By DORANY PINEDA and AMY TAXIN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jacob Vasquez began working at a clothing warehouse in Los Angeles soon after arriving from Mexico less than three years ago.

He is among dozens of workers detained by federal immigration authorities in a series of raids in LA’s fashion district and at Home Depot parking lots in Southern California. More than 100 people have been detained.

FILE – Caution tape hangs outside Ambiance Apparel after federal immigration authorities conducted an operation on Friday, June 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The raids have triggered days of turbulent protests across the city and beyond and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the LA area, the latest development in the administration’s immigration crackdown. Protests in the city’s downtown have ranged from peaceful to raucous, with demonstrators blocking a major freeway and setting cars on fire over the weekend.

Immigrant advocates say the workers who were detained do not have criminal histories and are being denied their due process rights.

Vasquez has a three-month-old baby, according to his family who spoke to reporters outside the Ambiance Apparel warehouse, a clothing company founded in 1999, and where the young father worked.

“Jacob is a family man and the sole breadwinner of his household,” said his brother Gabriel, speaking in Spanish during a news conference Monday. He doesn’t know if he’s OK, he later said in an interview. “We don’t know where he is.”

About 10% of LA County residents do not have legal immigration status

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounced the raids and the deployment of troops, saying Tuesday that the actions were aimed at intimidating the area’s vast immigrant population, one of the country’s largest. She said she has heard even immigrants with legal status are being swept up and that the raids may continue for months.

An estimated 950,000 people in Los Angeles County do not have legal immigration status, according to the Migration Policy Institute. That is about a tenth of the county’s population, and they include cooks, nannies, hotel employees, street vendors, gardeners, construction workers and garment workers.

FILE – A woman outside Ambiance Apparel holds a card about Immigration and Customs Enforcement after authorities conducted an operation, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

“Families across the city are terrified,” Bass said. “They don’t know if they should go to work, they don’t know if they should go to school.”

She said many of those detained have had no contact with their loved ones or lawyers. The raids have only fueled unrest in the city, Bass said.

“They were going to go after violent felons, drug dealers, and I don’t know how that matches with the scenes that we saw of people outside Home Depot running through the parking lot, because they were afraid that they were going to get arrested,” she said.

Saraí Ortiz said her father, Jose, worked for Ambiance for 18 years. “It was really painful to see him arrested on Friday with his co-workers,” she told the crowd in Spanish.

A judge signed a search warrant that there was probable cause to conclude that Ambiance was using fake documents for some workers, said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not shared details about the arrests.

“Ambience Apparel has never created any fictitious documents for its workers,” Benjamin N. Gluck, an attorney representing the company, said in a statement. “The company obeys, and continues to obey, all applicable laws. We support our workforce, many of whom have worked faithfully for the company for decades.”

The Trump administration did not respond to emails from The Associated Press asking about whether any of the immigrants detained in the raids had criminal records.

Day laborer makes sure to show his green card

Los Angeles is one of the nation’s largest garment-production hubs with more than 45,000 workers, mostly Latino and Asian immigrants, who cut, sew and finish the clothing, according to the Garment Worker Center.

The raids are deepening fears far beyond LA and even among those who are in the country legally, immigrants said. Jot Condie, president and chief executive of the California Restaurant Association, said the fear is keeping away workers and hurting businesses. In LA County last year, food and drink services were a $30 billion industry.

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Outside a Home Depot in Santa Ana, California, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, a handful of day laborers leaned against their cars waiting to be hired Tuesday, a day after armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers drove up and sent many of the workers running.

Junior Ortega, 43, said he saw four people arrested by ICE, while others fled on foot or jumped into a car and peeled out of the parking lot before they were caught.

“They came out with guns, (saying) ‘don’t move,’ ’’ Ortega said in Spanish. By then, the Honduran citizen who has lived nearly three decades in the U.S. said he had already taken out his green card to avoid making any sudden moves should agents approach him.

One of the agents did, and while holding a gun, demanded to see his ID, Ortega said. After he showed it, he said the agent let him go.

The day laborer said he recently started carrying not only his driver’s license but his green card with him.

While he is not directly affected by the immigration raids, Ortega said they still weigh on him and his children.

“Why don’t they go and follow the gang members?” he said. “They are coming for people who do things for the country, who pay taxes.”

Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California. Associated Press writer Julie Watson contributed to this report from San Diego, California.

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Political Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Calling President Donald Trump a threat to the American way of life, Gov. Gavin Newsom depicted the federal military intervention in Los Angeles as the onset of a much broader effort by Trump to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the nation’s democracy.

In a speech Tuesday evening, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate said the arrival of National Guard and Marine troops in the city at Trump’s direction was not simply about quelling protests that followed a series of immigration raids by federal authorities. Instead, he said, it was part of a calculated “war” intended to upend the foundations of society and concentrate power in the White House.

“California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,” a somber Newsom warned, seated before the U.S. and California flags. “Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.”

As head of the heavily Democratic state known as the epicenter of the so-called Trump resistance, Newsom and the Republican president have long been adversaries. But the governor’s speech delivered in prime time argued that Trump was not just a threat to democracy, but was actively working to break down its guardrails that reach back to the nation’s founding.

″He’s declared a war. A war on culture, on history, on science, on knowledge itself,” Newsom said. “He’s delegitimizing news organizations, and he’s assaulting the First Amendment.”

Newsom added that Trump is attacking law firms and the judicial branch — “the foundations of an orderly and civil society.”

“It’s time for all of us to stand up,” Newsom said, urging any protests to be peaceful. “What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”

His speech came the same day that Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents, with some guardsmen now standing in protective gauntlet around agents as they carried out arrests. The judge chose not to rule immediately, giving the Trump administration several days to continue those activities before a hearing Thursday.

Trump has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders, though the Marines have not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and Guard troops have had limited engagement with protesters. They were originally deployed to protect federal buildings.

Newsom’s speech capped several days of acidic exchanges between Trump and Newsom, that included the president appearing to endorse Newsom’s arrest if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement. “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,” Trump told reporters.

Over the years, Trump has threatened to intercede in California’s long-running homeless crisis, vowed to withhold federal wildfire aid as political leverage in a dispute over water rights, called on police to shoot people robbing stores and warned residents that “your children are in danger” because of illegal immigration.

Trump relishes insulting the two-term governor and former San Francisco mayor — frequently referring to him as Gov. “New-scum” — and earlier this year faulted the governor for Southern California’s deadly wildfires.

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Trump has argued that the city was in danger of being overrun by violent protesters, while Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have called the federal intervention an unneeded — and potentially dangerous — overreaction.

The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated in the city’s downtown hub. Demonstrations have spread to other cities in the state and nationwide, including Dallas and Austin, Texas, Chicago and New York City, where a thousand people rallied and multiple arrests were made.

Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It’s one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president.

“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” he said from the Oval Office.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation picked up a bit last month as food costs rose, though overall inflation remained mostly tame.

Consumer prices increased 2.4% in May compared with a year ago, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday. That is up from a 2.3% yearly increase in April. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.8% for the third straight month. Economists pay close attention to core prices because they generally provide a better sense of where inflation is headed.

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The figures suggest inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, which makes it less likely that the central bank will cut its key short-term interest rate. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs.

There were scattered signs that Trump’s tariffs may have contributed to some price increases, but the cost of some imported goods, such as clothing, fell in May from the previous month and many services, such as airline fares and hotel rooms, also dropped in price.

On a monthly basis, overall prices ticked up just 0.1% from April to May, down from 0.2% previous month. Core prices also dropped to 0.1% from 0.2%.

Grocery prices rose 0.3% from April to May, and are up 2.2% in the past year. Fruits and vegetables, breakfast cereals, and frozen foods all rose in price. Egg costs fell 2.7%, their second straight drop though they are still more than 40% more expensive than a year ago.

Last week, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the inflation data, said it is reducing the amount of data it collects for each inflation report. Economists have expressed concern about the cutback, and while it isn’t clear how sharp the reduction is, most analysts say it is likely to have a minor impact. Still, any reduction in data collection could make the figures more volatile.

Inflation has cooled in the past year and, excluding the impact of tariffs, economists say it would be on track to return to the Fed’s target, which would allow the central bank to cut its key interest rates. Yet core prices have been more stubborn and were stuck between 3.2% and 3.4% for nearly a year until February, when they started to decline. They have now been at 2.8% for three straight months.

Nearly all economists expect Trump’s duties will make many things more expensive in the second half of this year, including cars and groceries, though by how much is still uncertain. Trump said Wednesday the U.S. will place 55% tariffs on all imports from China, up from the previous level of 30%. He has also imposed a 10% baseline tariff on imported goods from every other country, and 50% import taxes on steel and aluminum.

Given the potential for higher prices in the coming months, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have made clear they will keep their key rate unchanged until they have a better sense of how tariffs will affect the economy.

The International Woodturning Symposium, billed as the world’s largest gathering of woodturners, is spinning into St. Paul at the RiverCentre from Thursday, June 12 to Sunday, June 15 with a variety of free activities open to the public.

The annual event is organized by the American Association of Woodturners, which is based in St. Paul and operates the Gallery of Wood Art at Landmark Center, but the symposium is typically held in a different city each year: This is only the third time in the organization’s nearly 40-year history that the gathering has been held in St. Paul.

For those who are green to woodturning, the craft involves making items like bowls, pens and other decorative or functional objects on a lathe, a machine not unlike a pottery wheel that spins wood at high speeds while the woodturner uses carving tools to shape the item.

The symposium at RiverCentre, which officially begins Thursday, June 12 but most activities run Friday, June 13 to Sunday, June 15, is partially free to attend. Visitors can reserve a wristband online or pick one up at the registration desk at no cost to visit the vendor marketplace and a massive exhibition gallery of wood art from woodturners around the world. Saskatchewan woodturner Michael Hosulak will give a free artist talk at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 13 in the main gallery hall.

In the free zone, there’ll also be an interactive turning station, where expert woodturners will guide visitors — no matter their experience level — in creating their own wooden pen from a kit purchased on-site. This is open to the public with no pre-registration required.

Expert woodturners will also be giving demonstrations on various skills and techniques, but those are not included with the free wristband. Registration to access these more specialized workshops are $242 per day or $425 for the weekend and can be purchased online.

These demos will be presented by woodturners from Australia, France, elsewhere in the U.S. and several from Minnesota, including Jim Sannerud of Grand Marais, Phil Holton of Eagan and Jeff Luedloff of Shakopee.

The symposium, including the free trade show and gallery, is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 13, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. June 14 and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 15 at RiverCentre; 175 Kellogg Blvd. More info at aawsymposium.org.

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