A Border Patrol official declared Monday that agents will remain in Los Angeles “until the mission is accomplished,” as Mayor Karen Bass clashed with federal authorities conducting what appeared to be a major immigration sweep at a local park.
Heavily armed personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and military units deployed by President Trump descended on MacArthur Park in force—some carrying rifles, others patrolling on foot, horseback, and in armored vehicles.
Bass, a Democrat who had been scheduled to meet with California Gov. Gavin Newsom that morning, arrived in the midst of the operation and confronted the agents directly, demanding they leave the park and denouncing the raid as a “political stunt.”
“They need to leave and they need to leave right now!” Bass yelled after getting off the phone with someone coordinating the officers. “What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege,” she told reporters following the confrontation. “It’s outrageous and un-American to have armed vehicles in our American parks.”
Bass remained at the park only briefly after speaking with CBP Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim, who, she said, handed her a direct line to “the head of Customs.” According to Bass, the agents began leaving shortly afterward. However, a Border Patrol official insisted that federal agencies are not backing down—and had a few pointed words for Bass in response.
“The federal government is not leaving LA. … The federal government does not work for Karen Bass. We’re going to be here until that mission is accomplished,” Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told FOX Los Angeles. “Better get used to us now because this is going to be normal very soon,” he added.
Bass and members of the Los Angeles City Council said the immigration sweep disrupted a children’s summer camp, forcing staff to move the kids into a nearby basement while they waited for federal agents to clear the area. It remains unclear if anyone was arrested during the sweep, as activists had gone around the park to warn people to leave before the officers marched through, the Los Angeles Times reported.
