The Steady Drip: Border Patrol Deploys 'Trojan Horse' Rental Truck During LA Sweep (Connecting the Dots: Penske, The Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, BAE Systems Inc., The Chertoff Group, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, The U.S. Customs and Border Protection & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Border Patrol Deploys 'Trojan Horse' Rental Truck During LA Sweep (Connecting the Dots: Penske, The Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, BAE Systems Inc., The Chertoff Group, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, The U.S. Customs and Border Protection & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Newsmax.com

By Jim Mishler | Wednesday, 06 August 2025 06:45 PM EDT

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/border-patrol-los-angeles-immigration/2025/08/06/id/1221562/

U.S. Border Patrol enforcement agents resumed immigration sweeps in Los Angeles on Wednesday. With a new twist. They used a large rental truck to bring agents to the parking lot of a big-box home improvement store to go after illegal aliens at the site.

The Los Angeles Times reported the enforcement action began as a man drove a Penske rental truck close to a group of "day laborers" gathered outside a Home Depot, and asked if anyone was looking for work. As some moved closer to the truck, the Times reported more than half a dozen enforcement agents jumped out of the back. Sixteen arrests were made on the spot, while others fled the scene.

The on-the-spot warning from the U.S. Border Patrol's sector chief, Gregory Bovino, was, "We're not leaving." Bovino has been in charge of Border Patrol enforcement efforts in the Los Angeles area since the government began enforcement sweeps there earlier this year. The Times said he referenced the raid as "Operation Trojan Horse."

The original Trojan Horse, a large hollow wooden horse, was used by the Greeks to hide inside, and it was then rolled into the city of Troy, where soldiers jumped out to help capture the city. A more modern reference is to malicious computer code.

The Border Patrol action in LA came under immediate fire from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who said, "We are all trying to look into exactly what happened," she said. "But from the video and from the stills, it looks like the exact same thing that we were seeing before."

The "exact same thing" is government immigration enforcement raids that were curbed by a federal court order that said the government could not use a person's race, profession, location or language as a probable cause to detain them for possible U.S. immigration law violations. The ruling only affects an area including and surrounding Los Angeles.

A series of immigration sweeps around the city and neighboring areas in June brought on riots that left $20 million in damages.

Bass said city legal staffers were reviewing how to respond to what appeared to be the government ignoring the court protections.

Using the Penske rental truck might also get the government into some trouble. The Times reported that Penske spokesman Randolph Ryerson pointed out that "the company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today's operation and did not authorize this."

The company posted shortly after the sweep that it would be in touch with the Department of Homeland Security about the "improper use of its vehicles in the future."

That was reposted by the Department of Homeland Security, which pointed to a media report of several dozen illegal aliens found hiding inside a Penske truck, which led to no reaction from the company. DHS said "Silence speaks volumes. The brave agents of @ICEgov and @CBP will continue carrying out their mission to protect Americans."

Connecting the Dots:

Penske Media Corporation is the owner of Variety.

Jay Penske is the CEO for the Penske Media Corporation and Roger S. Penske’s son.

Roger S. Penske is Jay Penske’s father, a member of the Augusta National Golf Club and the founder & chairman of Penske Truck Leasing.

Warren E. Buffett is a member of the Augusta National Golf Club and Howard G. Buffett’s father.

Howard G. Buffett was Warren E. Buffett’s son and a council of advisers for the National Geographic Society.

Richard C. Blum was a council of adviser’s member for the National Geographic Society, married to Senator Dianne Feinstein and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Nigel Morris was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is a trustee at the National Geographic Society.

Victoria P. Sant is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a council of adviser’s member for the National Geographic Society.

Tracy R. Wolstencroft is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a trustee, council of adviser’s member for the National Geographic Society.

B. Francis Saul II is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was a trustee at the National Geographic Society.

Lee H. Hamilton is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a co-chair for the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future and a director at BAE Systems Inc.

Covington & Burling LLP was the lobby firm for BAE Systems Inc.

Eric H. Holder Jr. was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.

Michael Chertoff is the chairman for BAE Systems Inc., a senior of counsel at Covington & Burling LLP, the co-founder & chairman for the Chertoff Group and was the secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Charles E. Allen is a principal at the Chertoff Group and was the undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Jay M. Cohen is a principal at the Chertoff Group and was the undersecretary for science & technology for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Debbie Eng is a senior director at the Chertoff Group and was an associate executive secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Katy Montgomery is a senior director at the Chertoff Group and was the deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Paul A. Schneider is a principal at the Chertoff Group and was the deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Chad C. Sweet is the co-founder & CEO for the Chertoff Group and was the chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Jayson P. Ahern is a principal at the Chertoff Group and was the acting commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Dawn E. Johnsen was the director nominee, acting assistant attorney general at the Office of Legal Counsel for the Barack Obama administration, counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and is a director at the American Constitution Society.

Eric H. Holder Jr. was a board member for the American Constitution Society, an attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Barack Obama administration and is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.

Covington & Burling LLP was the lobby firm for BAE Systems Inc.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Constitution Society.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Aspen Institute (think tank).

David H. Koch is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a council of advisers member for the National Geographic Society.

Sylvia A. Earle was a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Aspen Institute (think tank) and the Brookings Institution (think tank).