Border Patrol officers on horseback target LA neighborhood as protesters reportedly slash tires on federal vehicles
Federal agents, accompanied by members of the National Guard, conducted an immigration raid in Los Angeles on Monday, prompting Mayor Karen Bass to heavily criticize the move, calling it “outrageous” and “un-American.”
The operation targeted an area near MacArthur Park, an area with a large immigrant population, in the city’s Westlake neighborhood, which is heavily Hispanic and has a heavy MS-13 influence.
U.S. Border Patrol agents were seen on horseback in the park and law enforcement and military-lloking vehicles were stationed in the area. Fox Los Angeles reported that no arrests were made.
Federal agents ride on horseback at MacArthur Park, on Monday in Los Angeles. Their uniforms read “Police U.S. Border Patrol,” and “HSI,” which stands for Homeland Security Investigations.
Bass, who has been a vocal opponent of immigration raids in the city, appeared at the scene and demanded to speak with ICE leadership.
“They need to leave, and they need to leave right now. They need to leave because this is unacceptable!” Bass said at the scene.
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News that he was the official on the phone with Bass, who demanded the raid be stopped.
“I don’t work for Karen Bass,” Bovino said. “Better get used to us now, because this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.”
Bass later vented on X, saying more than 20 kids were playing in the park before authorities showed up.
“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.”
“There is no plan other than fear, chaos, and politics,” she added. “Home Depot one day, a car wash the next, armed vehicles and what looked like mounted military units in a park the next day.”
“What happened to the criminals, the drug dealers, the violent individuals?” she asked. “Who were in the park today were children. It was their summer day camp. Those kids now have no activities. They were ushered inside so that they didn’t get exposed to the troops that were walking in formation across their playground area.”
Bass said she later met some of the children who were at the park at the time of the raid.
Protesters began showing up in the area, with reports of a tire on a federal vehicle being slashed and objects thrown at vehicles.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stands in front of a U.S. Border Patrol federal agent at MacArthur Park on Monday in Los Angeles.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Monday’s events at MacArthur Park a “message from the polluted heart” of President Donald Trump.
“I want folks to know that we have your back,” Newsom said at a press conference where he joined local and federal leaders to recognize six-month anniversary of Los Angeles wildfires. “We’ll continue to come back and do what we can to protect our diverse communities, to protect the spirit that defines the best of this city and out state and to push back against this cruelty that is being perpetuated by the president of the United States.”
Bass has called for the Trump administration to end immigration enforcement in her city, calling the operations “inhumane.”
“What is happening in Los Angeles is not normal. It is not normal to send in the National Guard without a request from the governor,” she wrote Sunday on X. “It is not normal to conduct indiscriminate raids on our immigrant population. Let LA return to normal. Get the National Guard out.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass’ office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A senior DHS official told Fox News Digital: “We don’t comment on ongoing enforcement operations.”
Opponents of the raids have accused federal agents of using heavy tactics to take illegal immigrants into custody.
Community leaders reported incidents of ICE appearing at elementary school graduations, disrupting the legitimate immigration processes at various courthouses, and aggressively raiding workplaces and locations like Home Depot, Fox Los Angeles reported.
The operations, perceived as arbitrary and invasive, sparked outrage among opponents, resulting in various large-scale demonstrations across Los Angeles County.
A person holds a sign in front of federal agents at MacArthur Park on Monday in Los Angeles
In June, protesters rioted and clashed with authorities for several days amid outrage over immigration raids in the region. President Donald Trump federalized the National Guard and ordered the deployment of Marines to the city, leading to heavy criticism from local and state officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom.