In a city roiled by chaos, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass drew a line in the sand on Monday night, delivering a sharp rebuke to the Trump administration and demanding an immediate end to federal immigration raids.
“Stop the raids. Stop the raids, period,” Bass declared, her words echoing the tensions of a city grappling with violent protests and the controversial deployment of the National Guard.
The flashpoint occurred after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation at a Home Depot spiraled into a weekend of unrest.
READ: City In California Terminates ICE Detainee Holding Contract Amid Community Pressure
On Saturday, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles as riots erupted. The Department of Homeland Security reported that approximately 1,000 individuals swarmed a federal building, attacking ICE agents, vandalizing government vehicles, and bringing key city roads to a screeching halt.
The severity of the situation was underscored by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, who shared dramatic videos of rocks striking vehicles carrying ICE agents and images of an agent’s injuries and a shattered windshield.
Despite the documented violence, Mayor Bass condemned the federal response as a heavy-handed overreach. During her press briefing, she argued that the authority to deploy troops should belong to state and local officials, not the White House.
“Give the power back to our governor, and if we need the National Guard, we can do it in the normal circumstances, which is the request is made local, and the governor decides, or not to, grant that to our city,” Bass stated emphatically.
READ: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman Rips Fellow Democrats For Not Condemning LA Riots
She questioned the necessity of the military presence, dismissing their current role as superfluous. “We didn’t need the National Guard. Why on earth? What are they going to do?” Bass asked. “They are guarding the federal building here in downtown, and they’re guarding the federal building in Westwood. That’s what they’re doing. So they need Marines on top of it? I don’t understand that.”
Visibly frustrated, the mayor characterized the deployment as a political maneuver, casting her city as an unwilling test subject. “That’s why I feel like we are part of an experiment that we did not ask to be a part of,” she added.
The escalating feud has now moved to the legal arena. On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the president’s authority to federalize 2,000 California National Guard members without Newsom’s consent.
READ: Florida, Tennessee, And North Carolina Senators Unveil “REMOVE Act” To Fast-Track Deportations
The suit escalates the confrontation, pitting state sovereignty against federal enforcement in a dramatic showdown with national implications. As the political and legal battles rage, the streets of Los Angeles remain a potent symbol of a nation deeply fractured over immigration policy.
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