‘Trojan Horse’ Raid: Feds Emerge From Rental Truck, Arrest 16 At LA Home Depot

LOS ANGELES, CA — In spite of a federal court order limiting the scope of immigration-enforcement operations in the area, federal agents conducted a raid Wednesday at a Los Angeles Home Depot.

Multiple arrests were made after agents arrived outside the Westlake store in a Penske rental truck in what one U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino called “Operation Trojan Horse," according to the Los Angeles Times.

The agents burst from the rear of the truck then ran toward a group of people amassed near a sidewalk food stand. The crowd scattered when they spotted the federal agents.

A total of 16 people were ultimately taken into custody, with many of them being placed in the rear of the moving truck, according to Fox News, which had a crew embedded with U.S. Border Patrol — with cameras recording inside the truck as agents emerged.

The raid occurred outside the same Home Depot that was targeted by federal agents on June 6, which kicked off the last two months of enforcement activity and protests in the region.

Wednesday's operation was the highest profile raid in the area since a federal judge last month issued temporary restraining orders preventing the government from conducting what he termed "roving patrols" — rounding up people without reasonable suspicion that they are in the country illegally, but instead detained based on their ethnicity or occupation.

The federal government appealed the ruling and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put a stay on the ruling, setting up the case for likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite the ruling, authorities still carried out Wednesday's operation.

"For those who thought immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again. The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable, and there are no sanctuaries from the reach of the federal government," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X.

Mayor Karen Bass was among those who condemned the raid as an apparent violation of the court order.

"A few days ago we celebrated the court decision and we're going to continue to celebrate that court decision," she said. "But we have to fight to make sure that court decision is actually implemented and followed. Because this morning when I woke up I saw pictures of a raid that actually happened ... at a Home Depot and it is hard for me to believe that that raid was consistent with the court order. It said you cannot racially profile, you cannot racially discriminate. What i saw on the video, what I saw on the pictures that were sent to me, looked like the same guys chasing people through a Home Depot."

Penske Truck Rental issued a statement Wednesday saying the company "strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances."

"The company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today's operation and did not authorize this," according to the company. "Penske will reach out to DHS and reinforce its policy to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future."

Department of Homeland Security officials told Fox News that the MS-13 gang has a "chokehold" on the area, necessitating such enforcement operations. Federal officials made similar claims last month when about 100 agents amassed and then swept through MacArthur Park — a raid that brought Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to the scene to ask that the agents leave.

But advocates say authorities are not targeting organized-crime shot callers, but rather working people who provide legitimate goods and services to the community.

"Let's be clear: this is a continued targeting of day laborers and street vendors. The raid happened right in front of the CARECEN's Day Labor Center," Martha Arevalo, executive director of Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles, said in a statement. "Our team witnessed the harassment and criminalization of workers who represent the backbone of our local economy. These day laborers and street vendors are a symbol of dignity through hard work.

Both the Home Depot and MacArthur Park are located in Westlake. The dense, urban neighborhood just west of downtown has a large population of immigrants from Mexico, Central America and elsewhere.

Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said the raid "staged by agents in cowboy hats jumping out of a rented van with a TV crew in tow marks a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration's assault on immigrant communities, the courts, and the people of Los Angeles."

In response to the raid, a group of local faith leaders will hold a "Jericho March" in downtown Los Angeles at 6 p.m. to call for an end to immigration raids "and to uphold the dignity of all families, regardless of status or origin."

City News Service contributed to this report.