'Unconstitutional Abduction' Of Citizens By ICE Must Be Investigated, Long Beach's Garcia Says

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, on Monday called for a congressional investigation into what they called the "unlawful and unconstitutional abduction, detainment, and alleged abuse of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal agents without a judicial warrant or probable cause."

The politicians criticized the federal government for its aggressive and widespread immigration enforcement tactics. Authorities have had a particularly strong focus on Los Angeles County since June.

"I will always stand up to protect Los Angeles. Reports of Angelenos — U.S. citizens — being Tased, dragged and unlawfully detained should make us all concerned," Bass said. "I'm calling for an immediate congressional investigation into these egregious injustices, and I thank Congressman Garcia for his support. This is not just an assault on people of Los Angeles — this is an assault on every person, in every city in this country."

Garcia, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said "American citizens are being dragged off the streets by masked men and thrown into detention cells without access to a lawyer or even a phone call."

That assertion has been supported by multiple reports. In June, an American citizen and Cal Poly Pomona grad working at a shoe company in downtown Los Angeles was taken into custody by immigration authorities, CBS Los Angeles reported.

A U.S. citizen was arrested during a federal immigration raid in Pico Rivera in June after he spoke out against an agent's questioning of another man. The violent takedown, which was caught on video, prompted a protest.

And a Los Angeles woman and American citizen spoke to CBS Los Angeles after she gave birth to a baby girl just days after being detained by immigration agents.

Similar arrests of U.S. citizens have been reported elsewhere in the country, including in Chicago.

"No one, regardless of their background or appearance, should be living in fear of being thrown behind bars by their own government because of their race or what they look like," Garcia said.

"This is not the America we know and love. Every person in this country has rights, and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) must stop trampling on our civil liberties. Their actions are unconstitutional, unacceptable, and completely un-American, and we will not stop fighting until this administration is held accountable," Garcia added.

The Trump administration has maintained that federal immigration enforcement focuses on the removal of "violent criminals" and the "worst of the worst." Officials have also denied allegations that detainees are mistreated or held in substandard facilities while in custody.

City News Service contributed to this report.