Protesters gathered in Downey on Tuesday to denounce immigration enforcement activity in the city.
Demonstrators organized a march to Downey City Hall ahead of the scheduled City Council meeting to voice their opposition to federal operations. At the meeting, a Downey city councilmember and the city’s mayor argued over immigration raids in the community.
“You know that my constituents are upset because they believe this is a partisan seat when it is not a partisan seat,” Mayor Claudia Frometa said.
Protesters outside the city hall said they were angry at Frometa, whom they believe supports the operations. The mayor denied those allegations.
“Well, I think they’re not representative of the community,” she said of the individuals who expressed their frustration at her. “It’s two, three, four people. And so, I think it’s important for the community and in general to realize Downey is supporting the community and we are hearing them.”
A brief recess was held at the city council meeting and all public comments about recent federal operations were delayed.
At the demonstration, protesters denounced a video showing apparent federal agents trying to detain landscapers in the city over the weekend.
“They’re doing a good job just trying to make a living and take care of their families,” Dawn Vance, a protester, said of the people affected by ICE raids.
“That’s not what this country was built on,” another protester, Joseph Buck, said. “We built on rising up and being together as one, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
NBC4 has reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm if a federal operation took place. It has not responded to our request for comment.