Troops and federal agents briefly descend on LA’s MacArthur Park in largely immigrant neighborhood

LOS ANGELES AP Federal officers and National Guard troops fanned out around a mostly empty Los Angeles park in a largely immigrant neighborhood on foot horseback and military vehicles on Monday for about an hour before abruptly leaving an operation that local representatives disclosed seemed designed to sow fear The Department of Homeland Precaution wouldn t say whether anyone had been arrested during the brief operation at MacArthur Park Federal officers did not respond to requests for comment about why the park was targeted or why the raid ended abruptly About members of the California National Guard were present to protect immigration officers defense functionaries declared What I saw in the park this day looked like a city under siege under armed occupation commented Mayor Karen Bass who indicated up at the park alongside activists She stated there were children attending a day camp in the park who were hurriedly ushered inside to avoid seeing the troops Still Bass declared an -year-old boy narrated her that he was fearful of ICE Federal officers descend on MacArthur Park The operation occurred at a park in a neighborhood with large Mexican Central American and other immigrant populations and is lined by businesses with signs in Spanish and other languages that has been dubbed by local representatives as the Ellis Island of the West Coast Sprawling MacArthur Park has a murky lake ringed by palm trees an amphitheater that hosts summer concerts and sports fields where immigrant families line up to play soccer in the evenings and on weekends A thoroughfare on the east side is often crammed with food stands selling tacos and other delicacies along with vendors speaking multiple languages and hawking T-shirts toys knickknacks and household items Among those who spoke with Bass were fitness care outreach workers who were working with homeless residents Monday when troops pointed guns at them and narrated them to get out of the park Photos show federal officers riding on horseback toward a mostly empty soccer field Other heavily armed officials stood guard around the area alongside armored vehicles The world demands to see the troop formation on horses walking through the park in search of what In search of what They re walking through the area where the children play Bass mentioned Eunisses Hernandez a council member whose district includes MacArthur Park declared it was chosen as this administration s latest target precisely because of who lives there and what it represents Operation escalates Trump s immigration crackdown The operation in the large park about miles km west of downtown LA included Humvees four tactical vehicles two ambulances and the armed soldiers defense bureaucrats disclosed It came after President Donald Trump deployed thousands of Guard members and developing duty Marines to the city last month following protests over previous immigration raids Trump has stepped up efforts to realize his campaign pledge of deporting millions of immigrants in the United States illegally and shown a willingness to use the nation s military might in avenues other U S presidents have typically avoided In response to questions about the operation in MacArthur Park the Department of Homeland Defense stated in an email that the agency would not comment on ongoing enforcement operations More than California National Guard and hundreds of U S Marines have been deployed in Los Angeles since June against the wishes of California Gov Gavin Newsom Last week the military publicized about of those troops would be returned to their units to fight wildfires Newsom called the events at the park a spectacle Two defense representatives stated reporters that what happened at MacArthur Park on Monday was not a military operation but acknowledged that the size and scope of the Guard s participation could make it look like one to the populace That is why the functionaries spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details about the raid that were not stated publicly The primary role of the facility members would be to protect the immigration enforcement officers in affair a hostile crowd gathered one of the agents reported It s just going to be more overt and larger than we usually participate in that official declared Local leaders say feds are sowing fear This morning looked like a staging for a TikTok video commented Marqueece Harris-Dawson president of the Los Angeles City Council adding if Edge 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 economic system every day Chris Newman legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Infrastructure commented he received a credible tip about the operation Monday It was a demonstration of escalation Newman stated This was a reality TV spectacle much more so than an actual enforcement operation Since federal agents have been making arrests at Home Depot parking lots and elsewhere in Los Angeles Newman disclosed fewer people have been going to the park and immigrant neighborhoods near the city s downtown Betsy Bolte who lives nearby came to the park after seeing a military-style helicopter circling overhead She explained it was gut-wrenching to witness what appeared to be a federal show of force on the streets of a U S city It s terror and you know it s ripping the heart and soul out of Los Angeles she reported I am still in shock disbelief and so angry and terrified and heartbroken