When federal immigration agents took over downtown Los Angeles earlier this week, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass gave the impression they were trampling over a tranquil spot safe for families.
She said that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in tactical gear who stormed MacArthur Park on horseback and in armored vehicles disrupted children’s summer camps.
But what she and her fellow Democrats failed to mention was what really goes on in the neighborhood: Addicts getting high around the clock and drug dealers plying their trade in broad daylight.
There is also gun violence and, like much of LA, rampant homelessness.
Locals say that, despite Mayor Bass’s promises to bring the problems under control, they are still waiting for the park to be made safe.
The uncontrolled blight was obvious when the Daily Mail visited the area the day after the appearance by the masked ICE personnel.
A tattooed man wearing a blue t-shirt appears to be inhaling drugs during the daytime in MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park is notorious haven for drug activity – overrun with dealers and addicts shooting up in broad daylight and getting high around the clock
The park has been called an ‘extreme’ microcosm of the problems impacting the city as a whole
‘They have a serious drug infestation and homeless problem here that the city needs to do something about and clear it up,’ former marine Michael Harris, 62, told the Daily Mail.
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The veteran chomped on a cigar while walking Dobby, his five-year-old, 100-pound Presa Carnario, a Spanish mastiff.
He called the park an ‘extreme’ microcosm of the problems impacting the city as a whole.
Bass, in a tailored powder blue pant suit, rolled into the the park on July 7 in a black SUV, with a personal cameraman in tow, to vocally confront agents on scene.
She ordered them to disperse, insisting that agents ‘have completed their mission here. They need to leave and they need to leave right now because this is unacceptable.’
Footage also showed her being criticized by anti-ICE protesters, some of whom shouted insults at her for her handling of the violent response to Donald Trump’s migrant crackdown in the city in recent weeks.
Afterwards she condemned the presence of agents in the park as ‘outrageous and un-American’, and took to X to share footage of the operation.
Locals told the Daily Mail that the park has ‘a dark side and is full of drug addicts.’
Makeshift signs were posted through the park warning park goers of the July 7 raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel
Drug addicts shooting up are an overwhelming blight in the park
By the mid-twentieth century, MacArthur Park had become a ‘well-known cruising site within the LGBTQ community’
The Democrat squared off with President Trump’s immigration officers in LA’s MacArthur Park on Monday
ICE agents were seen driving through the park in armored vehicles
Mayor Bass was seen berating an ICE supervisor over the phone and said agents ‘need to leave right now because this is unacceptable’
‘Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing – then, the MILITARY comes through,’ Bass posted.
‘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. Absolutely outrageous.’
During a televised press conference the same day she fumed: ‘In my opinion, it’s a political agenda of invoking fear and terror. No plan other than fear, chaos, and politics.’
No arrests or detainments were made at the park and Harris, still trim following years of military service, described the appearance of ICE as more like a ‘show of force.’
He described the mayor’s comments regarding the incident as typical political ‘spin.’
Bass, asserted Harris, ‘would have served herself better if she had focused on the serious drug and homeless infestation’ in the area.
‘There’s drug dealers here,’ he said, there’s homeless… it’s crazy here, with a lot of mental illness.’
Money spent by Bass and other city officials has merely disappeared into a ‘big sinkhole.’
Originally called Westlake Park, its name was changed in 1942 to honor of World Ward II army general Douglas MacArthur, according to the LA Conservancy website.
Police pat down two men in MacArthur Park near LA’s downtown while apparently looking for drug contraband
A person in MacArthur Park, where drug taking and homelessness are rife
By the mid-twentieth century, it had become a ‘well-known cruising site within the LGBTQ community.’
Without satire, the non-profit calls the park a ‘vibrant place of music, art, and community.’
City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area, said: ‘MacArthur Park is the Ellis Island of the West Coast.
‘It was chosen as this administration’s latest target precisely because of who lives there and what it represents: resilience, diversity and the American dream.’
Makeshift signs posted around the park read: ‘Reports say la migra/ICE is raiding MacArthur Park July 7. Avoid the area if possible.’
The day following the immigration raid, the park’s playgrounds were deserted.
Drug deals are a constant occurrence in the MacArthur Park area, police sources tell the Daily Mail
Originally called Westlake Park, the area name was changed in 1942 to MacArthur Park in honor of decorated World Ward II army general Douglas MacArthur
Two men shown in Douglas Park using drug paraphernalia to get high
‘I’ve seen tweakers in the park…but I’ve never personally seen children,’ Dominic Palmer told the Daily Mail, referring to addicts under the influence of methamphetamine.
The 25-year-old was at the entrance to the park across from the Department of Public Social Services, with it’s long line of people seeking services, at the corner of Park View Avenue and 6th Street when the agents moved in.
He said people who weren’t typically at the park showed up to ‘live stream on TikTok and yell at police.’
Pictured: four people bent over in the park during the day apparently showing the effects from taking drugs
Palmer was stationed at the park to help to low-income individuals on government assistance to sign up for free free smartphones and wireless service.
‘It’s a humbling experience,’ he added, surveying the homeless and addicts laying a few feet away.
‘You wake up every day thinking you’ve got problems – then you see people who’ve got problems. It helps to help them.’
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Two Los Angeles Police Department officers in a patrol car on park grounds, who wished to remain anonymous, advised the Daily Mail to avoid the eastern end that skirts South Alvarado Street, where the most intense drug-related activity takes place.
Last week, they responded to a shooting that occurred when a man was shot and injured during a drug deal.
‘Please be careful so you don’t get hurt,’ advised one of the officers. ‘They’ll take your headphones, your phone and your shoes.’
Rosalio Santos, 54, a groundskeeper for the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks confirmed to the Daily Mail that areas of the park are ‘dangerous’ due to the proliferation of drug users.
And grandfather Sergio Carno, 53, who works in the area, said the addicts ‘make this place look bad.’
He was in the park when the ICE operation began and said ‘people were scared and started running when that s**t happened.’
‘They have a serious drug infestation and homeless problem here that the city needs to do something about and clear it up,’ former marine Michael Harris, pictured in MacArthur Park with Dobby, told the Daily Mail
He moved to the U.S. in 1987 and described himself as a ‘resident alien’ with a Green Card but regrets not previously applying for citizenship.
‘It’s too bad that I waited this long to make a decision,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘Now I can’t because they are denying the applications.’
He added of Trump’s raids: ‘People are scared. They don’t even want to come outside and work. They can’t go to the grocery store to get what they need.’
‘I’ve seen tweakers in the park but I’ve never personally seen children,’ Dominic Palmer, shown, told the Daily Mail
Marla, 49, a warehouse machine operator who didn’t want to reveal her last name, was visiting the park with her 16-year-old son Vladimir and mother Soledad, 81, who emigrated to America from Mexico decades ago.
She said fewer people visit the park and there are less street vendors out since the city-wide raids began, sparking protests and violent clashes with law enforcement.
Today, the family always keeps their immigration documents on their person when they venture outside. The trio were visiting the park, said Marla, because her son was experiencing ‘cabin fever.’
‘Usually my friends are outside but right now they’re not going outside at all,’ he said.
Witnessing the raids has made Soledad ‘nervous’ and given her headaches. ‘This is a beautiful country,’ she said, ‘but right now, there’s no freedom of speech because of the politicians.’
Steve, a 44-year-old computer programmer said the park, overlooked by the Mexican Consulate’s office, has ‘a dark side and is full of drug addicts.’
Rosalio Santos, 54, (pictured) a groundskeeper for the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks confirmed to the Daily Mail that areas of the park are ‘dangerous’ because of the drug users. The Mexican Consulate building is shown center in the background
He also warned of human-trafficking in the area.
‘It’s scary because there’s human trafficking going on,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘I know people that have been taken. They’re gone.
‘This is close to Mexico so it’s super, super dangerous.’
He was at the park with two friends – a young immigrant mother and her seven-year-old daughter – who were homeless before he helped them find shelter and food.
He described the appearance of immigration agents at MacArthur Park as ‘some sort of publicity thing.’
Those impacted by the recent raids are ‘hard-working people’ but are now ‘terrified to leave their house but they’re hungry have rent due, and so then they have to go out.
Los Angeles Police Department officers advised the Daily Mail to stay away from the eastern end of park that skirts South Alvarado Street where the most intense drug-related activity is on display
Children’s playgrounds in MacArthur Park are empty as families stay away despite Mayor Karen Bass’s attempt to portray the area as child friendly
‘They need to be able to go out to sustain their way of living, work, food, everything.’
Referring to the Jewish teen diarist who was forced to hide out in an attic with her family from Nazi oppressors in the Netherlands before finally being sent to die in a gas chamber in 1945 aged 15, Steve said the U.S. had turned into ‘a whole country of Anne Franks.’
He added: ‘There’s a lot of fear going on, because the rules are being broken all the time by ICE. It’s really messed up and scary.
‘For the longest time, it seemed so dramatic to say this is like the Nazis but I hate it. My family and I are disgusted by the administration and what our country is now.
‘People in masks are showing up with body armor and guns – it’s scary s**t.’ The Daily Mail has reached out to Mayor Bass’s office for comment.