Federal agents detained a man near Inglewood City Hall last week, according to Inglewood Mayor James Butts and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The arrest occurred on Oct. 20 around 6:45 a.m. near Queen Street and La Brea Avenue, about 50 feet east of City Hall, which was closed at the time, Butts said.
“No one working for the City knows the exact sequence of events. We were not present,” Butts wrote in an email, adding city police were not notified of the incident and that federal agents “did not have nor did they seek permission from the City to follow or detain the vehicle.”
The mayor also said the city had no advanced knowledge of the stop, writing “ICE did not report their stop or any detention to anyone in the City.”
A DHS spokesperson told The LA Local via email that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Roberto Ortiz-Acosta, who is from Mexico, “during a targeted enforcement operation in Inglewood, California.” He was “placed into custody without further incident,” the spokesperson said.
The agency also said Border Patrol previously arrested Ortiz-Acosta on March 13, 2005, and granted him a voluntary return the following day. The LA Local could not independently verify that account.
“Ortiz-Acosta will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” DHS said.
The incident comes as an increase in immigration enforcement once again hits California, leading community advocates and elected officials to amplify Know Your Rights information and rapid response networks. Recent incidents involving federal immigration agents have been reported in North Long Beach, and Unión del Barrio has shared video footage of immigration agents spotted in Inglewood, Koreatown and East LA in recent days
Unlike the city of LA, Inglewood hasn’t adopted its own sanctuary-city ordinance, Butts previously told The LA Local. However, the mayor said the city complies with the California Values Act, or Senate Bill 54, which limits how much state and local law enforcement can cooperate with federal agents, with rare exceptions.
But ING Fellowship, an Inglewood grassroots organization, said that isn’t enough. The group has called on the city to adopt the “Inglewood For All Act,” which would establish stronger protections for immigrant families and more accountability from city leaders.
“The reported ICE activity outside Inglewood City Hall underscores why we need to pass the Inglewood For All Act,” ING Fellowship wrote in an emailed statement.
ING Fellowship’s concerns come after a January incident in which masked federal agents detained two crew members working on the city’s drain system outside a Superior Grocers construction site.
“We must ensure our local government has clear policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, consistent with applicable law, and protecting residents’ ability to access public services without fear,” the organization’s statement read.
Butts said city officials “do not cooperate and have never cooperated with ICE operations” and “do not notify ICE of the immigration status of any arrested persons.”
The mayor also said city officials “cannot stop any Federal Enforcement personnel from making arrests on public property.”
