Federal agents executed a significant immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, despite the protests of Mayor Karen Bass, who was present at the location to demonstrate against it.
“We are accompanied by hundreds of federal agents and military personnel as a large-scale federal immigration enforcement operation is taking place in the MacArthur Park region of the sanctuary city of Los Angeles, an area heavily influenced by MS-13,” reported Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin on the X platform.
“Mayor Bass has called for an end to the raids, yet the federal authorities have responded with one of the largest operations to date, which includes Border Patrol agents on horseback. Protesters are already arriving,” he continued.
Melugin also posted a video showing Bass conversing with a Border Patrol agent, who appeared to make a call and subsequently handed the phone to her.
Local Fox affiliate KTTV-TV reported that the Democratic mayor could be heard on the phone stating, “They have completed their mission here,” and asking, “What’s the timeframe before they leave?”
When a reporter inquired if she wished to make a statement, Bass replied: “They need to leave and they need to leave right now, because this is unacceptable!”
Monday’s raid came after a series of anti-ICE protests and riots in Los Angeles last month, triggered by ongoing immigration enforcement. Tensions heightened further last month when U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles that was led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
She stated that immigration enforcement operations would continue in Los Angeles and other locations.
“We are not going away. We are here to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and mayor have imposed on this country and what they have attempted to instill in this city,” she remarked.
At that moment, Padilla suddenly interrupted Noem’s statements, approaching her and speaking loudly over her. Most individuals present were unaware of his identity until security personnel intervened and escorted him out.
Subsequently, Noem commented, “I had a discussion with the senator afterward. We sat down for 10 to 15 minutes and discussed the fact that no one recognized him. He did not identify himself until he had already lunged forward, and people were attempting to restrain him for quite some time.”
Border czar Tom Homan on Monday pledged to persist with immigration enforcement operations in New York City and other sanctuary cities, even as the Trump administration prepares to take legal action against Los Angeles and other jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities.
“We will be in New York City, and President Trump mentioned it two weeks ago,” Homan informed reporters. “We are going to intensify our efforts on sanctuary cities. Why? Not because they are a blue city or a blue state… but because we understand that is where the issue lies.”
“Every day, they are allowing public safety and national security threats to roam the streets,” he stated. “We are aware of this issue. In Florida, however, we do not face such a problem, as every sheriff in the state collaborates with us. I have previously mentioned that we will inundate the area concerning sanctuary cities.”
“I have previously mentioned that we will inundate the area with sanctuary cities. If they refuse to permit us to apprehend a criminal in the county jail, we will detain them in the community; we will apprehend them at their workplace,” he continued.
“We are determined to capture the criminals, so if they are unwilling to assist, they should step aside, as we are coming to take action.”
