Southwest
EXCLUSIVE: DHS fires back at claims ICE raided 'wrong home' in Oklahoma smuggling investigation
EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is setting the record straight after media reports claimed ICE raided “the wrong home” and targeted U.S. citizens, setting Democrats fuming.
The Independent ran a headline on Wednesday reading: “ICE raids wrong Oklahoma home, seizes life savings and leaves family ‘traumatized for life’” writing that an Oklahoma mother and daughters were subject to a “violent and humiliating raid by federal agents last week, despite allegedly not being the intended targets of the operation.”
That same day, Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, claimed that ICE agents mistakenly “terrorized” a family of naturalized U.S. citizens — including children — in a raid at a home in northwest Oklahoma City.
Balint claimed that “this was all a colossal mistake” and placed the blame squarely on President Donald Trump, saying “this is Trump’s America.”
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The raid in question occurred on April 24 at a single-family home in northwest Oklahoma City. When ICE agents, assisted by Oklahoma state police, carried out the raid, they encountered a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Guatemala as well as three others, the youngest of whom was 17. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Kerwin Moore via Wikimedia Commons)
The raid in question occurred on April 24 at a single-family home in northwest Oklahoma City. When ICE agents, assisted by Oklahoma state police, carried out the raid, they encountered a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Guatemala as well as three others, the youngest of whom was 17.
A representative for DHS told Fox News Digital that the raid was a “lawful, court-authorized action explicitly targeting a property, which was a hub for human smuggling, not specific individuals as falsely suggested by media reports.”
The representative clarified that the warrant “targeted the property itself, not specific individuals, and its execution was not contingent on the presence of any person.”
According to the DHS spokesperson, the warrant, which was signed by a federal judge the day before, was based on an 84-page affidavit detailing probable cause that the address served as a “stash house” for human and drug smuggling.
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Raul Calderon-Interiano, who was in the U.S. illegally, was convicted of sex crimes in Baltimore and released, despite a detainer from ICE. (ICE)
From its months-long surveillance of the property, including observations as recently as April 20, DHS had probable cause to believe that the primary targets of the warrant, Cidia Lima-Lopez and V. Lima-Lopez, illegal aliens from Guatemala, were continuing to use the house for illegal activities.
The spokesperson said that Homeland Security Investigations agents further confirmed via utility records that a member of the Lima Lopez transnational criminal organization was still paying utilities at the residence.
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DHS said that the warrant authorized the seizure of evidence, including electronic devices and documents, “regardless of who was present.”
The representative said that agents “executed the warrant with precision, seizing electronic devices as authorized,” calling the raid “a critical strike against a dangerous human smuggling network in furtherance of our mission to protect American communities from the chaos unleashed by the Biden administration’s open-border policies.”
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ICE Houston deportation. (ICE Houston)
Though the family living in the home is no longer in federal custody, the spokesperson said that the investigation is still ongoing and “we have not ruled out current occupants’ involvement in the smuggling ring.”
Fox News Digital reached out for comment from Balint and The Independent but did not immediately hear back.
Read the full article from Here
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
Los Angeles, Ca
Boyle Heights warehouse cleanup begins as crews face 85 million pounds of spoiled food
Cleanup efforts are underway Thursday at the Boyle Heights cold-storage warehouse that burned for eight days after firefighters officially declared the massive blaze knocked down Wednesday evening. Los Angeles Fire Department crews remain at the Lineage warehouse near Union Pacific Avenue and South La Puente Street as they transition into the overhaul phase, searching for […]
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