MONROVIA, Calif. (AP) — A man fleeing immigration authorities outside a Home Depot store in Southern California was struck and killed by an SUV when he ran across a nearby freeway, officials said.
Monrovia police received a call Thursday about the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A responding officer saw ICE agents approaching the store and conducting enforcement activity there, City Manager Dylan Feik said in a statement.
Monrovia is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles.
One man fled on foot and headed toward the nearby freeway, where he was struck by a vehicle, Feik said. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, the statement said.
“We extend our condolences for the individual and his family,” Feik said.
The California Highway Patrol said the man was running across the lanes of eastbound Interstate 210 when he was struck by an SUV traveling about 50 or 60 miles (80 or 97 kilometers) per hour.
The man’s name was not immediately released pending the notification of family. The CHP said the crash is under investigation.
Feik said he did not have information about the immigration operation or whether anyone was arrested.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote in an email that the agency was not notified of the incident until hours after operations in the area had concluded. “This individual was not being pursued by any DHS law enforcement,” said the spokesperson, who was not named.
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about the operation.
The report is the second of a person being killed in Southern California while fleeing federal immigration enforcement authorities. Last month, a farmworker fell from a greenhouse roof during an immigration raid at a cannabis facility northwest of Los Angeles and died from his injuries.
A vigil was planned for Friday by immigrant advocates, who denounced the widespread raids since President Donald Trump took office this year.
Trump has stepped up enforcement in a crackdown on immigration with raids and a surge in immigration detention. Arrests have been reported at Home Depot stores, car washes, garment factories and other sites across Southern California, stoking widespread fear in immigrant communities.
Last month, a federal court in Southern California temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out indiscriminate sweeps. A hearing on the issue is set for September.
George Lane, a Home Depot spokesperson, said in an email that the company isn’t notified when immigration operations will take place and is not involved in them. Lane deferred questions to ICE.
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