2026 Voter Guide
Disclosure: Councilmember Martinez is a family friend of this column’s author.
