A man fleeing immigration authorities outside a Home Depot store in Southern California was struck and killed by an SUV after running onto a nearby freeway, officials reported.
Police in Monrovia, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, received a call Thursday regarding the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A responding officer saw ICE agents approaching the store and conducting enforcement activity, City Manager Dylan Feik said in a statement.
“One man ran on foot toward the nearby freeway, where he was struck by a vehicle,” Feik said. The man was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
“We extend our condolences to the individual and his family,” Feik added.
This incident follows a series of arrests at Home Depot stores, car washes, and other locations as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies immigration enforcement in Southern California. The raids by masked agents have created widespread fear in immigrant communities, and this man is the second reported death in the region linked to attempts to evade federal immigration authorities.
On Friday, a team of unmarked SUVs with tinted windows carrying Border Patrol agents approached a food stand outside a Home Depot location in Los Angeles. They quickly exited their vehicles wearing masks and some in camouflage uniforms while carrying M-4 rifles.
Agents had been surveilling a Guatemalan woman they said had a criminal record. A plainclothes officer approached the food stand to confirm her identity, after which the operation began. Bystanders blew whistles and shouted profanities.
A similar operation occurred at a car wash in nearby Montebello, though it faced less resistance. Two employees were arrested there.
In Monrovia, the California Highway Patrol said the man was running across the lanes of eastbound Interstate 210 when he was struck by an SUV traveling about 50–60 miles (80–97 kilometers) per hour.
The man’s name has not been released pending family notification. The CHP said the crash and the circumstances surrounding why the man was on the freeway are under investigation.
Immigrant advocates planned a vigil Friday to protest the widespread raids.
Feik said he did not have information regarding the immigration operation or whether any arrests were made.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated in an email that the agency was not informed of the incident until hours after the operations had concluded. “This individual was not being pursued by any DHS law enforcement,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not answer questions about the operation.
The Trump administration has conducted arrests at Home Depot stores, car washes, garment factories, and other locations, with many detainees placed in immigration custody. Last month, a farmworker fell from a greenhouse roof during an immigration raid at a cannabis facility northwest of Los Angeles and died from his injuries.
Last month, a federal court in Southern California temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out indiscriminate sweeps. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for September.
George Lane, a Home Depot spokesperson, said the company is not informed in advance of immigration operations and is not involved in them. Lane referred questions to ICE.
