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Immigration agents in military green surrounded MacArthur Park as the convoy readied for a show of force akin to a Hollywood movie. They came with horses and armored vehicles, carrying rifles and in tactical gear in the middle of what is the heart of immigrant Los Angeles. But there were few of their supposed targets to be found Monday — immigrants without documentation.
Since at least Sunday, rumors had spread about an operation at the park. Fliers were plastered around the area, warning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or la migra as they’re also known, were coming. It’s unclear if anyone was arrested during the sweep. “We don’t comment on ongoing enforcement operations,” said a senior Department of Homeland Security official when asked for comment on whether any arrests had been made.
“It is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our park,” Mayor Karen Bass said at an impromptu press conference at City Hall after federal authorities cleared out. “What happened to the criminals, the drug dealers, the violent individuals? Who were in the park today were children. It was their summer camp, their summer day camp.”
The park sits in the heart of a dense immigrant community marked by poverty and a thriving street culture. Vendors line the streets, and the palm-tree-dotted park is filled with playgrounds and fields, where many of the families living in nearby apartments find refuge. But it has also become known for prevalent drug use, where people are frequently seen smoking out of pipes on the sidewalk and in nearby alleys, though the city has made a concerted effort to turn it around.
“MacArthur Park is the Ellis Island of the West Coast. It was chosen as this administration’s latest target precisely because of who lives there and what it represents: resilience, diversity and the American dream,” said City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area. She said the National Guard descended on the park alongside agents bringing military weapons. “Please understand that what’s happening here in the city of Los Angeles, we are the canary in the coal mine. What you see happening in MacArthur Park is coming to you ... So, wake up.”
Monday’s sweep comes days after President Trump signed a budget bill that will provide a mass infusion of funds to drastically ramp up immigration enforcement and detention levels across the country. Los Angeles has become the poster child of Trump’s mass deportation plan, as more than 1,600 people have been arrested between June 6 and 22.
Immigration agents in military green surrounded MacArthur Park as the convoy readied for a show of force akin to a Hollywood movie. They came with horses and armored vehicles, carrying rifles and in tactical gear in the middle of what is the heart of immigrant Los Angeles. But there were few of their supposed targets to be found Monday — immigrants without documentation.
Since at least Sunday, rumors had spread about an operation at the park. Fliers were plastered around the area, warning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or la migra as they’re also known, were coming. It’s unclear if anyone was arrested during the sweep. “We don’t comment on ongoing enforcement operations,” said a senior Department of Homeland Security official when asked for comment on whether any arrests had been made.
“It is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our park,” Mayor Karen Bass said at an impromptu press conference at City Hall after federal authorities cleared out. “What happened to the criminals, the drug dealers, the violent individuals? Who were in the park today were children. It was their summer camp, their summer day camp.”
The park sits in the heart of a dense immigrant community marked by poverty and a thriving street culture. Vendors line the streets, and the palm-tree-dotted park is filled with playgrounds and fields, where many of the families living in nearby apartments find refuge. But it has also become known for prevalent drug use, where people are frequently seen smoking out of pipes on the sidewalk and in nearby alleys, though the city has made a concerted effort to turn it around.
“MacArthur Park is the Ellis Island of the West Coast. It was chosen as this administration’s latest target precisely because of who lives there and what it represents: resilience, diversity and the American dream,” said City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area. She said the National Guard descended on the park alongside agents bringing military weapons. “Please understand that what’s happening here in the city of Los Angeles, we are the canary in the coal mine. What you see happening in MacArthur Park is coming to you ... So, wake up.”
Monday’s sweep comes days after President Trump signed a budget bill that will provide a mass infusion of funds to drastically ramp up immigration enforcement and detention levels across the country. Los Angeles has become the poster child of Trump’s mass deportation plan, as more than 1,600 people have been arrested between June 6 and 22.
“There’s no plan other than fear, chaos and politics. Home Depot one day, a car washes the next, armed vehicles and what looked like mounted military units in a park the next day,” Bass said.
-Los Angeles Times
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