L.A. ICE Raids Delayed Due To Homeland Security Info Leak: Report

LOS ANGELES -- Immigration raids planned for Los Angeles and nine other U.S. cities on Sunday were called off because authorities worried that leaked information about the action would have endangered agents, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The day after the raids were supposed to begin, a report placed the blame for that leak on the head of the Department of Homeland Security.

The operation would have targeted migrant families who had received deportation orders -- reportedly about 140 in the Los Angeles area and 2,000 nationwide, but it was called off hours before its scheduled start.

``At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!'' President Donald Trump tweeted at around noon Saturday.

On Monday, Fox News, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter, reported Monday that Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan opposed the operation from the start, and leaked the information.

``He is the one that wanted to make sure this operation did not go forward,'' the source said. ``He has been fighting this operation since its inception.''

That report comes two days after former acting ICE chief Tom Homan accused the DHS leader of working against the ICE operation, also on Fox News.

``You've got the acting secretary of Homeland Security resisting what ICE is trying to do,'' Homan said, noting that a Washington Post story gave the location of the cities and the day the enforcement was supposed to start.

Officials with the Los Angeles Police Department had said that the department was aware of upcoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions directed toward individuals who have been issued final deportation orders.

"The (LAPD) is not participating or assisting in any of these enforcement actions,'' the department said in a statement.

Mayor Eric Garcetti has expressed his opposition to the raids, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the proposed raids ``cruel, misdirected and are creating unnecessary fear and anxiety.''

Immigration service providers reported that some communities were increasingly worried about the possible actions.

``Our phones are ringing off the hook with immigrants calling and asking what their families can do in case a member is arrested by immigration authorities,'' said coalition member Alicia Flores, executive director of the Hank Lacayo Youth and Family Center in Panorama City.

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights planned to begin a week-long series of demonstrations Sunday morning outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles.

City News Service contributed to this report.