Latest news with #EunissesHernandez
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Absolutely outrageous': LA mayor calls out federal agent presence in MacArthur Park
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is condemning federal agents and National Guard troops for descending on a city park on Monday, July 7. Armored vehicles, mounted officers and armed troops briefly swarmed the city's MacArthur Park Monday morning before leaving. Bass said 20 children were playing at the park before the troops surged through and shared footage of federal officers running through the park. "Franky, it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in our parks," Bass said at a Monday news conference. "It is outrageous and un-American that the federal government that seized our state's National Guard. It's outrageous and un-American that we have U.S. Marines who are trained to kill foreign soldiers overseas, deployed in our American city." The mayor said on X that she visited the park the second she heard about what was happening and ordered the person in charge to leave immediately. Calling the scene "absolutely outrageous," she described what occurred as a "military-style operation designed to strike fear in the heart of our city." "We will not be afraid and we will not be divided. We will stand TOGETHER," she wrote. According to an X post from the Department of Defense, troops were present at the park to "ensure the safety of federal agents." Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district encompasses MacArthur Park, said on X that armed troops were "terrorizing street vendors, elders, and even children at summer camp." USA TODAY has reached out to the National Guard for comment. Bass has criticized the National Guard presence in LA, arguing that it is abnormal for them to be deployed without a governor's request. Last month, President Donald Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city in response to protests against federal immigration enforcement. The president has defended the decision, writing on Truth Social that "if we didn't send out the National Guard—Los Angeles would be burning right now!" Defense officials said the Pentagon spent $134 million for the 60-day deployment. Bryn MacDonnel, a special assistant to the defense secretary, explained that the costs included travel, housing and food, adding the funds came out of operations and maintenance accounts. Gov. Gavin Newsom attempted to block the federal incursion in California and later filed a lawsuit against Trump and accused the president, as well as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, of trying to use the assets to help ICE conduct raids. Contributing: James Powel and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA mayor calls federal agent presence 'outrageous' at MacArthur Park
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Staging for a TikTok video': Mayor Bass, council members decry federal raid in L.A.'s MacArthur Park
Federal agents descended upon MacArthur Park in the Westlake district of Los Angeles on Monday as part of an apparent immigration raid that was quickly condemned by local leaders. KTLA's Rich Prickett reported that Department of Homeland Security and military vehicles were positioned at the park late Monday morning. He also counted at least four white vans similar to those used by federal agents to transport people to jails and detention sites. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass shared footage on social media of officers, including some on horseback, traversing a soccer field. 'Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through,' she wrote. '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.' Children in the park were attending a summer day camp around the time of the raid, Bass said. One of the officials in the raid told the Associated Press that the raid was 'going to be more overt and larger than we usually participate in,' though the news organization added that raid ended abruptly with no explanation. Bass, City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson later decried the raids at a press conference on Monday afternoon. Bass said it 'was another example of the [Trump] administration ratcheting up chaos by deploying what looked like a military operation in an American city.' 'It's outrageous and unAmerican that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in the parks,' Bass said. 'It's outrageous and unAmerican that the federal government seized our state's National Guard.' 'We will continue to have each other's backs, and we will continue to demand the immediate withdrawal of federal troops and ICE from our city,' added Hernandez, who also said that she believes Los Angeles is a 'canary in a coal mine' for other cities. 'What you saw happening in MacArthur Park is coming to you,' she said in a message to leaders of other cities. The Los Angeles Times identified the agents as members of the Border Patrol and confirmed that Bass spoke via phone with someone she identified as 'the head of customs,' asking 'you're getting ready to leave? Can you leave ASAP?' Presumably, she was referring to Rodney Scott, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, though the Times did not name him. KTLA reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, which responded Tuesday afternoon with a one-sentence statement: 'We don't comment on ongoing enforcement operations.' The Los Angeles Police Department told KTLA they are not assisting in the federal actions, though officers were present for crowd control. The National Guard has deployed approximately 90 troops to support the federal agents, according to the AP. While the number of people detained on Monday was unclear, more than 1,600 people were arrested between June 6 and 22, according to the Times. Monday's incident, however, appears to be more for optics than an actual crackdown, Harris-Dawson said. 'This morning looked like the staging for a TikTok video,' he said. 'And what we say to Border Patrol as the Council, if you want to film in L.A., you should apply for a film permit like everybody else and stop trying to scare the bejesus out of everybody in this great city.' Sofia Pop Perez and Luis Zuniga contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Times
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
MacArthur Park ICE raid: armed officers sweep sparks outrage in LA
Dressed in fatigues, some carrying rifles, others riding horses or driving armoured vehicles, immigration officers accompanied by camera crews marched through Los Angeles' MacArthur Park as children played in a football field. By the time the officers had made the sweep on Monday morning, word had already spread about their intended visit to the park, located in the Westlake neighbourhood and dubbed the 'Ellis Island of the West Coast' for its immigrant population by Eunisses Hernandez, an LA city council member. When about 90 National Guard troops and dozens of federal officers descended on the park, it was nearly empty, save a few children at a summer camp. Karen Bass, the LA mayor, nonetheless denounced their brief show of force as 'outrageous and un-American', before showing up at the park herself to confront the officers. In a live feed filmed from the park, Bass could be heard speaking to a border patrol chief on the phone, asking: 'You're getting ready to leave? Can you leave ASAP?'
The Herald Scotland
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
LA mayor calls federal agent presence 'outrageous' at MacArthur Park
"Franky, it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in our parks," Bass said at a Monday news conference. "It is outrageous and un-American that the federal government that seized our state's National Guard. It's outrageous and un-American that we have U.S. Marines who are trained to kill foreign soldiers overseas, deployed in our American city." The mayor said on X that she visited the park the second she heard about what was happening and ordered the person in charge to leave immediately. Calling the scene "absolutely outrageous," she described what occurred as a "military-style operation designed to strike fear in the heart of our city." "We will not be afraid and we will not be divided. We will stand TOGETHER," she wrote. According to an X post from the Department of Defense, troops were present at the park to "ensure the safety of federal agents." Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district encompasses MacArthur Park, said on X that armed troops were "terrorizing street vendors, elders, and even children at summer camp." USA TODAY has reached out to the National Guard for comment. Pentagon spent $134 million on National Guard deployment Bass has criticized the National Guard presence in LA, arguing that it is abnormal for them to be deployed without a governor's request. Last month, President Donald Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city in response to protests against federal immigration enforcement. The president has defended the decision, writing on Truth Social that "if we didn't send out the National Guard--Los Angeles would be burning right now!" Defense officials said the Pentagon spent $134 million for the 60-day deployment. Bryn MacDonnel, a special assistant to the defense secretary, explained that the costs included travel, housing and food, adding the funds came out of operations and maintenance accounts. Gov. Gavin Newsom attempted to block the federal incursion in California and later filed a lawsuit against Trump and accused the president, as well as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, of trying to use the assets to help ICE conduct raids. Contributing: James Powel and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Los Angeles Dodgers Say They Turned Away ICE Agents, But ICE Disputes It
The Los Angeles Dodgers waded into controversy on June 19, when they wrote on their X page that they had turned away ICE agents at their parking lot, and ICE quickly labeled the Dodgers' statement "false." "This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization," the Dodgers wrote in a statement posted on X. Tonight's game will be played as scheduled." The post quickly reached more than 7 million views on X. The post brought a sharp response from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which responded on X, "This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement." CBP stands for U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency also fired back, writing on X, "False. We were never there." The situation sparked additional conflicting reports. According to ESPN, "Dozens of federal agents with their faces covered arrived in SUVs and cargo vans to a lot near the stadium's Gate E entrance," and protesters with signs criticizing ICE "started amassing shortly after." "This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. [Customs and Border Protection] vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," Tricia McLaughlin, a public affairs professional for Homeland Security, told ESPN. Eunisses Hernandez, a Los Angeles City Council member, told NBC News that she received calls on the morning of June 19 that "federal agents were staging here at the entrance of Dodgers Stadium. We got pictures of dozens of vehicles and dozens of agents."Los Angeles Dodgers Say They Turned Away ICE Agents, But ICE Disputes It first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 19, 2025
