Federal agents searched the homes of immigrant rights activists in an early-morning raid that activists say was retaliation and part of an ongoing campaign of harassment for their immigration enforcement work in Ventura County.
Four locations were searched around 03:00 Wednesday, including the home and business of volunteer Leo Martinez, who said federal agents pointed guns at him and his mother during the search, but no arrests were made.
Agents confiscated cellphones and laptops, as well as T-shirts and skateboard decks bearing the logo of VC Defensa, a volunteer-based group that has been documenting immigration raids and arrests in Ventura County.
“We have nothing to hide,” Martinez said in an interview. “If they had access to all our messages going back to the beginning, there’s nothing there.”
During a press conference on Wednesday, the members of VC Defensa and their lawyer, Reem Yassin, said they are looking into the possibility of the US Department of Homeland Security taking legal action over allegations of ongoing harassment against members for what they say is monitoring law enforcement activities and documenting immigration raids in their community.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that search warrants were executed in relation to VC Defensa but did not answer questions about the nature of the investigation.
“On May 13, [Homeland Security Investigations] “We have executed multiple search warrants for individuals associated with the anti-ICE organization,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email. “Several members of the organization have previously been arrested for defrauding law enforcement and destroying government property. Many things were seized as part of the investigation.”
The spokesman did not answer questions about whether these crimes were committed in retaliation for the group’s vigilance against immigration raids.
“This is still an ongoing investigation,” the email read. “To protect its integrity, we cannot provide additional details at this time. Under President Trump, if you beat law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
VC Defensa is known for recording and monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Ventura County, as well as publishing photos and videos of their operations, but Martinez said the group complies with the law.
However, he said he and the group had been targeted by federal agents for several months. He and other gang members were arrested and detained, including one incident where federal agents were caught on video raiding his truck.
Federal agents said he was the aggressor in that incident, but Martinez said neither he nor other members of the group have faced charges related to their work.
Martinez said he has been arrested twice but never faced charges.
“We are not doing anything other than informing the public that ICE officers are there,” he said. “We have to adhere to the law because we know that if we cross that line, even a small fraction, we know that they will crush us.”
Martinez said he was awakened around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday by 35 agents outside his home. He said he was held at gunpoint for about two hours with his mother before he was released.
When he went to his shop where members of VC Defensa used to meet, he said he found the door broken and the place was being searched.
During a press conference on Thursday, members of the group said that the morning operation was part of an ongoing campaign of harassment, including following members of their homes and playing pranks on their phones.
“We will not stand by and let them continue to try to intimidate,” said Lainy Yompian during the conference.
Yassin said federal agents refused to allow him access to the gang members during the search – “They were not only denied, but threatened with arrest” – and told him to prove he was their lawyer even though he and the gang members told them.
Martinez said the group was considering its legal options but VC Defensa would continue its work despite the federal investigation.
“We continue to move forward,” he said. “We have a lot of monitoring going on.”
