LA County Sheriff Robert Luna discusses ongoing immigration raids across Southern California says it's "difficult to watch"
It's the new normal in Los Angeles, community leaders say. Masked federal agents have been swooping into immigrant communities and places of work, making arrests and, immigrants' rights groups say, tearing families apart. The Trump administration says the enforcement raids are about enforcing the law and stopping illegal immigration.
Local leaders say the administration's tactics are sowing terror in immigrant communities. For LA County's top law enforcement official, Sheriff Robert Luna, the scenes are personal and sometimes painful.
In a revealing interview with KCAL News, Luna, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna shared his thoughts on the ongoing raids.
"It is very difficult to watch that," Luna said. "With all due respect to my federal partners who we've worked very well with over the years the statistics that I've seen show that over 70% of those taken into custody are not violent or serious offenders."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have also drawn harsh criticism for covering their faces during raids. They say it's to protect themselves and their families from retaliatory attacks and threats, but critics say the masks contribute to the atmosphere of fear.
"It's a legitimate concern. If I'm off duty, I'm a brown man and I get approached by masked men because they think I speak Spanish and everything else, I'm going to fear for my life," Luna said.
Monday, the Supreme Court, in a temporary ruling, sided with the Trump administration to allow ICE to continue targeting people according to their ethnicity and language. Luna said he hopes for a different outcome when a final ruling is made.
"I'm hoping common sense, dignity, and the Constitution prevail," Luna said. "What we're doing right now, we have to think about this differently."
Luna was born and raised in East LA, the son of immigrant parents. What's playing out is also impacting him personally.
"From a community perspective, a lot of family members grew up in this area," Luna said. "My mother's side of the family, my father's side, my friends, extended family, a lot of them come from immigrant backgrounds. It hurts."
Luna said his department is not given any sort of heads-up before raids play out. He urges Angelenos to stay strong and reminds them that the sheriff's department is not conducting raids.
