LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass today joined Congressman Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, members of the L.A. City Council, and immigrant rights leaders to call for a Congressional investigation into the unlawful and unconstitutional abduction, detainment, and alleged abuse of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal agents without a judicial warrant or probable cause.
“I will always stand up to protect Los Angeles. Reports of Angelenos – U.S. citizens – being tased, dragged, and unlawfully detained should make us all concerned,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “I’m calling for an immediate Congressional investigation into these egregious injustices, and I thank Congressman Garcia for his support. This is not just an assault on the people of Los Angeles – this is an assault on every person, in every city in this country.”
“American citizens are being dragged off the streets by masked men and thrown into detention cells without access to a lawyer or even a phone call,” said Congressman Robert Garcia. “No one, regardless of their background or appearance, should be living in fear of being thrown behind bars by their own government because of their race or what they look like. This is not the America we know and love. Every person in this country has rights, and DHS must stop trampling on our civil liberties. Their actions are unconstitutional, unacceptable, and completely un-American, and we will not stop fighting until this Administration is held accountable.”
“We swore an oath to defend the Constitution — not to protect power. Angelenos are being beaten, terrorized and detained without due process,” said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “We must fight to keep democracy alive and hold federal immigration enforcement accountable for every abuse.”
Mayor Bass has been fighting to defend L.A. families since the Trump administration first began its reckless immigration raids and federalized the National Guard in Los Angeles this summer. The White House continued carrying out raids even while a federal court’s issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order was in place, and the City of Los Angeles has not stopped taking action to protect immigrant communities. Mayor Bass signed an executive directive to support Los Angeles’ immigrant communities, including:
- Requiring all departments to bolster protocols and training in compliance with the City’s law prohibiting use of City resources in immigration enforcement and deliver preparedness plans.
- Establishing a working group with LAPD, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, immigrant rights organizations and community leaders to gather feedback in order to inform additional guidance for police officers when responding to immigration enforcement activities.
- Seeking records from the federal government relating to the indiscriminate raids.
- Expanding access to resources from City Departments to immigrant families by leveraging each department’s designated Immigrant Affairs Liaison.
Additional actions taken:
- Met with children who had to leave MacArthur Park because of a military-style operation designed to strike fear.
- Visited businesses in Boyle Heights, Westlake, Pico-Union and Little Tokyo that have been economically impacted by this assault on Los Angeles.
- Organized Angelenos, community leaders and elected officials for Shine LA to revitalize areas vandalized by the individuals that took advantage of the chaos created by the federal government.
- Led more than one hundred labor, business and community leaders and immigrant rights groups calling for an end to immigration raids.
