Immigration agents swarm MacArthur Park in Los Angeles in show of force drawing ire of Mayor Karen Bass
'Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through,' she wrote on X, sharing a video of about 20 officers, including some on horseback, marching through the park. '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.'
Border Patrol agents were photographed at the park and local media reported the presence of military vehicles and a Department of Homeland Security helicopter.
The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol, and the military task force overseeing the deployment of Marines and California National Guard members in Los Angeles for comment.
The operation reportedly started around 10:30 a.m. and lasted about an hour. It's unclear who it was targeting or if anyone was arrested.
Activists with megaphones alerted bystanders in the park about the operation, and people were reportedly seen running down the street yelling, 'la migra,' a Spanish term for immigration officials.
Protesters reportedly gathered in the park and screamed for the officials to 'get the f*** out,' and Bass was seen amid the scrum using a Border Patrol agent's phone to speak with a senior official, urging officers to leave.
'I don't work for Karen Bass,' Border Patrol El Centro sector chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News after the operation. 'Better get used to us now, cause this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.'
Local activists condemned the operation, which comes after the deployment of federal troops in Los Angeles amid fiery anti-immigration raid protests.
'This was just one big, perverse publicity stunt,' Ron Gochez of the group Unión del Barrio told The Los Angeles Times. 'It was just to show force, it was just to take pictures.'
The Trump administration's spending package gives immigration and border officials an infusion of about $170 billion, an unprecedented increase in funding, expected to increase the size and pace of immigration raids across the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Reality TV spectacle': outrage as federal agents raid LA neighborhood with horses and armored cars
Dozens of federal officers in tactical gear and about 90 California national guard troops descended on a historic immigrant neighborhood in Los Angeles on Monday – mounting a sweeping show that local leaders denounced as a 'reality TV spectacle' and intimidation tactic. The troops were deployed to a mostly empty MacArthur Park in the neighborhood of the same name for about an hour, some on horseback and others in armored military vehicles. Agents were also operating an armored vehicle with a mounted rifle. It wasn't immediately clear that any arrests were made. But the operation on Monday morning has drawn widespread criticism from city leaders, who have characterized the militarized immigration raid as an intimidation tactic. 'What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege, under armed occupation,' said Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, who called it a 'political stunt'. This is footage from today in MacArthur Park. Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes 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. Bass said that children who were attending a nearby daycare center had to be quickly ushered inside as agents swept through the neighborhood, including through its namesake park. The agents arrived at about 10.30am, and left the neighborhood after Bass spoke to a Department of Homeland Security representative, according to reporters at the scene. LA city council member Eunisses Hernandez's office also sent constituents a warning on Monday morning that federal forces had been deployed in the neighborhood, urging: 'Please be careful and let your neighbors know.' Activists and locals – who have for weeks been documenting the ramped-up immigration raids in LA and across southern California – had also come out to witness the scene, and were prepared to call in legal support if needed. 'I definitely think it's a source of intimidation,' Jeannette Zanipatin, a lawyer with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (Chirla), told the Associated Press. 'We know that the Trump administration is trying to make an example of Los Angeles.' Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said he received a credible tip about the operation on Monday. 'It was a demonstration of escalation,' he told the Associated Press. 'This was a reality TV spectacle much more so than an actual enforcement operation.' MacArthur Park has long been an immigrant neighborhood, with a history of political activism. In 2007, it was the center of the May Day rallies demanding amnesty for undocumented people, which were met with exceptional brutality by the Los Angeles police department. The neighborhood was also where the Trump administration kicked off its ramped-up raids in LA, sending agents to arrest undocumented day laborers at the local Home Depot store and street vendors along bustling commercial corridors. Since the raids kicked off, the normally bustling neighborhood had emptied out – fewer street vendors had been selling food and wares along the sidewalk. Many undocumented workers were avoiding reporting to their jobs at restaurants and shops, and parks and public spaces were eerily empty. A defense official told reporters that the action on Monday was not a military operation, but said that the size and scope of the guard's participation could make it appear as one to the public, according to the Associated Press. 'It's just going to be more overt and larger than we usually participate in,' one of the officials said before the raid ended abruptly with no explanation. The primary role of the military service members would be to protect the immigration enforcement officers in case a hostile crowd gathered, that official said. They are not participating in any law enforcement activities such as arrests, but service members can temporarily detain citizens if necessary before handing them over to law enforcement, the official said. 'This morning looked like a staging for a TikTok video,' said Marqueece Harris-Dawson, president of the Los Angeles city council, adding if the border patrol wants to film in LA, 'you should apply for a film permit like everybody else. And stop trying to scare the bejesus out of everybody who lives in this great city and disrupt our economy every day.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Detained as an illegal immigrant – Maga mom still has faith in Trump's mass deportation plan
Arthur Sahakyan If Arpineh Masihi could vote, she would have cast her ballot for Donald Trump. She's a devout supporter of the US president – even now that she's locked up as an illegal immigrant. "He's doing the right thing because lots of these people don't deserve to be here," Arpineh told the BBC over the phone from the Adelanto immigrant detention centre in California's Mojave Desert. "I will support him until the day I die. He's making America great again." Sixty miles (96 km) away in her home in Diamond Bar, a wealthy suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, a Trump flag flies over the family's front yard. Maga hats adorn a shelf next to a family photo album, while the family's pet birds chirp in a cage. It's a lively home, with three dogs and four young children, and Arpineh's husband and mother are bleary eyed and exhausted with worry, trying to put on brave faces. "Our home is broken," says Arthur Sahakyan, Arpineh's husband. 'We all make mistakes' In many ways, Arpineh, 39, is an American success story - a prime example of how the country gives people second, even third chances. Arpineh's mother wells up with tears as she talks about her daughter, who has lived in the US since she was three. She had a rough patch many years ago, in 2008, when she was convicted of burglary and grand theft and was sentenced to two years in prison. An immigration judge revoked her Green Card, which is a common practice. But because she is a Christian Armenian Iranian, the judge allowed her to remain in the country instead of being deported. "We are Christians. She can't go back, there's no way," Arthur says as their 4-year-old daughter runs in and out of the room. He fears her life would be at risk if she is sent back. But since her release from prison, Arpineh has rebuilt her life, starting a successful business and a family among hundreds of thousands of Iranian immigrants who call Southern California home. West Los Angeles - often called Tehrangeles - has the largest population of Iranians outside of Iran. Some, like Arpineh, have been detained in recent weeks, swept up in immigration raids that have put the city on edge. While the majority of those detained in LA come from Mexico, daily updates from the Department of Homeland Security show immigrants from seemingly every corner of the globe have been arrested. Trump was elected in part because of his promise to "launch the largest deportation programme of criminals in the history" - a promise Arpineh, her husband and mother say they all still believe in. Yet her family says they have faith that Arpineh will be released, and believe that only hardened, dangerous criminals will actually be deported. "I don't blame Trump, I blame Biden," Arthur says. "It's his doing for open borders, but I believe in the system and all the good people will be released and the ones that are bad will be sent back." While many of those detained do not have criminal records, Aprineh is a convicted felon, which makes her a prime target for removal. ICE did not respond to a request for comment about Arpineh's case. Arthur says he doesn't know details of the burglary. They spoke briefly about it before they were married and then he forgot about what he considered a youthful indiscretion by his wife. Instead, he focuses on his wife's good deeds over the last 17 years, volunteering with the local school district and bringing food to firefighters and police. "We all make mistakes," he says. 'No matter what, we're going to catch you' So, when ICE phoned Arpineh on 30 June as the family was having breakfast, the couple thought it must be a joke. But immigration enforcement pulled up to their home 30 minutes later. Despite signs all over Los Angeles County urging immigrants to "Know Your Rights" and not to open the door to immigration enforcement agents, the couple came outside to speak with the officers. Arpineh explained how a judge had allowed her to stay in the US because of the situation in Iran, as long as she didn't commit any other crimes, and as long as she frequently checked in immigration officials. Her last check-in was in April, she showed them, presenting her paperwork. Arthur even invited them into the house, which they declined, he says. The immigration enforcement agents told her circumstances had changed and they had a warrant for her arrest. They allowed her to go back inside and say goodbye to her children – aged 14, 11, 10 and 4. The officers told her that if she didn't come back outside, they would get her eventually. "They told us no matter what we're going to catch you – maybe if you're driving on the street with your kids - so we thought, what we'd been seeing on the news: flash bombs, cornering cars," Arthur says. They didn't want to risk her being violently detained, possibly with their children watching. "She came and kissed the kids goodbye," he recalls. "She came outside like a champion and said, 'Here I am'." Arthur asked the immigration officers not to handcuff his wife. They said that wasn't possible, though they agreed to do it on the far side of the vehicle so the couple's children wouldn't see. "I knew my kids were watching from upstairs," he says. "I didn't want them to see their mom handcuffed." Arpineh was then taken to a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, a centre used by ICE to process those arrested in the ongoing raids across the region. The building became the centre of sometimes violent anti-ICE protests that riled Los Angeles for weeks. She says those being held at the building "were treated like animals". Arpineh told the BBC she was held in a freezing, brightly lit room with 28 other women for three days. They survived on snacks and one bottle of water a day, she says, the women huddling together for warmth, and sleeping on the floor. Waiting for reprieve Because Arpineh speaks three languages – Armenian, Spanish and English – she was able to communicate with many of the other women and says they helped each other. Three days later, she was moved to Adelanto, the privately-run ICE detention centre in the desert northeast of Los Angeles, which has a reputation for harsh, prison-like conditions. But Arpineh says it's much better than what they faced in downtown LA, now having three meals a day, access to showers and a bed. Though she's heard it's difficult to get medical treatment if you need it, Arpineh is young and healthy. "But it's still very challenging," she says. She and her husband say they still have faith in the Trump administration and believe that she will be released. "I'm not deportable to any country," Arpineh told the BBC from the detention facility. But that hasn't stopped immigration officials in the past. In February, a group of Iranian Christians who had just crossed the border from Mexico were deported - but to Panama, not Iran. Arpineh remains hopeful for a reprieve, but she notes that she's felt discouraged, too. She says she loves America and that she feels American, even if she lacks the paperwork. She calls her husband collect once an hour so they can share updates on her legal case, though so far there isn't much to share. The older children understand what's happening, but their 4-year-old daughter keeps asking when mommy is coming home, he says. All four children are US citizens, born and raised in California. The couple believes officials will take that into consideration when deciding Arpineh's fate. "I have four citizen children. I own a business. I own a property. I own cars," Arpineh says. "I haven't done anything wrong in so many years."
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trump administration reportedly planning to fire 2,145 Nasa employees
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 high-ranking Nasa employees with specialized skills or management responsibilities. According to documents obtained by Politico, most employees leaving are in senior-level government ranks, depriving the agency of decades of experience as part of a push to slash the size of the federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations. The documents indicate that 1,818 of the staff currently serve in core mission areas, like science or human space flight, while the others work in mission support roles including information technology, or IT. Asked about the proposed cuts, agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens told Reuters: 'NASA remains committed to our mission as we work within a more prioritized budget.' Since Trump returned to office in January, planning in the US space industry and among Nasa's workforce of 18,000 people has been thrown into chaos by the layoffs and proposed budget cuts for fiscal year 2026 that would cancel dozens of science programs. Last week, seven former heads of Nasa's Science Mission Directorate signed a joint letter to Congress condemning the White House's proposed 47% cuts to Nasa science activities in its 2026 budget proposal. In the letter, the former officials urged the House appropriations committee 'to preserve US leadership in space exploration and reject the unprecedented cuts to space science concocted by the White House's Budget Director, Russ Vought'. 'The economics of these proposed cuts ignore a fundamental truth: investments in NASA science have been and are a powerful driver of the U.S. economy and technological leadership,' the letter read. 'In our former roles leading NASA's space science enterprise, we consistently saw skilled teams innovate in the face of seemingly impossible goals, including landing a car-sized rover on Mars with pinpoint precision, build a massive telescope that can unfold in the vacuum of space to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos, design and operate a spacecraft hardy enough to survive temperatures of many thousands of degrees at the Sun, inspiring young and old alike worldwide by the stunning images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and pioneering the use of small satellites for science.' Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion They also warned that the cuts threatened to cede US leadership to China: 'Global space competition extends far past Moon and Mars exploration. The Chinese space science program is aggressive, ambitious, and well-funded. It is proposing missions to return samples from Mars, explore Neptune, monitor climate change for the benefit of the Chinese industry and population, and peer into the universe – all activities that the FY 2026 NASA budget proposal indicates the US will abandon.' Nasa also remains without a confirmed administrator, since the Trump administration abruptly withdrew its nominee, the billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, in an apparent act of retaliation against Elon Musk, who had proposed his nomination. In a social media post attacking Musk on Sunday, Trump wrote that he thought it would have been thought 'inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life'.
