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A leading immigrant rights group says several hundred people in LA have been detained in recent ICE raids
Protesters hold a Mexican flag against ICE enforcement Sunday in downtown Los Angeles.
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The Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights, known as CHIRLA, estimates that several hundred people in L.A. have been detained by immigration authorities, but say federal officials have failed to confirm just how many have been arrested.
The nonprofit's executive director, Angelica Salas, said based on reports from family members, she estimates more than 300 people have been detained by ICE since the raids that started on Friday.
“By not having access, we depend on the family members to call the hotline to let us know that their family member has been detained,” Salas said in a report to the L.A. City Council on Tuesday.
Family members, Salas added, have been left in the dark about where their loved ones are and attorney have experienced issues accessing their clients.
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“What I come to ask you, is to be courageous in this moment, to speak up for these families, to boldly say to stop the raids because all of the protesting will stop when this federal government stops attacking and terrorizing our families,” Salas said.
Mayor Karen Bass said ICE is not keeping the city in the loop about enforcement activity.
“We have people that were detained. We don’t even know the exact number,” Bass said during a news conference Tuesday. “We have people who have not had contact with legal representation, nor have they had contact with their families. There is an awful lot of concern.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not provide an answer when asked to confirm the number of arrests. But on social media, the department said 118 people had been detained as of Saturday.
Over the weekend, ICE carried out a series of raids across the Los Angeles region, sparking several days of protests from the community.
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