While the Fourth of July is meant to be a day of celebration, ICE remains active in its operations. Recently, agents appeared to target street vendors on Eagle Rock Blvd in California. In a short clip shared by a Reddit user, a man in a blue shirt can be seen being handcuffed by ICE agents. Thankfully, no violence occurred during the arrest. Still, it was deeply unsettling to witness a hard-working individual being restrained and then led into a vehicle like a criminal.
The ICE agents wore face masks, seemingly in an effort to conceal their identities. They arrived in two vehicles, one white and one dark blue. The person filming the scene tried to follow closely, and toward the end of the video, they attempted to get a clearer look at one of the agents’ faces. The footage ends as an ICE agent shuts the car door and drives away with the street vendor.
Many Reddit users who saw the video were shocked and horrified. One user even claimed to personally know the Eagle Rock Blvd street vendor. They wrote, “F***, I was so scared for them. They’ve been selling here for years. Everyone loves them. You can always see a long line on the weekends. They are a big part of our community. This is so fucking sad. I feel so helpless and hopeless.”
Another user commented that they had assumed nearby locals would step in and defend the street vendors. Unfortunately, there were not many people around at the time, aside from the ICE agents and the person filming. One Redditor said they had even bought food from the vendor just a few weeks ago, calling the man a kind person who wasn’t hurting anyone.
Another user wrote, “That place is a major operation. They have two large moving trucks come by at midnight every night to pack up and clean down the place.” Others lamented the fact that the United States is now spending so much taxpayer money to fund ICE and what they described as a regime. Some pointed out how outrageous the size of ICE’s budget has become, noting that it exceeds the military budgets of some nations.
One user wrote, “This is such a stupid mess. We need to get these kidnappers out of California.” Others warned that things are likely to get worse with the increased funding ICE has received from the Trump administration. It is highly likely that this poor street vendor will not be the last person detained by ICE and treated like a criminal.
