Federal officials confirmed Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took nine individuals into custody this week during an operation seen throughout various parts of the Santa Clarita Valley
The federal agents’ activity was reported as happening in various places, including Saugus and on Main Street in Newhall, where a custody arrest was filmed and posted on social media.
The statement from ICE indicated that nine individuals were arrested on Monday in Santa Clarita, referring to them as “illegal aliens … some of whom had criminal histories, including DUI,” according to a statement from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, who declined to be identified on the record, in an email. DHS is a parent agency for ICE.
“All of the illegal aliens arrested have or will receive full due process,” the statement continued. “They will remain in ICE custody pending their removal or removal proceedings.”
The spokesperson did not respond to additional inquiries regarding where the operations took place or whether there were more serious charges connected to any of the individuals taken into custody.
In anticipation of an increase in ICE activity in L.A. County, the Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission offered a virtual conference in June, called “ICE-y Conditions — Know Your Rights,” which offers advice to those who may have questions about an encounter with federal agents.
The conference covered things like the difference between an ICE administrative warrant and a judicial warrant, and advice for people if ICE agents show up at their place of work.
“You don’t want to run because that will be used against you,” Enrique Robles, district chief of staff for U.S. Representative Judy Chu, said during the conference, who also asks that people stay calm and remember their rights.
Anyone looking for information regarding someone taken into custody must have the person’s “A-number,” according to Dan Chapman, a local resident who also offers similar seminars to inform people of their rights through a group called VC Defensa. That’s a nine-digit number assigned to anyone taken into custody by ICE agents.
The DHS spokesman also shared the cash offer from the federal government being offered through a program called CBP Home, which offers “$2,600 exit bonus stipend and cost-free airfare” for anyone who would like to self-deport.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream,” according to the DHS statement. “If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
