Donald Trump’s ICE is just getting started, as a man is killed on the freeway while running from a raid

A man was killed after being hit by a car on a Los Angeles-area freeway while trying to escape an immigration enforcement operation. The event happened on a Thursday morning in Monrovia, a city just outside Los Angeles. Officials received reports that immigration agents were approaching a local Home Depot, which led to the man running away.

A day laborer who was there told the Los Angeles Times that people started shouting “Immigration, run!” as agents got closer to the store. In the chaos, one man ran out of the building, climbed over a concrete wall, and entered the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway. A few minutes later, Monrovia Fire & Rescue was called to the scene after reports that a pedestrian had been hit by a car on the freeway. The man was taken to a hospital but later died from his injuries.

After the tragic incident, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Fox that “This individual was not being pursued by any DHS law enforcement. We do not know their legal status. We were not aware of this incident or notified by California Highway Patrol until hours after operations in the area had concluded.”

ICE officials claim not to have chased the man, despite chasing others

Despite saying no one was chasing the man, an immigration enforcement operation did happen at the place at that same time, and it led to sixteen people being arrested. It is difficult to believe that ICE wouldn’t have heard what happened incredibly close to where the operation was happening. Reports from the area suggest that immigration raids at Home Depot locations in Southern California have been happening more often.

After the incident, community members and protesters came together near the Home Depot. A group of about 50 people gathered in front of the store, waving Mexican flags and holding signs that read “ICE out of L.A.” A Monrovia resident who was there expressed sympathy for the families affected by what happened, especially the daughter of the man who died.

Monrovia resident Karen Suarez said that she went to the Home Depot and found the daughter of the man, and that she was “visibly very upset… I feel so bad for her. I feel so bad for the families. These are people trying to escape whatever horrible atrocities they came from for a better life.”