From day one, it was not hard to see Stephen Miller has more hatred in his heart than a hundred Nazis. Now, I can say something like that, but ABC just fired one of their chief reporters for saying “Miller eats his hate”. That’s a problem. Be like Edward R. Murrow. Speak truth to power. The press is, or was, our watchdog. We need more such journalists, not editors who punish them….
The BBC obtained CCTV of the raid that shows how President Trump's immigration crackdown has ramped up.
www.bbc.com
When US immigration agents pulled up outside a Los Angeles car wash on a quiet Sunday afternoon, it sparked instant chaos.
Some customers at the Westchester Hand Wash, which sits in the centre of a busy shopping area just blocks from the city's airport, froze as the officers in olive-green uniforms approached, CCTV footage obtained by the BBC shows.
Two employees who spotted them ducked behind a luxury SUV they were wiping down with a rag. Another worker halfway through cleaning the back window of a car looked up.
Then all at once they scattered and ran, some jumping over a nearby fence as agents raced after them on foot and in US Customs and Border Protection pick-up trucks.
Agents came the following day to make more arrests.
Jesús Cruz, who has worked at the car wash for more than a decade and lived in the US for more than 30 years, was among the six men who were arrested over the course of two raids.
His wife, Noemi Ciau, told the BBC she was shopping with her daughter when she spotted a social media post about a possible raid. It included a photo of the car wash, so she dropped her daughter at home and raced there.
By the time she arrived, however, she was too late. She has not been able to reach her husband since.
"You are so used to having a partner there, just to help you out, to be the backbone… now it's like - how am I going to do it?" she said.
"My husband has no criminal background. He's never gotten a ticket before. We pay our taxes. We're up to date on everything."
She declined to answer if they were in the US legally. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to an inquiry about Mr Cruz's legal status or the goal of the operation at the car wash.
That raid and similar ones across Los Angeles by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) represent a significant escalation in the White House's strategy to round up and deport undocumented migrants.
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump repeatedly said he would prioritise deporting noncitizens accused of violent crimes. That promise received widespread support, even among Hispanic immigrant groups.
But in recent weeks, the administration has stepped up its targets, pushing to increase their arrests from about 660 to 3,000 a day.
To do that, they have widened their net, targeting not just criminals but workplaces such as farms and factories in an effort to detain more undocumented migrants.
"Just go out there and arrest illegal aliens," Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, reportedly told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials before they launched the recent LA raids.
According to the Wall Street Journal, he told them they did not need to produce target lists of suspected illegal immigrants, a longstanding practice, and should instead raid major businesses to arrest as many as possible.
Car-wash owner Mehmet Aydogan said the agents did not ask for IDs before placing the men in handcuffs and swiftly driving them away.
"They were not doing anything criminal," he said, noting the raids were quick and lasted less than a minute. "Everyone is hardworking."
Moran was dismissed Tuesday for violating the company’s policies with a viral social media attack against top White House official Stephen Miller.
nypost.com
