On July 7, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection, and National Guard troops descended on MacArthur Park with horses, Humvees, and military gear in a dramatic “show of force.” The raid resulted in little more than an empty park and increased tensions between the federal government and Los Angeles’s mayor.
After the raid, reporters and politicians called MacArthur Park either a sanctuary community symbolizing immigrant resilience or a park filled with gangs, homelessness, drugs, and crime, where many of the characters are in America illegally. Both descriptions are accurate.
Federal agents entered the immigrant community and found few people because the park had emptied due to circulating warnings. No arrests were confirmed. Mayor Karen Bass arrived at the scene, confronted federal agents, made a very public phone call to “higher-ups,” and, in front of television cameras, demanded that ICE leave. She later described the operation as “un-American.”
Mayor Bass, who faces a tough re-election next year, has strengthened her support among LA’s majority immigrant voters by condemning ICE raids in MacArthur Park and earlier in downtown Los Angeles. She called ICE’s actions a “political stunt,” and said that “ICE has no place in our neighborhoods.”
By drawing a clear line in the sand, Mayor Bass appeals to a large portion of the electorate, local advocates, and nonprofit organizations, strengthening her image as a defender of immigrant communities and a progressive champion. That emotional stance energizes her supporters and turns community fears into a sense of political unity.
However, while Mayor Bass may be “winning” locally, the immigration enforcement issue is benefiting President Trump and Republicans nationally.
For Donald Trump and the Republican Party, taking a tough stance on immigration enforcement is effective politics. The visuals of MacArthur Park and earlier downtown Los Angeles protests send a strong message to voters nationwide, many of whom favor stricter immigration policies.
Over the past year, public opinion has shifted sharply in the President’s favor. A January 2025 Axios/Ipsos poll found that 66% of Americans support deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally, with support rising to 93% among Republicans. Another Ipsos poll from December 2024 showed that 69% overall, and 90% of Republicans, favor deporting undocumented immigrants. And a March 2025 Pew survey revealed that 54% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents support deporting all undocumented immigrants, compared to just 10% of Democrats.
The combination of aggressive enforcement, a key part of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, with strong public support, gives the president a powerful political tool and confidence to act more assertively in the future. The MacArthur Park raid offers more footage of federal agents confronting sanctuary leaders (starring liberal foils Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom), which Republicans will use in campaign ads and stump speeches in swing states.
Here’s an example: “This is what happens when Democrats put sanctuary over safety” with images of cars burning, some guy waving a Mexican flag on a burned-out car, and downtown LA in ruins. In this framing, Mayor Bass’s resistance becomes evidence to conservative voters that all Democrats are soft on border security and weak on crime.
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ICEBlock: Criminal evasion tool or constitutionally protected speech? Ron Paul: What Trump should tell Netanyahu Los Angeles has a chance to become better and smarter about disasters and recovery Marcel Rodarte: CEQA reform deserved transparency, not a backroom deal We invested in mass transit. We should let Californians live near it Immigration has always been a powerful issue in American politics. Today, it serves as a divisive catalyst. There is no middle ground and no room for compromise.Mayor Bass is viewed as a hero in immigrant-dense Los Angeles and other major cities. However, her stance won’t help middle-America Democrats because a majority of Americans oppose unchecked illegal immigration and want stricter enforcement. Meanwhile, President Trump relies on Big Beautiful Bill funding and increased public support for mass deportations—including non-felon undocumented immigrants—to boost his Party’s chances in the 2026 midterm elections.
It’s too soon to declare winners and losers. For now, both Mayor Bass and Donald Trump are gaining politically from early clashes on this potent issue, which means that Angelenos shouldn’t be surprised to see more immigration-related confrontations here in the future.
Matthew Klink is a Los Angeles-based political consultant and owner of Klink Campaigns, Inc.
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