Update: 2:21 p.m., Jan. 29, 2026
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At least six people were detained Wednesday in a series of apparent federal immigration operations in Boyle Heights and East LA — the most activity the neighborhoods have seen since the raids intensified last summer.
In under an hour, two vendors and one person in Ramona Gardens were taken this morning. Three more people were detained later in the day, according to witnesses and rapid response groups.
Around 9:45 a.m., a man selling flowers near 2nd and Mott streets was taken by federal agents, according to Verita Topete of the social justice group Centro CSO.
Topete was in the area when she saw masked agents grab and take the flower vendor inside a gray Grand Wagoneer. She said she heard a commotion, “a bunch of neighbors honking their horns.”
“They kidnapped him. They took him,” she said. “It was hard to witness.”
A second vendor who sells fruit from a truck was taken near Michigan and Evergreen avenues, the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network (BHIRN) confirmed. A photo on social media shows a yellow truck left in the middle of the street.
In the Ramona Gardens housing development, at least one person was detained around 10:20 a.m., the BHIRN confirmed. Video posted on social media shows five masked agents detaining the man on the ground before loading him into a gray van with no license plates.
Another person was detained around 10:50 a.m. in the 300 block of Mathews Street near Cesar Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights. A video circulating of the arrest shows agents dragging a man into their vehicle in handcuffs.
Shortly before 1 p.m., another flower vendor was detained near Whittier Boulevard and Downey Road in East LA, according to BHIRN.
About 30 minutes later, a witness, Jacob Delgado, posted a video on the Citizen App of federal agents detaining a man near Mott and 1st streets outside a Food4Less. Delgado was still at the scene Wednesday afternoon, where a group had gathered. “They dropped all his stuff and they took him. Everybody was just recording,” Delgado said.
Federal agents were also spotted on Olympic and Atlantic boulevards in East LA around 9:59 a.m., according to a report on StopICE.net, which tracks federal enforcement operations. This is the same location where agents were captured on video questioning people about their legal status on Jan. 14.
In El Sereno, reports were circulating of a fruit vendor being detained after a cart was left behind. About a dozen community members gathered around the cart at around 12:35 p.m. to check on the sighting. The vendor was nearby and said she heard about ICE being in the area and left her cart alone out of fear for her safety. Federal agents did not approach her, she told Boyle Heights Beat.
The operations follow a recent surge of immigration activity across the Eastside in recent weeks. Organizers have said the activity has left many rapid responders exhausted and in need of more support to keep up.
Here’s what we know about those detained
Humberto Gonzalez said the flower vendor who was detained near Mott Street is Honduran and worked for his family’s flower business.
He sold flowers all over the city, Gonzalez said, and lived in the Boyle Heights neighborhood for more than 20 years. He has a son in Honduras.
“He’s not a criminal,” Gonzalez said. “I grew up with that man. It hurts.”
Alberto Carrillo lives in the neighborhood and witnessed agents capturing the vendor.
“I saw them get off the truck and then chase him down the street,” said Carrillo, who saw four agents. “They got him right before he went into his house.. I’m assuming he couldn’t open the gate on time and they just tackled him.”
“When I saw that, I was just blaring my horn, honking and screaming, “ICE! ICE! Migra! Migra! Migra!” Carrillo said.
“A bunch of neighbors and I ran, recording up to his house where they got him. He was putting up a struggle,” he said.
In Ramona Gardens, a woman who lives in the area and did not want to be named out of fear for her safety said she saw two vehicles, a gray van and a white SUV, drive into the neighborhood just before 10 a.m.
Her daughter captured video of the incident.
About eight federal agents in masks got out of their vehicles and pinned down a man before putting him in a gray van, she recalled.
“At first I thought they were sherriffs, but then I saw that it said ICE,” she said. “I was yelling and yelling but nobody came out.”
“I told (the agents), ‘get off of him, you guys are hurting him’ because he kept saying ‘No puedo respirar’ ” she said.
In the 300 block of Mathews Street near Cesar Chavez Avenue, Chris said he heard yelling and commotion outside of his home around 10:50 a.m. and when he stepped out, he saw about four federal agents arresting his uncle, Abraham. Chris chose not to share his or his uncle’s last names to protect his family’s safety.
“They tied him like a pig, they dragged him like an animal, they gave him his punches,” Chris said. “He’s a good guy, respectable guy, a hard worker,” Chris said of his uncle.
According to Chris, his uncle was standing outside and was randomly approached by the agents who then followed Abraham into his driveway. Abraham pleaded with agents to leave him alone, saying, “I live here, please leave me alone,” Chris recalled.
Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately return a request for comment.
Local officials respond
Assemblymember Mark González denounced the arrest of street vendors in Boyle Heights in a press release Wednesday saying, “Vendors were simply working, selling flowers, feeding families, surviving. And for that, they were hunted down and detained. Let’s be clear: working is not a crime.”
“The only thing “illegal” here is a federal government terrorizing communities, ripping people off sidewalks and job sites, and calling it enforcement,” said González.
In a statement to the Beat, Council District 14 Councilmember, Ysabel Jurado, called today’s raids “terrifying.”
“When people are kidnapped in broad daylight, and flowers, fruits, and produce for sale are left behind, it sends a clear message to families that no one is safe, and every street corner could be the next one. This is cruelty by design,” said Jurado.
She encouraged residents to contact their local rapid response hotline if they see ICE in their community and provided the phone number for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) at (888) 624-4752.