White House border czar Tom Homan has disclosed troubling new details about recent ICE raids that sparked violent unrest in Los Angeles and several other U.S. cities. Homan pushed back on claims by California Governor Gavin Newsom and other state officials, who blamed the riots on the deployment of National Guard troops. According to Homan, the violence began on Friday, when federal agents conducting operations in L.A.’s fashion district were attacked with rocks, hammers, and fireworks. At one point, agents were trapped inside a federal building by a hostile crowd.

During an appearance on Dr. Phil Primetime, Homan confirmed the raids were part of a broader federal probe into cartel-linked businesses operating in the U.S. He explained that a targeted warehouse and retail outlet were suspected of customs fraud, income tax evasion, and laundering millions of dollars for cartels in Mexico and Colombia. While Homan declined to name the specific cartel involved, he emphasized that this operation was just one piece of a larger investigation into transnational criminal networks. On Friday night alone, federal agents apprehended 45 undocumented immigrants in seven coordinated raids across Los Angeles. Among those arrested was a previously deported Mexican national with convictions for homicide and burglary.