Rep. Maxine Waters Confronts ICE at Detention Center— and What They Did Instead of Answering is Sparking Outrage

It looks like a group of federal agents have some explaining to do after a run-in with Calif. Rep. Maxine Waters amplified ongoing tensions in a city making national headlines. While attempting to visit an ICE detention center, Waters was met with a door to the face, and to be expected, she's anything but happy.

Peaceful protests turned violent continue to plague the city of Los Angeles over President Donald Trump's unlawful immigration raids in the sanctuary city. During the height of the demonstrations, Rep. Waters trekked to the Metropolitan Detention Center on Sunday (June 8), where a labor union leader had been detained.

Rep. Waters, an outspoken critic of the president, approached the center as a small crowd gathered outside. "Hello, hello, hello, congresswoman Waters," she announced in the video of the interaction. "I just came to use my congressional authority to check on David Huerta."

Huerta, who serves as president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in California, was arrested by the feds after allegations he was "interfering" with an ICE raid happening in the city, according to The Guardian. Huerta was later hospitalized on Friday (June 6) after sustaining injuries reportedly from his arrest. Now, he sits in an ICE detention facility, which is why Rep. Waters came to check on him.

An officer told the 18-term congresswoman the center was closed to all visitors, without further explaining why. "Excuse me, I need to get in," Rep. Waters told the armed officer before he forcibly slammed the door in her face. Congressmen and women have the legal right to enter any ICE detention center without prior notice, according to Colo. Rep. Jason Crow's website. But despite Waters being well within her rights, she was ultimately denied entry.

She took to X after the incident, saying, "Today, I came to the Metropolitan Detention Center to exercise my constitutional rights as a Member of Congress to check on the safety and conditions of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested by ICE."

Waters continued, "I pled with the National Guard, which was heavily armed, not to use their weapons against peaceful demonstrators who were simply exercising their rights to freedom of speech and protest." Accompanying the post was a video of Waters outside the center. Her message to the president was clear.

"You are a cruel human being," she said directly to Trump. "You are accusing the poorest people in the land, the most vulnerable people in the land to promote your politics." The congresswoman is one of many Democrats calling for the removal of U.S. National Guard agents in Los Angeles after they were deployed by Trump.

Folks took to the comments section online to share how, "This is not good. It's happening." Another TikToker asked, "How do we stop this?" A third person wrote, "On way hand I can’t believe what I’m seeing and reading and the other I can. After reading Project2025 last summer what we are seeing has already been laid out. I’m overwhelmed with sadness. Be safe," while a fourth called the interaction "horrifying."

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom has since promised to sue the Trump administration after the president and Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to send more guards and even Marine troops to combat ongoing violence between protestors and authorities.