Ontario, CA — July 22, 2025 — A U.S. citizen was among three individuals detained by federal agents during an operation at a Stater Bros. Markets store located at 646 W. Holt Blvd. in Ontario, California, on Monday, July 21, 2025, prompting community outrage and calls for transparency from local advocates and officials.
The incident, involving agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations, unfolded around 10 a.m., leading to a tense confrontation with shoppers and community members at the supermarket.
According to reports, federal agents entered the Stater Bros. store, with some accessing an employees-only warehouse area, as captured in a video shared by the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) on Instagram.
The operation was initiated to apprehend a wanted individual, though specific details about the target or the reasons for the operation remain undisclosed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Ontario Police Department responded to a report of a possible assault on a federal law enforcement officer around 9:45 a.m. but clarified that their role was limited to confirming the agents’ official capacity.
“This represented the entirety of our department’s role in the situation,” the department stated on X.
Video evidence and eyewitness accounts indicate that one of the detainees, identified as Angel Pina, a U.S. citizen, attempted to explain his citizenship status to the agents but was ignored.
Doorbell footage from a nearby location shows Pina running from agents and approaching a passing SUV for help before being forcibly taken into custody.
The detentions sparked immediate backlash, with shoppers confronting agents inside the store, shouting for them to leave, as seen in cellphone videos.
Cases and Community Reaction
A separate incident nearby involved a man at an adjacent coffee shop who was detained and reportedly spilled hot coffee on himself during the encounter.
Javier Hernandez, executive director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, condemned the operation during a news conference held in the store’s parking lot on Monday afternoon.
“What we saw was ICE indiscriminately coming against community members, arresting folks,” Hernandez said, noting that at least one U.S. citizen was among those detained.
Mark Ramos, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Local 1428, which represents Stater Bros. employees, called the operation “an attack on our Latino and brown community,” highlighting that the majority of the store’s workforce is Latino.
Congresswoman Norma J. Torres, whose district includes the store, expressed concern over the incident, stating that her staff was present during the operation but was dismissed by store management when seeking answers.
Torres criticized the lack of transparency, particularly regarding reports that ICE agents accessed restricted employee areas without a warrant.
“This should never be allowed,” she said in a statement, demanding further explanation from federal authorities and Stater Bros. corporate offices.
The operation comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE activities in Southern California, with similar incidents reported in recent weeks.
In June 2025, a U.S. citizen, Andrea Velez, was detained in downtown Los Angeles during an ICE raid, later released on bond after allegations of racial profiling and assault on a federal officer.
Another case involved Job Garcia, a Ph.D. student arrested while filming an ICE raid at a Home Depot in Hollywood, prompting a $1 million lawsuit from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) for unlawful detention and violation of First Amendment rights.
These incidents have fueled accusations of overreach and racial profiling by federal agents.
Community advocates, including the ICIJ, have called for an end to what they describe as “community terror” tactics by the Trump administration.
The operation at Stater Bros. has reignited local tensions, particularly following comments by Ontario Mayor Paul Leon at a June 17, 2025, city council meeting, where he downplayed the threat of ICE actions to the city’s largely Latino population.
“To think that they’re coming after you, just profiling you on the way that you look, I just haven’t seen that happen in this town yet,” Leon said, a statement that drew criticism in light of Monday’s events.
The Department of Homeland Security has not released further details about the detentions or the specific reasons for targeting the individual at the Stater Bros. store.
The incident remains under investigation, with community groups and elected officials pressing for accountability and clarity on the federal agents’ actions.
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