LA Mayor Karen Bass confronts ICE in park raid: ‘They need to leave now’
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, D, publicly confronted federal immigration authorities on Monday, July 7, during a surprise U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in MacArthur Park. Bass called the raid “unacceptable” and “un-American,” demanding it be shut down immediately.
“They need to leave, and they need to leave right now,” Bass told cameras at the scene.
Federal agents targeted a neighborhood near MacArthur Park, which has a large Hispanic immigrant population. U.S. Border Patrol agents were on horseback in the park, as well as authorities in military-like vehicles. No arrests were made, according to local media outlet Fox Los Angeles.
Bass confronts ICE on the scene
Bass, who has criticized ICE operations in the past, showed up on the scene and demanded she be able to speak with ICE leadership.
She later posted on social media that more than 20 children had been playing in the park minutes before the raid began. “Then the MILITARY comes through,” she wrote. “The SECOND I heard about this, I went to the park to speak to the person in charge to tell them it needed to end NOW.”
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, speaking to Fox News, dismissed Bass’s demands.
“I don’t work for Karen Bass,” he said. “Better get used to us now, because this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.”
‘Fear, chaos, politics’
At a press conference following the incident, Bass said she met with some of the children who were at the park at the time and accused the federal government of spreading fear for political gain.
Some demonstrators gathered at the park, with reports of objects thrown at federal vehicles. One federal vehicle reportedly had its tires slashed.
Newsom weighs in
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, also condemned the raid at a press conference on Monday, July 7.
“I want folks to know we have your back,” Newsom said. “We’ll continue to come back and do what we can to protect our diverse communities, to project the spirit that defines the best of this city and our state and to push back against this cruelty that is being perpetuated by the president of the United States.”
Bass has called for an end to immigration raids in Los Angeles, and has urged the National Guard to leave the city. In a post on X on the day before the MacArthur Park raid, she wrote, “Get the National Guard out.”
At a Monday press conference, she added: “In my opinion, it’s a political agenda of invoking fear and terror. No other plan other than fear, chaos and politics.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not disclosed the nature of Monday’s operation. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News, “We don’t comment on ongoing operations.”
Ongoing protests and tensions
The incident follows weeks of nationwide protests over federal immigration enforcement in public spaces, including schools, courthouses and workplaces. Immigration rights advocates say these raids are a form of intimidation that disproportionately targets communities of color.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
