Dozens arrested for immigration violations in LA

After federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people Friday across Los Angeles, protesters gathered outside a federal detention center demanding their release before police in riot gear tossed tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers executed search warrants at multiple locations, including outside a clothing warehouse where a tense scene unfolded as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.

Sirens blared as protesters surrounded black SUVs and tactical vehicles. Officers threw flash bangs into the street to disperse people as they shouted and filmed the scene with their cell phones. One demonstrator tried to physically stop a vehicle from leaving.

Forty-four people were arrested on immigration violations across multiple locations, said Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations. The president of SEIU California, a major labor union, was arrested and charged for impeding a federal agent while protesting, the US Attorney's office said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the activity was meant to "sow terror" in the nation's second-largest city.