Heavily-armed ICE agents stormed a popular park in downtown Los Angeles on Monday as Mayor Karen Bass blasted the Trump administration’s ‘military operation.’
Immigration agents were seen roaming through MacArthur Park and driving through the streets in armored tanks while some were patrolling on horseback.
The Democratic mayor slammed the show of force as a ‘political stunt’ meant to ‘terrorize immigrants’ as she arrived to confront the agents.
‘This morning, I went to MacArthur Park where I saw federal agents, military vehicles and federalized troops – another example of the administration ratcheting up the chaos by deploying what looked like a military operation in our American city,’ she said.
‘What I saw today looked like a city under siege and under occupation.’
Bass said children were at summer camp when the ICE agents descended on the park.
‘To have armored vehicles deployed on the streets of our city, to federalize the National Guard, to have the U.S. Marines who are trained to kill abroad, deployed to our city – all of this is outrageous and it is un-American,’ she added.
The mayor emphasized that ‘there are entire sectors of our economy that rely on immigrant workers.’
The constant raids across Los Angeles have driven the migrant workforce into hiding, sparking concerns over the sanctuary city’s already rocky economic state.
As the California city tries to recuperate from wildfires, businesses and developers have revealed they do not have the manpower to get these crucial jobs done.
LA has one of the nation’s largest immigrant workforces, with nearly 38 percent of workers originating outside the US, according to 2023 data.
Estimates from the Public Policy Institute of California suggest than one in 10 workers in the Golden State are undocumented immigrants, while the Migration Policy Institute reports there are roughly 950,000 ‘unauthorized’ residents in LA county.
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Immigration agents arrested more than 1,600 people in LA between June 6 and June 22, Bloomberg reported.
A Fourth of July carwash raid caught the attention of City of West Hollywood officials, who condemned the sweep that morning.
Agents were only inside for about 10 minutes, but detained at least two workers, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Federal officials confirmed on the following day that 37 employees at a LA Home Depot were also taken into custody over the course of the week.
As a result of this persistent ICE presence, job sites have been deserted, and construction and renovation projects have been delayed.
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