Federal ICE agents arrested an elderly man who was dropping his granddaughter off at school at the Church of Perpetual Help in Downey. They also made arrests at a Home Depot store and an LA Fitness gym.

The terror sown by immigration officers has extended to the Downey Memorial Christian Church, according to reports from numerous pastors and Ron Góchez, a member of the Community Self-Defense Coalition and Neighborhood Union.

In front of the church, witnesses to the raids reported the arrest of a man sitting under a tree and another at a CVS pharmacy.

Pastors Al and Tanya Lopez of Downey Memorial Christian Church described a raid on their church, where officers detained a man without identifying himself.

“I was in my office and I could see the faces of these men wandering around the church,” said Rev. Lopez. “The man they arrested was sitting in the parking lot of our church.”

His wife, Tanya Lopez, said they met with various religious leaders Tuesday night to call for “an end to this cruelty and an end to this inhumanity.”

She confronted the three strangers who invaded the church’s public parking lot.

“You are not welcome.”

“They had a badge on their bulletproof vest that said ‘Police.’ I asked, ‘Where is your badge number? Tell me your name, and why are you wearing a mask? Police officers don’t have to hide their identity.’”

“We are here to protect the community,” they said. “I am the police,” and I said, “You can get that badge on Amazon.” And they left.

She insisted: “This is our property, you are not welcome here, we do not think it is right that you should do this to one of our neighbors.”

Immigration agents, armed with rifles, used a vehicle to block the religious leaders’ path, who documented the events on video.

She yelled in vain at the arrested man not to sign anything. She asked him for his name to try to find out who he was and seek legal advice. Nothing worked.

“This is our property, you are not welcome here, we don’t think it’s right that you would do this to one of our neighbors.” They then continued using the vehicle to block our way so we couldn’t see why we were trying to get our documents. I started yelling, reminding this man not to sign anything.

“I am heartbroken. My daughters were crying. It breaks my heart that they started their vacation like this, just days before Father’s Day.”

More than 20 operations

Downey Councilman Mario Trujillo said the job of elected officials “is public safety.”

He emphasized that the massive raids: “are creating chaos and fear. This is not the way to provide public safety to the community,”

The arrests made by U.S. agents have been compared to the operations of German dictator Adolf Hitler’s Nazi secret police.

“Today [Wednesday] we documented over 20 kidnapping attacks in our community,” Ron Góchez said. “And we say kidnapping because that’s what they are. They are kidnapping people from our community.”

Major General Scott Sherman, in an interview with The Associated Press and ABC, said Wednesday that while troops have already participated in such missions, he indicated that it is premature to say whether they will continue even after the protests calm down. Los Angeles entered its second day of a curfew last night, from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

Alerts on social media

In the recent raids, federal agents arrested 26 car wash workers, including a customer. Only four of them have been located. Neither federal authorities nor those at immigration detention centers provide information to anyone.

“We receive calls Desperate workers are reporting ICE raids,” said Flor Meléndrez, executive director of the Clean Carwash Worker Center. “ICE is cruelly attacking the industries in our city where workers are most vulnerable.” Meléndrez described how the workers were detained without any questions and stressed the importance of solidarity, legal information, and the fight against injustice, racism, and fascism. “The community must stay informed and active in defending its rights,” she added.“We must continue organizing and supporting the affected families to find the arrested workers and provide them with legal representation.”

One carwashero who was a victim of the raids was Naomi Ciau’s husband. Her husband had worked at Westchester Hand Wash for 25 years.

“I haven’t been able to speak to him since Sunday,” she said through tears. “My husband is the sole breadwinner for the family and was taking care of his four children, ages 15, 14, 10, and 5.”

ICE provided no information to Naomi or Maxine Waters’ office. Her husband had no criminal record.

“My father is not a criminal.”

With tears streaming down their faces, sisters Kimberly and Jocelyn recalled that their father, Joel, a Mexican from Puebla, was arrested Sunday afternoon by ICE agents.

“My father was kidnapped by immigration agents at his job. Before that day, there was a suspicious black van lurking near his job, along with three patrol cars driving on Venice and Sepulveda Boulevard.”

“They also kidnapped the client who was here with him. His children were with him when they detained him. This is no longer about immigration policy, and it never was. My father is not a criminal,” Kimberly said.

“My father is a very hard-working man, respected by all of his coworkers, his clients, my teachers, my sister’s teachers, and many other friends he has made along the way,” Kimberly added, on the sixth day of public demonstrations for the cruelty with which immigration laws are being enforced in the United States.

“Most importantly, he is a husband and a father. Thanks to all the sacrifices he made, my sister and I were able to graduate from high school, go to college, and live the life he couldn’t as a child.”

The Full Weight of the Law

Omar Pulido Bastida, 41, of South Los Angeles, could face a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison.

Bastida, who is undocumented, was charged with a felony for allegedly spitting on a federal agent who was executing an arrest warrant against him earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Emiliano Garduño Gálvez, 23, of Paramount, and Wrackkie Quiogue, 27, of Long Beach, were charged with being in possession of Molotov cocktails during the recent protests in downtown Los Angeles and the city Paramount, stemming from protests against federal immigration enforcement. Both defendants are in custody. Quiogue was ordered held at his initial court appearance Tuesday. Galvez is expected to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in the coming days.