Photographer pushed repeatedly by DHS at LA immigration protest

Independent photographer Steven Berumen was shoved multiple times by federal officers while documenting an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 2026.

The protest was held outside the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being confined. It marked the one-year anniversary of the large protests against immigration raids that began in and around LA in June 2025.

Berumen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that officers from the Department of Homeland Security, assisted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were arresting a demonstrator, and Berumen moved closer to photograph the encounter. DHS officers then began shoving him, grabbing his arm and ordering him to stay back.

“I was pushed around, so that none of my photos came out good,” Berumen said.

Berumen said officers formed a barrier around the arrest and repeatedly obstructed his view. At one point, he said, an officer appeared willing to allow him closer to document the arrest, but another officer blocked his access, and he continued to be pushed around.

Berumen said he felt federal officers intentionally interfered with his ability to document the arrest by positioning themselves in front of his camera and physically pushing him away from the scene.

During the protest, officers also deployed pepper spray into the crowd, Berumen said. Although he was wearing a gas mask and did not experience breathing difficulties, he said the spray struck his face and exposed skin.

“My neck and my arms were burning all day,” he said.