Archbishop Gomez calls for prayer, Scholas event canceled due to ICE protests
Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles is calling for prayer, while urging “restraint and calm” as clashes have broken out in that city over recent immigration arrests. President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard amid pushback from California officials and is threatening to mobilize Marines.
Protests broke out on June 6 after several raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which along with Customs and Border Protection is the law enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
The raids — part of Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration — took place in predominantly Latino areas of Los Angeles, with demonstrations forming at the Federal Building in the city’s downtown, on Highway 101 and in front of a Home Depot in Paramount, 20 miles south of the city’s downtown. Several driverless taxis were set on fire, with dozens arrested and 60 taken into custody at related protests in San Francisco.