LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses President Donald Trump's administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during an ongoingimmigration crackdown that has put the region “under siege.”
The court filing by Los Angeles immigrant advocacy groups in U.S. District Court seeks a temporary restraining order to block the administration from using what they call “unconstitutional” tactics they say include detaining someone based on their race, warrantless arrests, and denying people access to attorneys.
Federal agents have violently and indiscriminately arrested people without probable cause while carrying out “immigration raids flooding street corners, bus stops, parking lots, agricultural sites, day laborer corners," the complaint said.
The complaint centers around three detained immigrants, several immigrant rights groups and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification.
A video taken by a friend June 13 shows Los Angeles resident Brian Gavidia being pushed up against a fence by federal agents as he yells, “I was born here in the states, East LA bro!”
“Armed, masked goons in unmarked cars have descended in our community and have stopped and rounded people up from all walks of life, often at gunpoint and without any justification,” said Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
In addition, the complaint claims that those arrested are held in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers, pressuring them to sign voluntary departures papers without informing them of their rights.
Families of detainees have relayed reports of horrific conditions inside a detention facility in downtown LA, including inmates who are so thirsty that they have been drinking from the toilets, people sleeping on the ground, and meals consisting of only bags of chips and cookies.
The lawsuit comes days after the Trump administration sued Los Angeles to overturn what it called an illegal sanctuary city law.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that “any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.”
McLaughlin said “enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence" before making arrests.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members,” she said.
Attorneys say they hope to argue the issue in front of a judge within the next few days and obtain a restraining order that would apply to seven counties across Southern California.
Emmanuel Karim, the manager of a car wash in southern Los Angeles County, said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit that he thought they were being robbed when masked federal agents in unmarked vehicles first surrounded his business June 22.
“We have these signs that say, ‘This is a private area, employees only,’ especially in the tunnel, because there is dangerous machinery in there,” Karim said. “They started running through the tunnel, and my employees got scared.”
At no point did they identify themselves or answer Karim when he asked what they were doing, he said. They detained two of his workers, Karim said.
Tens of thousands of people participated in recent rallies over immigration raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. Los Angeles prosecutors have charged more than 40 people in connection with protest-related violence and vandalism. Among the latest people charged were a man and woman accused of assaulting police horses and a 17-year-old boy who faces felony counts, including attempted murder and assault against an officer.
At least 14 people are facing separate federal charges on allegations of assaulting police officers with cinder blocks and Molotov cocktails, and conspiracy to impede arrests.
Family members demand the return of immigrant Emma de Paz, who was detained by ICE agents outside a Hollywood Home Depot on June 19, at the "Reclaim Our Street" event to oppose ongoing ICE immigration raids at Mariachi Plaza in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
