Instead of helping Los Angeles’ fire victims rebuild, Mayor Karen Bass continues flout federal law by assisting illegal immigrants at the California taxpayers’ expense.
Bass appeared on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show last week to offer tips on how to impede the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
The online and in-person feuding continued to escalate on Thursday after federal agents showed up in Little Tokyo just outside Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press conference on congressional redistricting.
In the Maddow clip circulating on social media, Maddow asked what people and local officials can do to “establish any limiting factor” against U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and “what do you think is the most valuable pushback for things like this for people who object to it?”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass brags about impeding federal law enforcement by promoting a "rapid response network" that alerts illegals of ICE. pic.twitter.com/X8wGjEDcYC
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 12, 2025
Bass bragged about Los Angeles’ “rapid response network,” whose sole mission is to sabotage immigration enforcement by alerting illegals of potential ICE raids and sending government officials to the scene.
“When they were doing the random snatching and kidnappings of people off of our streets, when people gathered, they backed away on many occasions,” Bass told Maddow. “And so, in Los Angeles we have a rapid response network where everybody is alerted. If you see masked men getting out of unmarked cars, let everybody in the area know.”
Bill Melugin, LA-based FOX News correspondent, posted on X the response from Greg Bovino, chief patrol agent at U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Centro Sector and Operation at Large, who is in charge of the Home Depot and car wash immigration raids in the LA area.
Bovino appeared on FOX News and had this to say in response to Bass boasting about the local rapid response network and calling ICE and Border Patrol arrests “kidnappings.”
“If she wants to continue that rhetoric…we’re gonna go even harder here in Los Angeles. It makes me want to go harder,” Bovino told Brian Kilmeade in a live interview on FOX News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
Bass and council members showed up in Little Tokyo Thursday and railed against the Trump administration and ICE raid, calling it “disrespectful” and saying, “there is no way this was a coincidence.”
FOX 11 Los Angeles and other news outlets caught her rant on camera, where council members brought up the “rapid response” network that alerted them of the raid.
“This is just completely unacceptable,” Bass said. “This is an administration, this is a Customs and Border Patrol that has gone amuck. This absolutely has to stop. There was no danger here. There was no need to detain anyone here and there was certainly no need to have a provocative act right here where the governor is having a press conference.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli responded with his own post on X: “The Mayor and other California officials are under the false impression that they are an actual sanctuary from federal law. No person or state is above the law. Federal agents will operate anywhere and anytime within the United States.”
The Mayor and other California officials are under the false impression that they are an actual sanctuary from federal law. No person or state is above the law. Federal agents will operate anywhere and anytime within the United States. https://t.co/H2MNli2OFI
— Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) August 14, 2025
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, also chimed in on X: “Mayor Bass must be misinformed. Our law enforcement operations are about enforcing the law—not about Gavin Newsom. @CBP patrols all areas of Los Angeles every day with over 40 teams on the ground to make LA safe.”
Mayor Bass must be misinformed. Our law enforcement operations are about enforcing the law—not about Gavin Newsom. @CBP patrols all areas of Los Angeles every day with over 40 teams on the ground to make LA safe. https://t.co/ySyDGMbuDG
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) August 14, 2025
On Friday, Bovino offered an update on the raid, posting: “While CA’s royalty railed against law enforcement, we arrested a suspected Tren de Aragua member just 2 blocks from the Governor’s meet & greet. This ‘California man’ had 2 felony drug arrests & was ordered deported by a judge in 2024.”
Thursday’s showdown was the latest drama between LA officials and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement efforts.
On June 30, the Department of Justice sued the city over its sanctuary policies, arguing that it discriminates against organizations like ICE.
Around the same time, civil and immigration rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit “Perdomo v. Noem” on behalf of people who have been unlawfully stopped or detained by federal agents in the city.
The City of Los Angeles and other municipalities joined the lawsuit and sought two temporary restraining orders against the Trump administration and ICE to stop “indiscriminate” and “roving” immigration patrols in southern California.
On July 11, California’s U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong — a Joe Biden appointee — issued a 52-page order granting two temporary restraining orders to halt the indiscriminate arrests and ensure those detained receive due process and access to legal counsel. The Trump administration immediately filed an appeal.
In early August, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Frimpong’s ruling that keeps the restraining orders in place, covering seven Southern California counties, including L.A.
In mid-July, Bass also signed an executive order directing all city departments to develop “preparedness plans” and refrain from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
During the same press conference, Bass announced a direct cash assistance program to provide financial support to immigrant families who have lost income or are unable to work due to fear of arrest and deportation.
