Raman, LA leaders join backlash after ICE officers reportedly detain 2 near Boyle Heights hospital

LOS ANGELES — Federal immigration officers reportedly detained two people late Friday evening amid an anti-ICE protest near a Boyle Heights hospital, sparking additional action by community immigrant advocates and swift condemnation from city leaders, including Mayor-Elect Nithya Raman.

“The Trump administration is unwelcome not just in Los Angeles but all over this country,” Raman said Saturday afternoon in Boyle Heights. “What happened last night at this hospital was an affront to the wishes of the American people and the people of Los Angeles.”

Raman, alongside elected officials City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado and California State Sen. María Elena Durazo among others, spoke strongly against federal immigration officers just hours after the latest violent fray with Angelenos. Immigration agents took the two detainees into custody during a demonstration at Adventist White Memorial Hospital, Boyle Heights Beat reported on Saturday.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Los Angeles Police confirmed the detentions to the Los Angeles Times. A spokesperson for LAPD confirmed federal agents were present at the hospital while a person in their custody received medical treatment.

The rep said Los Angeles Police Department received reports that “large groups had assembled at the hospital and were causing a disturbance.” Video from OnScene Media showed protesters confronting a line of masked immigration officers appearing to block an ambulance entrance to the hospital.

Mayor Karen Bass on Saturday condemned the agents who “gathered in force,” writing on social media “that presence was frightening at the worst possible moment” for patients and their families.

“A hospital should be the one place where people feel safe,” Bass tweeted. “No one should have to think twice about receiving care or fear that a loved one’s treatment could be interrupted because of their immigration status.”

In a video shared to social media by observer Michelle Rivera, officers can be seen pinning a person down to the sidewalk at the intersection of Boyle Ave and Pennsylvania Ave, near the hospital. In the video, bystanders can be heard telling agents to let the detainee go. One officer, wearing a face covering and a vest emblazoned with “POLICE ICE,” tells onlookers to back away from the scene, ordering them, “Do not impede with the arrest.”

The person behind the camera accused immigration officials of detaining two people who are U.S. citizens. An officer can be heard accusing the detainees of “interfering” with an arrest and informing onlookers, “We have criminal arrest authority.” An officer can also be heard telling a person off-camera, “Your brother assaulted a federal agent.”

“He’s being arrested for assaulting a federal agent,” the officer continued in the video. “He’s coming with us.”

In Rivera’s video, the person behind the camera can be heard asking followers to amplify the video and tag local immigrant advocacy groups.

According to OnScene Media, numerous protesters were pushed and pepper-sprayed. Video shows a young woman on her knees, crying, as other people pour water on her face. The federal agents departed the hospital shortly after a priest appeared at the scene of the protest, video shows.

LAPD said it received a second call from hospital security at around 2:24 a.m., alleging approximately 30 protesters “gathered at the hospital and breached the ambulance access area.” Police responded to “maintain public safety, preserve access to emergency medical services, and keep the peace,” the spokesperson said.

“At no point did LAPD officers participate in federal immigration enforcement activities, assist with immigration enforcement operations, or detain any individuals on behalf of federal immigration authorities,” the spokesperson added. LAPD also said officers “made contact with members of the group, who cooperated with officers and dispersed without further incident.”

Nick Samaniego, a spokesperson for Adventist Health Communications, confirmed in a statement to The Times that a person in federal immigration custody received care at the hospital. The statement noted that the hospital neither requested nor authorized federal agents to restrict the ambulance entrance.

“White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement,” the statement said. “We know last night frightened our neighbors. No matter what happens outside our doors, everyone who comes inside is our patient, and our focus will only be on that patient, and it will not change.”

Community members returned Saturday afternoon for a demonstration near the hospital. At the event, organized by the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, California State Sen. Durazo said federal agents had “no justification” for their actions late Friday evening and early Saturday morning and that she expects “higher protection of our community” from White Memorial.

“You also carry a responsibility,” she said during the Saturday afternoon gathering.

City Councilmember Jurado said in a statement on Saturday that she is “deeply troubled” by reports of the incident at White Memorial and called on the hospital to “publicly disclose its agreements with ICE and end any voluntary medical-services contract with the agency” and called on hospital leaders to further protect patients.

Raman concluded her address Saturday afternoon with a message to the residents of Boyle Heights: “You are not alone. This is your city, you belong here, and we will all fight together to make sure everyone is protected.”