(This story has been updated to correct who was involved in the Indio crash.)
The federal agents who are carrying out immigration enforcement recently crossed in several cities of the Coachella Valley, officials said Friday, December 19.
“ICE has been very active in our city over the past few days,” Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a video posted on social media. “We actually talked to ICE agents and let them know that we are not helping them in any way shape or form.”
The scope of the immigration activity could not be immediately determined, but social media posts indicated several locations from Palm Springs to Indio were targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE agents detain a man who appeared to be a landscaper in the 1400 block of Sunny Dunes Rd. in Palm Springs, Calif., July 10, 2025.
ICE does not comment on specific immigration enforcement actions.
ICE arrests man after crashing car into mailbox in Indio
In Indio, police reported that a man who ICE agents had tried to stop in Salton City earlier in the day crashed a vehicle into a mailbox mounted on a wall in the 46000 block of Vargas Road. Sgt. Abe Plata wrote in a press release that ICE agents detained the 34-year-old man at the scene because they said he was wanted for immigration violations.
Plata said that three children were inside the vehicle with the man when it crashed. He said that the children were restrained inside the vehicle and were not seriously injured. Both the man and the children were hospitalized as a precaution. Plata also said that the children will eventually be reunited with their mother. He did not say if the man driving the car was the father of the children. He also specified that Indio Police were not involved in any ICE enforcement or investigative activity but simply provided an emergency response to the crash.
Related: What to do if you are stopped by ICE? Local lawyers on how to use your rights
As news of the arrests spread, many residents were alarmed by the ICE presence in the Coachella Valley. Although federal authorities arrested individuals locally earlier this year, the week of December 14 appeared to be the first to include widespread enforcement action in months.
“What are we supposed to do?” one user posted in a local Facebook group. “This is getting crazy… people can’t even go outside without being scared of this. Is there anything we can do?”
(This is a developing story, so more information will be added as it is released.)
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on the Palm Springs Desert Sun: ICE agents involved in crash in Indio, ICE also active in Palm Springs