LOS ANGELES (OC).–Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, 71, learned little about diplomacy at Cal State Dominguez Hills and at her MSW degree at USC. She continues to provoke the Immigration Customs Enforcement [ICE] Service telling them to get out of Los Angeles. While Bass thinks it’s he job to protect so-called Angelenos, it’s also her job to enforce federal law even if it’s uncomfortable for certain communities. “We would like for the ICE raid to stop. We would like the array of federal officials or civilians dressed as federal officials to go home,” Bass said a press conference, responding to a Department of Justice lawsuit against Los Angeles for its sanctuary city policies. Bass joins other sanctuary cities that defy federal authorities trying to enforce U.S. immigration. When it comes to ask for federal relief dollars, Bass is all in, just not when it comes to the Trump White House.
Bass doesn’t govern responsibly as a big city mayor, taking extremes when it comes to pushing a radical Democrat agenda like defying federal immigration policies. Bass is supposed be mayor for all Los Angeles residents, not just those living in South Central or East Los Angeles. She acts like she’s at war with the Trump White House, following in the footsteps of Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, 57, who has national aspirations for 2028. Bass at nearly 72, has no future in national politics but chooses to defy the federal government thinking that looks good to her Latino constituents if she hopes to run for reelection Nov. 6, 2026. “I don’t know if there’s a deal to be made. Like I told you, the deal that needs to be made is for them to go home,” Bass said, throwing gasoline on the fire. Acting defiantly, Bass pushes ICE Director Tom Homan to continue operations in Southern California.
Bass would be far better served trying to work to federal officials to complete whatever job they’ve been assigned in the Los Angeles area. City of Los Angeles accounts for about 4 million residents, while the Los Angeles County and Southern California region about 20 million. Federal officials, too, need to ask what there objective is in Southern California since the entire area has been built for over 100 years on illegal immigration. When migrants make it across the Mexican border, they travel north to the big city of Los Angeles where they have relatives and can be assured bountiful jobs. Through economic booms or busts, immigrants, legal or otherwise, live their lives, raise their families and put down roots. So when ICE agents come into Los Angeles County looking for illegal immigrants it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. But federal officials must refine their objectives.
Going after the multiple communities in Southern California built off illegal immigration, that should not be ICE’s focus. As President Donald Trump promised during the campaign, his ICE agents would go after the repeat offenders, criminals and gang members that threaten ordinary citizens. No one in Southern California is threatened by day laborers at Home Deport, workers at carwashes or workers in construction and hospitality trades. Bass, as Los Angeles mayor, should take a mature approach to ongoing ICE operations, telling federal officials she will cooperate in bringing recognized criminals to justice. When it comes to everyone else, Bass should tell federal officials to redefine who’s on their priority list. ICE doesn’t need to hear blanket political statements by Bass to go home or get out of Los Angeles. It makes Los Angeles look like a lawless city.
Bass needs stop grandstanding, she’s no spring chicken and hurts the city of Los Angeles by antagonizing ICE. “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 thre is an upcoming diplomatic trip of Ghana,” said Emily Covington, Asst. Director of ICE office Public Affairs. Covington referred to Bass’s trip to Ghana while neighborhoods in Los Angeles burned to the ground in January. Bass would do the city a service by not identifying herself as a sanctuary city or in opposition to federal immigration enforcement. More cooperation from Bass may give her more clout where she can prevail on the idea of only going after known illegal aliens with criminal histories. Harassing ordinary illegal aliens living their Latino communities helps no one.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass needs to stop provoking federal authorities and cooperate to the best extent possible with efforts to arrest illegal alien criminals and gang members. Showing more cooperation would help federal officials stay focused on arresting and charging known gang members and criminals, not low-level workers that threaten no one. “Last Thursday, ICE entered out city and provoked the city by chasing people through Home Depots and care washes and shup up at schools and, today, showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters,” Bass said in June. If Bass hopes to keep ICE focused on gang members and criminals, she needs to stop her sanctuary city rhetoric and cooperate with federal officials to refocus efforts on gang members and criminals. Bass knows the gang areas and should point ICE in the right direction.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
