ICE ‘wrongfully detained’ LA County District Attorney’s Office employee, says Hochman

An employee of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office was “wrongfully detained” by federal immigration agents on Friday, according to an internal email obtained by The Times.

District of Los Angeles County. Atty. Nathan Hochman called the incident “unacceptable” in a memo sent to the entire office Friday evening.

“A member of our office was wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I can happily report that, shortly thereafter, our employee was released and is safe,” Hochman wrote. “This incident is unacceptable. Our employee is a dedicated public servant who serves the people of Los Angeles County with professionalism and integrity. This troubling situation has caused great distress to our colleague, our colleague’s family, and our entire office family.”

The reason for the person’s detention was not immediately clear. A spokesperson for Hochman declined further comment and referred questions to ICE. ICE representatives did not respond to requests from The Times. .

Two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the incident, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly, said the employee was not a prosecutor. The employee was also not engaged in protest activities, officials said.

In the email, Hochman said he personally contacted federal authorities Friday to inform them of the situation and “urge them to be more respectful of the rights of those who reside in our community and ensure that this unlawful conduct does not occur again.”

In the months since ICE and Border Patrol agents began carrying out President Trump’s sweeping immigration raids in American cities, civil liberties groups have repeatedly sued the Justice Department, alleging that agents were conducting stops based on race rather than reasonable suspicion.

After ICE and Border Patrol agents spent months raiding car washes and Home Depot parking lots around Los Angeles County, a federal judge in October found enough evidence that agents were violating the 4th Amendment by relying on the race, language and vocation of targeted individuals to form “reasonable suspicion” for arrest.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently filed a lawsuit against federal authorities on similar grounds over their behavior during chaotic and tense raids in Minneapolis. The Trump administration has claimed it is conducting highly targeted operations and only going after the “worst of the worst,” but data shows that many of those arrested in Los Angeles during the raids had no criminal records.