An L.A. man was detained in an immigration raid. No one knows where he is

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

WASHINGTON — No one seems to know what happened to Vicente Ventura Aguilar.A witness told his brother and attorneys that the 44-year-old Mexican immigrant, who doesn’t have lawful immigration status, was taken into custody by immigration authorities on Oct.

7 in SouthLos Angeles and suffered a medical emergency.But it’s been more than six weeks since then, and Ventura Aguilar’s family still hasn’t heard from him.

California At California City Detention Facility, immigrants file lawsuit over alleged ‘shockingly deficient’ medical care, frigid temperatures, bugs crawling on walls, sewage backups, inadequate food and water, and generally ‘decrepit’ conditions.The Department of Homeland Security said 73 people from Mexico were arrested in the Los Angeles area between Oct.7 and 8.

“None of them were Ventura Aguilar,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant Homeland Security public affairs secretary.“For the record, illegal aliens in detention have access to phones to contact family members and attorneys,” she added.McLaughlin did not answer questions about what the agency did to determine whether Ventura Aguilar had ever been in its custody, such as checking for anyone with the same date of birth, variations of his name, or identifying detainees who received medical attention near the California border around Oct.

8.Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center who is representing Ventura Aguilar’s family, said DHS never responded to her inquiries about him.“There’s only one agency that has answers,” she said.“Their refusal to provide this family with answers, their refusal to provide his attorneys with answers, says something about the lack of care and the cruelty of the moment right now for DHS.” His family and lawyers checked with local hospitals and the Mexican consulate without success.

They enlisted help from the...