VIDEO: LA Mayor Personally Obstructs Immigration Enforcement Operation, Screeches At Agents

Calls are pouring out for the arrest of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she appeared to protest activities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in her city, with some claiming she intentionally interfered with the operation.

Bass, a Democrat, could be seen talking on the phone as immigration authorities ordered her to hand the device over to them, underscoring the tense scene at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and S. Alvarado Street on Monday. MacArthur Park in Westlake District was the site of a heavy ICE presence, including helicopters flying overhead and agents riding on horseback.

“Mayor Bass, I need to get my phone. We’re departing,” an agent can be heard shouting at Bass, who later confirmed she was speaking with a representative from the U.S. Justice Department.

After handing the agent back his phone, Mayor Bass goes straight to a nearby pool of reporters to rip ICE’s activity in her city.

“They need to leave, and they need to leave right now!” shouted Bass as she crossed her arms. “They need to leave because this is unacceptable!”

“Just wait and see,” she yelled at someone over her shoulder. “They will be leaving soon.”

Video from another angle shows Bass weaving in between members of the crowd as the federal agent follows her, a move that critics decried as obstructive at a time when tensions were running high.

WATCH:

Fox L.A. reported that Bass arrived within minutes of the raid beginning. She walked the area for a short time before hopping into a city-issued vehicle and leaving the scene.

The network’s cameras were rolling as Bass first approached the agent.

“Can I talk to ‘em?” she asked, and he responded by saying, “I’ll get her on the phone.”

She then spoke with the team’s commanding officer.

“They have completed their mission here,” Bass repeated while on the phone, asking, “What’s the timeframe before they leave?”

Ongoing ICE protests have rocked L.A., culminating in last month’s riots that resulted in at least one dead, dozens of looted businesses, and hundreds of arrests. Since then, local community officials have reported immigration activities at graduation ceremonies, court hearings, and places of worship, all of which were traditionally treated as neutral ground before President Donald Trump took office.

Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have emerged as the main antagonists to Trump, with Newsom unsuccessfully suing to regain control of National Guard members called to quell the unrest. A federal court last month sided with Newsom, but that decision was quickly overturned by an appeals court, which found that the president was within his right to deploy additional officers at a time of strife.

The next L.A. mayoral election will take place in June 2026, giving Bass a long runway to repair her progressive image since suffering the brunt of criticism for her handling of the wildfire season. Bass, at the time, was out of the country, a trip she justified despite promising during her initial campaign to refrain from future overseas junkets if elected mayor.