Residents In Cathedral City Protest Reported Immigration Arrest

RIVERSIDE, CA — Residents in Cathedral City gathered Sunday to protest the reported arrest of a man by federal immigration officials.

The protest took place Sunday morning at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Station at 45620 Commerce St. in Indio, where a few dozen people gathered.

According to the Riverside County Democratic Party, heavily armed and masked ICE and Border Patrol agents stormed Cathedral City neighborhoods Friday and chased and arrested a man, "dragging him away while refusing to identify themselves or explain their presence."

"Let's be clear, these raids weren't about public safety. They were designed to terrorize," said Joy Silver, chair of the RCDP. "The goal is to make people afraid to leave their homes, go to work, or take their kids to school. Today they're targeting immigrants. If we don't stop this, who's next? We didn't fight a revolution so masked federal agents could roam our neighborhoods in riot gear."

Dozens of people also gathered Saturday near the Date Palm Plaza on Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City to protest the arrest.

City News Service reached out to the Republican Party of Riverside County for comment, but no response was available as of Sunday afternoon.

Local authorities took to social media on Saturday in an attempt to clarify their role.

"The City of Cathedral City and Cathedral City Police Department want to emphasize that we do not participate in any civil immigration enforcement activities," officials said. "We deeply value diversity, inclusion and public trust within our community, and we want our residents to know that when they call for help, the Cathedral City Police Department will respond, investigate, and protect everyone -- regardless of a person's legal status."

The Indio Police Department reissued a similar statement Friday in response to the widespread federal raids in Los Angeles, which have prompted occasionally violent protests.

"Our priority is to foster trust between law enforcement and the public and to show our commitment to all who reside in our community," the police department announced. "We do not enforce federal immigration laws, and communication with federal agencies may only occur on very serious criminal matters, such as violent felonies, human trafficking, and terrorism-related investigations.

Any such cooperation is conducted within the legal framework established by state and federal regulations and does not involve civil immigration enforcement."

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco shared a post Saturday on his Instagram account along with a video where someone can be seen throwing rocks at Border Patrol vehicles.

"These anti-ICE demonstrations in LA have gone well beyond a peaceful assembly exercising their first amendment rights. These rioters must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Bianco said.

Trump administration officials were vowing to prosecute any demonstrators who broke the law, and accusing local Democratic elected officials of fueling lawlessness. Local politicians and immigrant rights groups, meanwhile, accused the administration of going too far, using heavy- handed militaristic tactics.

— City News Service