Immigration raid protesters targeted several Southern California hotels Wednesday night and early Thursday morning after word spread that federal agents were housed at the establishments.
There was no confirmation that agents who have been conducting what President Donald Trump has promised will be the most extensive deportation campaign in U.S. history were actually staying any of the hotels targeted by protesters in Whittier, Pasadena and Downey.
A noisy protest at the DoubleTree at 7320 Greenleaf Ave. in Whittier lasted until about 2 a.m. Thursday, according to a report from the scene.
In a joint statement posted on Instagram Thursday afternoon, the City of Whittier and the Whittier Police Department said the claims were inaccurate.
"During the gathering, several vehicles were vandalized, including a white van that was mistaken for a federal vehicle," the statement said. "The City has confirmed that the van had no connection to federal agencies. It belonged to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department and was used for a routine inmate transport earlier that day. Deputies from Santa Clara County were staying at the DoubleTree Hotel overnight."
"It was a madhouse," a woman outside the DoubleTree told KNX News' Jon Baird.
"Just a lot of people very upset, protesting, cars driving up and down, horns are honking," said Daniel Verdugo, who lives nearby. "They're really upset, and I don't blame them, the way things are being handled. I just think it's inappropriate. It's not a good tactic and not a good way to spend taxpayers' dollars."
While many Whittier residents support the protesters, some said they took issue with the graffiti.
"I just think they shouldn't have written all over the vans and the walls," a medical worker said.
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Other targeted hotels were the Westin at 191 N. Robles Ave. in Pasadena and the Embassy Suites at 8425 Firestone Blvd. in Downey, according to KNX, which reported that some of the protesters were detained by police, who were backed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and other area law enforcement agencies providing mutual aid.
A substantial percentage of hotel workers are members of immigrant communities, potentially making it difficult to keep secret the housing arrangements of agents brought in from outside Southern California to conduct immigration sweeps aimed at deporting immigrants who entered or remained in the U.S. illegally.
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