Federal authorities descended on a park where children were playing in California on Monday to conduct enforcement operations.
Dozens of federal agents in tactical gear, heavily armed and dressed in military-style uniforms, staged what seemed to be an immigration enforcement action, drawing swift condemnation from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who rushed to the scene in response.
“What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege, under armed occupation,” said Mayor Bass, who told reporters there were children in the park attending a day camp.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment.
Federal agents are seen at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on July 7, 2025. Federal agents are seen at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on July 7, 2025. Damian Dovarganes/AP
Why It Matters
Roughly 100 federal immigration enforcement agents, including Border Patrol and other law enforcement officers in armored vehicles, gathered along the perimeter of MacArthur Park in Los Angeles’ Westlake area in a show of force as the region marks six months since the Eaton and Palisades fires began. The area is often called the “Ellis Island of the West Coast” for its role as a community hub in a largely immigrant neighborhood of Los Angeles.
What To Know
The park was left nearly deserted after word of a possible raid spread through the community.
Bass said she stopped her car on the way to City Hall to watch as officers on horseback and soldiers in tactical gear passed by a playground, while children at a summer day camp were hurried indoors.
According to Fox 11, officials said the show of force shuttered children’s programming and caused widespread confusion.
In response, protesters rallied at the park, with activists using megaphones to alert bystanders about the operation.
Bass said that when she arrived, she demanded to speak with the official in charge of the operation. She was given a phone and was told by Border Patrol El Centro sector chief Gregory Bovino that he intended to remove the federal agents from the area.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass walks with a federal agent at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on July 7, 2025. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass walks with a federal agent at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on July 7, 2025. Damian Dovarganes/AP
However, Bovino told Fox News: “I don’t work for Karen Bass. 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.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Bass, and Senator Alex Padilla all condemned the move, saying that it prioritized intimidation over emergency aid Los Angeles needs.
At a press conference after the incident, Bass said she spoke with children who had been guided indoors when federal personnel arrived. One 8-year-old boy, she said, spontaneously shared that he was scared of ICE agents.
President Donald Trump‘s administration is pushing forward with plans to carry out what they described as the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and has conducted numerous ICE raids. Although these are being conducted under federal legal authority, protests have erupted amid reports of mistreatment of migrants and aggressive tactics deployed by federal immigration agents.
Trump deployed National Guard troops on June 7 to suppress protests at federal buildings and during immigration raids, mobilizing approximately 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines in total. The troops remain in California even though it has now been more than three weeks since the last major demonstration took place in downtown Los Angeles.
What People Are Saying
Bovino wrote on X: “We may well go back to MacArthur Park or other places in and around Los Angeles. Illegal aliens had the opportunity to self deport, now we’ll help things along a bit.
Governor Newsom wrote in a post on X: “On the 6 month anniversary of the LA wildfires Donald Trump decided to send troops on horseback to round people up on soccer fields instead of delivering what LA actually needs — the emergency aid that he continues to play games with. What a disgrace.”
Mayor Bass said in a post on X: “Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through. 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.”
Senator Padilla wrote on X: “Armored vehicles. Tactical gear. Military-grade weapons. All for the show. This isn’t security—it’s intimidation. And it has no place in our communities.”
