Another week in California, another day of ICE terrorizing innocent people and breaking up families under the guise of protecting Americans. The ICE raids have even led to an uneventful 4th of July, as many events were canceled due to people’s fear of being targeted.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in light of ongoing events across L.A. County, we have made the difficult decision to postpone Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Summer Block Party,” an update on the event’s Instagram page stated. “We know this is disappointing news. We were so looking forward to celebrating with all of you at #TheParkforEveryone. This was one of many community events that shared this news.
Between October 2024 and June 2025, ICE detained 204,297 individuals, according to the Cato Institute. Out of those detained, 65 percent had no criminal convictions, over 93 percent had no violent offenses, and 53 percent of convictions involved immigration, traffic, or nonviolent vice crimes.
“In 60 years, the last time the National Guard was federalized, they were federalized to protect people’s civil rights, not infringe on those rights,” said Antonio Villaraigosa, former LA mayor and California gubernatorial hopeful, at a Friday, June 27, American Community Media briefing.
“I’ve never in my lifetime seen people in military fatigues or civilian wear covered from head to shoulder with assault weapons and flash-bang grenades going after nannies and gardeners at schools and graduations.” He continued, “This is a move on the part of the federal government to go after not just criminals.”
Southern California has been at the center of ICE raids and strategic legal attacks from the president, including forcing some cities to denounce being sanctuary cities for migrants. One of the latest attacks recently occurred in MacArthur Park as military personnel showed up in waves, surrounding the area as an intimidation tactic.
“Frankly, it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in our parks,” said Mayor Karen Bass at a Monday news conference. “It is outrageous and un-American that the federal government has seized our state’s National Guard. It’s outrageous and un-American that we have U.S. Marines who are trained to kill foreign soldiers overseas deployed in our American city.”
Eunisses Hernandez, a council member whose district includes MacArthur Park, said the park “was chosen as this administration’s latest target precisely because of who lives there and what it represents: resilience, diversity, and the American dream. It is no coincidence that the president would target a place that so clearly embodies the values he has spent his time in office trying to destroy.”
To stop illegal raids and infringement of civil rights, lawmakers have presented two bills to Congress. SB 627, the No Secret Police Act, prohibits all law enforcement—local, state, and federal, including ICE—from covering their faces during non-emergency operations. SB 805, also known as the No Vigilantes Act, requires law enforcement to display their name and badge number. It also prohibits bounty hunters from performing immigration enforcement and lets officers verify the identification of anyone claiming to be law enforcement under reasonable suspicion.
