Even as federal officials tried to keep things calm, tension and fear escalated this week in Southern California following reports of immigration arrests.

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Immigration advocates said that about 100 people were taken into custody by immigration officials, prompting protests in the streets of Los Angeles on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Times reported. But a spokesperson for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency told the media that the arrests were routine.

“Our operations are targeted and lead driven, prioritizing individuals who pose a risk to our communities. Examples would include known street gang members, child sex offenders, and deportable foreign nationals with significant drug trafficking convictions,” the agency said through a spokeswoman. “To that end, ICE’s routine immigration enforcement actions are ongoing and we make arrests every day.”

When the reports spread over social media, they sparked reactions from Californians, including Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, who sent a tweet advising people to know their rights.

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As the reports spread on social media, so did the rumors. Police departments in Pomona and Los Angeles attempted to dispel false hearsay that their agencies were helping federal immigration officials with the arrests.

Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos is locked in a van that is stopped in the street by protesters outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, in Phoenix. (Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via AP)

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“We want our community to know that The Pomona Police Department is not participating in any immigration checkpoints nor are we aware of any such checkpoints scheduled in the City of Pomona,” the statement read. “We encourage the community to always fact check to avoid ‘fake news’.”

Los Angeles considers itself a sanctuary city where local police decline to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Bob Green told the Los Angels Times that the department would not assist in immigration sweeps, contrary to rumors.

“There is information that is out there that is wrong,” Green said. “We are working hard with the immigrant communities to dispel fears.”

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The dramatic deportation of an Arizona mother Wednesday night set off a chain reaction among immigration advocates who are wary of a new executive order from President Donald Trump that widens the priorities for deporting unauthorized immigrants.

For hours into the night on Wednesday, protesters blocked ICE agents as they transported Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, a Phoenix mother who had reportedly spent 22 years illegally in the U.S., in a van en route to Nogales, Mexico.

Garcia de Rayos was caught up in Trump’s executive order that prioritized deportations of unauthorized immigrants with a criminal background. Her criminal record dates back to 2009 when she was convicted of felony identity theft following her arrest in a sweep at her workplace done by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio , BuzzFeed reported.

On social media, the hashtag #ICERaids has floated in conversations about broader immigration issues and sentiments, including some with anti-immigrant undertones.

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The conversation about the immigration arrests was underscored by a Pew Research Center report released Thursday that said that Los Angeles and New York were home to the largest share of the nation’s 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants.

It also estimated that some 170,000 unauthorized immigrants live in the San Diego region, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

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Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez