Federal immigration agents carried out a verified targeted arrest outside Santa Monica City Hall on Thursday morning, the latest confirmed ICE operation on the Westside as newly released federal data show immigration detention has reached record levels under the Trump administration.
According to the West Los Angeles Rapid Response Network, at least three federal agents detained one person around 11:40 a.m. near Fourth Street and Olympic Boulevard, directly in front of Santa Monica City Hall and the Santa Monica Police Department. Witnesses reported agents arrived in a black Chevrolet Tahoe without license plates and a dark gray Toyota Camry before leaving with the individual in custody.
The organization classified the incident as verified after confirming community reports. It is encouraging residents to prepare for future enforcement actions by joining its Telegram alert system, saving its hotline (310-513-5539), learning how to identify ICE agents, and understanding their legal rights if approached by federal officers.
The arrest comes as ICE released long-delayed detention data showing immigration enforcement has accelerated dramatically in recent months. More than 43,000 people were booked into ICE detention facilities nationwide in June, the highest monthly total since President Donald Trump returned to office. ICE is now holding nearly 66,000 people in detention across the country, while more than 356,000 people have already been deported in the first nine months of the federal fiscal year, surpassing the total deportations during the previous twelve-month period.
Perhaps most striking is who is being detained. The new data show that 79 percent of people in ICE detention nationwide have no criminal conviction. In California, that figure is 74 percent. Across the state’s detention facilities, roughly 4,700 of the more than 6,400 people held on an average day have no criminal record.
The figures undercut one of the Trump administration’s central justifications for its immigration crackdown. Administration officials have repeatedly argued that enforcement is focused on violent criminals. That same rhetoric has been echoed locally by CD11 Councilmember Traci Park. During LA’s debate over becoming a sanctuary city, Park was notably absent from the vote and then argued against the ordinance, saying she would “never support policies that harbor violent criminals or felons.” But ICE’s own data paint a different picture. Rather than primarily targeting violent offenders, the overwhelming majority of people currently being held in detention have no criminal conviction.
The effects extend beyond those who are detained. A new UCLA study found that immigration enforcement operations cost Los Angeles County businesses an estimated $3.16 million in revenue in June alone, with roughly 46,000 fewer customer visits to businesses located within a half-mile of documented enforcement sites during the two weeks following ICE activity. Nearly a year later, 95 percent of Latino business owners surveyed reported ongoing financial stress, and more than half said their businesses still struggled to consistently cover operating costs.
Researchers described the losses as a “cost of fear,” as families avoid shopping districts, restaurants and neighborhood businesses after enforcement actions occur. Organizers with Mar Vista Voice’s Westside Street Vendor Buyout project say they have witnessed those impacts firsthand. Since federal immigration enforcement intensified across LA, vendors in the program have described quieter streets, fewer customers and growing anxiety about whether it is safe to work. Some have stayed home altogether after nearby enforcement activity, while others worry every workday could end in detention. For workers who rely on daily sales to pay rent and feed their families, even a short disruption can mean the difference between making ends meet and falling far behind.
The surge in detentions has also translated into enormous profits for the private prison industry. Earlier this year, reporting revealed that investors in private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic were frustrated that immigration arrests were not increasing quickly enough to fill newly expanded detention capacity. Company executives reassured shareholders that the Trump administration intended to ramp up enforcement and that higher detention numbers were on the way. The newly released ICE data suggest that surge has now arrived. Thursday’s arrest in Santa Monica illustrates how these economic pressures and national policies are playing out right here on the Westside.