On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) launched an operation on Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park to the dismay of Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who appeared at the park shortly after the operation began and told reporters that federal agents need to leave “because this is unacceptable!”
Bass was also seen talking to a uniformed USBP agent, who handed his phone to Bass so that she could speak to an official later identified as U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino.
Bovino, later in an interview with Fox News LA, reiterated his message to Bass, stating that “the federal government doesn’t work for Karen Bass, we’re gonna be here until that mission’s accomplished as, I said – and better get used to us now.”
Bovino’s operation and statement signal his commitment to what he said last month, in the midst of LA’s anti-ICE riots, when he spoke openly at a press conference. “We are here and we are not going away,” Bovino vowed at the time.
Bovino’s presence since early June, as well as his comments, haven’t stopped Mayor Bass from voicing outrage and sharing footage of the ICE operation on X with the caption:
“Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through. 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."
Though “more overt and larger” than typical enforcement efforts, the LA operation was not a formal military operation, defense officials told The Post Millennial.
While federal agents aren’t criminals threatening children, the same cannot be said for the numerous homeless individuals encamped at the park who appear to be on substances, according to viral video shared by Kevin Dalton on X, which may not be from the day of the operation.
The homeless population in is estimated to be over 45,000 in Los Angeles and more than 75,000 in the greater LA county, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority 2024 count.
Instead of effectively addressing the substance abuse and homelessness endangering public safety in Los Angeles, Mayor Bass has apparently prioritized her attacks on the federal agents in MacArthur Park working to protect citizens by enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.