LA City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado | FILE PHOTO
LOS ANGELES – City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado has expressed opposition to a proposed Home Depot opening in Eagle Rock Plaza, citing concerns with federal immigration raids targeting day laborers at the company’s locations across the Los Angeles region.
On Thursday, federal agents conducted a raid at The Home Depot in Westlake, the fourth at the location since immigration enforcement operations began in June. Similar operations have been reported at several stores across Los Angeles, including one that apparently resulted in four arrests Friday morning outside a Home Depot in Pomona.
The Thursday operation in Westlake resulted in eight individuals being detained by federal agents.
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“When your name becomes associated with terror and you refuse to speak, you are complicit,” Jurado said in a statement. “Home Depot has chosen power and profit over the working people who sustain it.”
Last week, Home Depot submitted plans with the City Planning Department to demolish a former Macy’s department store in the Eagle Rock Plaza to build a superstore.
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`That’s why I unequivocally oppose Home Depot coming to Eagle Rock Plaza, a mall that has long been a gathering place for the Filipino community in Los Angeles,” Jurado said. “I won’t allow violence to take root in our neighborhoods. Our communities deserve safety, dignity and businesses that fight for the people, not against them.”
Representatives for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Eagle Rock proposal. Earlier this month, immigrants rights advocates and labor groups organized a community stoppage, which called for a boycott of Home Depot and other businesses.
In response, a spokesman for The Home Depot issued a statement: “Immigration enforcement agencies are the best sources if you have questions. We aren’t notified that these activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in the operations. We’re required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate.”
