Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to “go home” amid escalating tension over sanctuary policies. ICE responded with force, vowing to maintain enforcement operations in defiance of the mayor’s demands.
Mayor Bass spoke at a press conference tied to a Justice Department lawsuit challenging L.A.’s sanctuary ordinances. She demanded an end to ICE raids, asking federal agents to withdraw from schools, hospitals, and neighborhoods. When pressed about potential negotiations, she insisted, “the deal that needs to be made is for them to go home.”
ICE’s public response came swiftly. Assistant Director Emily Covington stated: “ICE isn’t going anywhere and will continue to do what Mayor Bass has utterly failed to do – protect the citizens of Los Angeles. If she wants distance from federal law enforcement, I’m sure there is an upcoming diplomatic trip to Ghana.”
Tensions over ICE operations in Los Angeles have escalated since raids ensnaring undocumented immigrants, including those with criminal records. Mayor Bass has linked these actions to outbreaks of protest and unrest in parts of the city—areas she described as safe until federal agents intervened.
That unrest prompted President Trump to deploy approximately 2,000 California National Guard troops without state approval—a move Bass and Governor Newsom publicly opposed. The mayor accused federal forces of “provoking the city” and using ICE activity as justification for National Guard activation.
