Federal immigration agents chased a gardener into a Long Beach restaurant today and took him into custody in front of two Long Beach Police Department officers who were briefly startled by the chaotic scene, witnesses told the Long Beach Post.
The agents suddenly pulled up to Polly’s Pies restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls this morning and started running after a group of gardeners, according to Jacklyn Mitosinka, director of brand for the chain of restaurants, which her grandfather founded.
Agents chased one of the men inside and tackled him in the waiting area in front of the hostess stand, Mitosinka said.
Two LBPD officers were eating inside at the time, she said, and one “popped up quickly” and drew his gun in surprise, but he put it away once he saw the agents’ badges. (The LBPD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.)
The agents took the gardener, and Polly’s Pies employees who know the man contacted his family and told them of the arrest, Mitosinka said.
The situation was “sickening and disheartening,” said Blair Cohn, executive director of the local business improvement district. He said a board member of the organization, who happened to be driving by, was able to get the keys to the gardener’s work truck and pass them along to his family.
The arrest appeared to be part of a string of immigration operations in Long Beach on Thursday.
Around 10:30 a.m., federal agents arrested three people outside Cherry Donuts on Cherry Avenue near 15th Street, said Franklin Kong, who was working at the front of the shop, which his parents own. The entire encounter lasted roughly 10 minutes, Kong said.
Federal immigration agents were also spotted at four other locations this morning, according to local immigrant rights group Órale.
The organization confirmed sightings at:
- The Light of the World Church, 785 Junipero Ave. at 10:12 a.m.
- Pacific Coast Highway and Walnut Avenue, 11 a.m.
- Pacific Coast Highway and Gaviota Avenue, 11 a.m.
- Outside Farmers & Merchants Bank at 2302 North Bellflower Boulevard, 11:30 a.m.
State and local laws prevent Long Beach police from assisting in civil immigration enforcement. City officials have also said they will not obstruct federal law enforcement “in any way,” something that would also be illegal.
In a video posted to social media, Mayor Rex Richardson called the arrests “dehumanizing” and “absolutely unacceptable.”
In a statement, District 5 Councilmember Megan Kerr said the arrest at Polly’s Pies was a “chaotic and cruel attack against a hardworking member of our community.”
In a statement, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called for ICE agents to leave the region.
Federal immigration agents are “targeting people based on the color of their skin, or their accent, or the place they work,” Hahn said. “They are violating our residents’ rights every day they remain on our streets.”
Long Beach is part of a lawsuit seeking to block immigration agents from carrying out roving patrols targeting people based solely on factors such as their race, language or location they’re working, but in September, the Supreme Court lifted a temporary block on the tactic.