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Feds Use Penske Truck As ‘Trojan Horse’ To Arrest Suspected Illegal Immigrants At L.A. Home Depot

U.S. Customs and Border Protection parked a Penske rental truck in a Los Angeles Home Depot parking lot on Wednesday morning, before the back door of the truck rolled open and numerous agents poured out, chasing down suspected illegal immigrants.

The undercover raid, referred to by U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino as “Operation Trojan Horse,” resulted in 16 arrests, The Los Angeles Times reported. The roundup focused on the Home Depot in Westlake, an area of L.A. that the Department of Homeland Security says is overrun by illegal immigrants linked to MS-13, Matt Finn of Fox News reported. DHS did not say if anyone arrested in the Home Depot parking lot on Wednesday was an MS-13 member.

 

The arrests come shortly after over 1,000 National Guard troops left the area following the riots that broke out in L.A. in response to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli commented on Wednesday’s “Trojan Horse” immigration raid, writing on X, “For those who thought immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again. The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable, and there are no sanctuaries from the reach of the federal government.”

Penske released a statement on Customs and Border Protection using one of its trucks in the raid. The company said it was not aware that one of its trucks “would be used in today’s operation and did not authorize this.”

“Penske will reach out to DHS and reinforce its policy to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future,” the company added.

 

Social media users, including the DHS, pointed out that Penske quickly released a statement condemning the Trump administration’s use of its vehicles for immigration enforcement, but when human smugglers were caught using a Penske truck to transport 58 migrants to the United States in 2023, the company was silent.

“Care to remind the American people what Penske said when this happened? Silence speaks volumes,” the DHS wrote on X. “The brave agents of @ICEgov and @CBP will continue carrying out their mission to protect Americans.”

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