Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass furiously confronted ICE agents and slammed their ‘outrageous’ immigration raids in a public clash on Monday.
The Democrat was seen in footage facing off with the immigration agents in LA’s MacArthur Park on Monday, where ICE had arrived with a large number of vehicles and officers earlier in the day.
Numerous horseback-riding officers descended on the park early Monday, with other agents in armored vehicles also arriving as anti-ICE protesters staged demonstrations.
No arrests or detainments were made at the park, however Bass arrived around half an hour into the demonstrations to berate the officers for their presence.
She was followed by a cameraman as she walked through the anti-ICE protesters, some of whom shouted insults at her for her handling of the violent response to Trump’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles in recent weeks.
Bass demanded to speak with the officer in charge of the ICE operations, and as she saw another agent calling their supervisor, she said: ‘Can I talk to ’em?’
The mayor began berating the officer in charge over the phone, telling them that agents ‘have completed their mission here’ as she ordered them to disperse.
‘They need to leave and they need to leave right now because this is unacceptable,’ Bass fumed.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass furiously confronted ICE agents and slammed their ‘outrageous’ immigration raids in a public clash on Monday
The Democrat squared off with President Trump’s immigration officers in LA’s MacArthur Park on Monday, where ICE had arrived with a large number of vehicles and officers earlier in the day
Bass slated the presence of immigration officials in the park as ‘outrageous’, and took to X to share footage of the moment ICE agents descended on the park.
The video showed dozens of heavily armed agents swarming a park in lines as they sent parkgoers scrambling away.
‘Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing – then, the MILITARY comes through,’ Bass wrote in her post.
‘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.’
Bass continued her furious response as she held a press conference later on Monday.
‘In my opinion, it’s a political agenda of invoking fear and terror,’ she said.
‘No plan other than fear, chaos, and politics.’
Bass demanded to speak with the officer in charge of the ICE operations, and was seen berating the supervisor over the phone to say the agents ‘need to leave right now because this is unacceptable’
Bass said dozens of children were playing in the park when ICE agents sent them scrambling
Bass’s decision to go to the park to confront the ICE agents follows a string of other Democrats who have also had dramatic clashes with immigration officials on-camera in recent weeks.
This included California Senator Alex Padilla being manhandled to the floor and detained when he tried to berate Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem at a press conference last month.
The latest standoff this week comes after Los Angeles became a hotbed of protesting and rioting in response to ICE arrests.
President Trump has been accused of focusing deportation efforts on schools, workplaces and courthouses, which prompted furious responses from locals.
Trump deployed the National Guard in an attempt to quash the unrest, resulting in lockdowns and curfews to be instated across the Blue city.
Following Los Angeles, Trump is reportedly readying to deploy ICE tactical units to New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and northern Virginia.