Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pushed back against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she urged federal immigration agents to “go home.”
“We would like for the ICE raids to stop. We would like the array of federal officials or civilians dressed as federal officials to go home,” Bass said during a Tuesday news conference responding to the Justice Department’s lawsuit challenging the city’s sanctuary policies.
When pressed about the possibility of a compromise between ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, Bass doubled down.
“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,” the Democratic mayor declared.
ICE swiftly responded, affirming it will continue operations in Los Angeles and the surrounding region.
“ICE isn’t going anywhere and will continue to do what Mayor Bass has utterly failed to do—protect the citizens of Los Angeles,” said Emily Covington, assistant director of ICE’s Office of Public Affairs, in a statement to Fox News. “If she wants distance from federal law enforcement, I’m sure there is an upcoming diplomatic trip to Ghana.”
The jab referenced Bass’s controversial visit earlier this year to Ghana for the country’s presidential inauguration, a trip that coincided with devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. The National Weather Service had warned of heightened fire risks before her departure, and local reports indicated her staff was aware of the potential for fires. Bass later called the timing a mistake.
“Absolutely it is, and I think that I have to demonstrate that every day by showing what we’re doing, what is working, what are the challenges,” she said in a February interview with NBC Los Angeles.
Bass returned to national headlines in June amid escalating anti-ICE protests and riots sparked by immigration enforcement sweeps in the city. Following the unrest, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard, a move challenged legally by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. Bass blamed ICE and the Guard for fueling tensions, condemning violence but supporting peaceful protest.
“Last Thursday, ICE entered our city and provoked the city by chasing people through Home Depots and car washes and showing up at schools and, today, showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters,” Bass said last month.
“ICE intervened as a pretext to federalize the National Guard, and then, in the White House, the National Guard was complimented for the work that they did to keep peace in the city Saturday night. But I will tell you, the Guard didn’t even arrive here until Sunday. They used this as a pretext to send the U.S. Marines into an American city, which will target our own citizens,” she added.
