U.S. immigration officers carried out a pre-dawn raid at a Home Depot in Los Angeles’ Westlake district on Wednesday, arresting 16 people in a sting dubbed “Operation Caballo de Troya.” Agents from the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol hid in a Penske rental truck and, according to witnesses, lured day laborers before emerging in ski masks and fatigue uniforms to make the arrests. Video of the operation circulated widely on social media and cable news. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News the sweep was aimed at suspects linked to the Salvadoran gang MS-13. Penske said it had no prior knowledge its vehicle would be used in the operation. Home Depot did not immediately comment. Civil-rights lawyers said the raid appears to flout a temporary restraining order issued in July—and upheld last week by the Ninth Circuit—that bars federal agents from conducting indiscriminate immigration arrests in seven Los Angeles-area counties. Attorneys for migrant-advocacy groups said they are gathering evidence for possible contempt proceedings against DHS. The Los Angeles action is the latest in a series of aggressive workplace and street-level sweeps under President Donald Trump’s second term. Immigration lawyers and industry groups say stepped-up enforcement has already led to thousands of detentions nationwide and intensified labor shortages in construction and other sectors dependent on immigrant workers.
Las redadas migratorias regresan a Los Ángeles con la ‘Operación Caballo de Troya’ https://t.co/2paGqIGUE4
Operación ‘Caballo de Troya’. Así cazan migrantes los agentes de Donald Trump en Los Ángeles. https://t.co/W1ouBSFdbX
Abogados denuncian que el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional está reactivando procesos de deportación cerrados hace años, sin verificar si los migrantes siguen vivos o tienen estatus legal. Todo en un intento por intensificar la aplicación de leyes de migración y el número de https://t.co/nCuGQj6r5k