Overview
- The July 7 show of force involved about 90 California National Guard soldiers alongside Border Patrol agents using 17 Humvees, four tactical vehicles, horseback units and a DHS helicopter in the Westlake District
- Mayor Karen Bass personally confronted officers on site, used a Border Patrol phone to demand their departure and saw the contingent clear the park within an hour with no confirmed arrests
- Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino declared that similar large‐scale raids will become routine in Los Angeles and warned residents to “get used to us now”
- The foray followed President Trump’s newly signed budget that injected massive funding into the Department of Homeland Security to expand interior deportation operations
- Immigrant rights advocates and state officials have filed federal suits accusing DHS and Border Patrol of unconstitutional practices and quota‐driven arrests in sanctuary jurisdictions