A dramatic immigration enforcement operation unfolded at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles’ Westlake District, a vibrant immigrant community. Federal agents in military-style gear, backed by a convoy of armored vehicles and horses, descended on the park, sparking outrage and protests.
The operation, perceived as a show of force, yielded no confirmed arrests and heightened tensions in a city already on edge over immigration policies.
Immigration agents in military green surrounded MacArthur Park as the convoy readied for a show of force akin to a Hollywood movie.They came with horses and armored vehicles, carrying rifles and in tactical gear in the middle of what is the heart of immigrant Los Angeles. But there were few of their supposed targets to be found Monday — immigrants without documentation.Since at least Sunday, rumors had spread about an operation at the park. Fliers were plastered around the area, warning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or la migra as they’re also known, were coming.It’s unclear if anyone was arrested during the sweep. “We don’t comment on ongoing enforcement operations,” said a senior Department of Homeland Security official when asked for comment on whether any arrests had been made.Read also:Video: USA vs Mexico.. Mexico wins the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2-1“It is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our park,” Mayor Karen Bass said at an impromptu press conference at City Hall after federal authorities cleared out. “What happened to the criminals, the drug dealers, the violent individuals? Who were in the park today were children. It was their summer camp, their summer day camp.”
“There’s no plan other than fear, chaos and politics. Home Depot one day, a car wash the next, armed vehicles and what looked like mounted military units in a park the next day,” Bass said.
While at the park Monday, Assistant Chief Border Patrol Agent David Kim handed his cellphone to Bass to speak with U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino, who has been leading enforcement efforts on the ground in Los Angeles. Bass could be heard saying on a live news feed, “You’re getting ready to leave? Can you leave ASAP?”Demonstrators began to chant, drowning out her conversation. Bass handed the phone back to Kim.When asked to comment at the park, Bass said the federal immigration agents needed “to leave and they need to leave right now, they need to leave because this is unacceptable.” When asked who she was talking to on the other end of the line she said it was “the head of customs.”She left the area shortly afterward in a black SUV.Activists, who have been on high alert for weeks, appeared to be prepared to deploy lawyers to the scene. Fliers in English and Spanish were posted around the park warning that ICE would be raiding the park July 7.Ron Gochez, a member of Unión del Barrio, an independent political organization advocating for immigrant rights and social justice, said there were people at the Home Depot in Westlake who spotted the agents heading toward MacArthur Park.Soon afterward, they posted about the deployment on social media to alert community members. Gochez said word had started to spread about the operation Sunday.“This was just one big, perverse publicity stunt,” said Gochez, in a call from the park Monday morning. “It was just to show force, it was just to take pictures.”The chaos on Wilshire Boulevard around MacArthur Park had mostly calmed by 11:30 a.m., though a few protesters and members of the news media lingered afterward.Mikema Nahmir, 28, said he was out for his morning walk at 11 a.m. when he saw two women running down the street yelling that “la migra” was at MacArthur Park.Read also:Information about seattle sounders vs columbusNahmir joined the group of protesters who chased and yelled after the military-style trucks. At one point, he said, someone from the truck shot out an irritant toward him and another protester.“L.A. is ours, this is our city,” Nahmir said. “This is what my morning walk turned into. They’re terrorizing our neighborhood.”About an hour after the raid, some people returned to the park to play, but the street vendors were mostly absent.Dozens of protesters stuck around, some carrying Mexican or Salvadoran flags.“Whose streets? Our streets!” they chanted. An organizer said they planned to march from the park to Koreatown.Fernando Rodriguez runs a small shop selling everyday household goods and snacks across the street from MacArthur Park said he quickly dragged in his cooler full of drinks and ice and shut the metal gate of his store when agents showed up.
The operation, perceived as a show of force, yielded no confirmed arrests and heightened tensions in a city already on edge over immigration policies.
MacArthur Park Operation Details
Time and Place: At approximately 10:30 a.m., over 100 federal agents from U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations, joined by 90 California National Guard members, entered MacArthur Park. The deployment included 17 Humvees, four tactical vehicles, two ambulances, and agents on horseback, some carrying rifles.Community Alert: Rumors of the raid circulated since Sunday, with fliers in English and Spanish warning of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. Activists and residents were prepared, with some spotting agents gathering nearby at a Westlake Home Depot.Outcome: No arrests were confirmed. A senior Department of Homeland Security official declined to comment, citing “ongoing enforcement operations.”Local Reaction.. MacArthur Park
Mayor Karen Bass: Alerted to the operation, Bass arrived at the park around 11:00 a.m., confronting agents and demanding their immediate departure. She called the raid “outrageous and un-American,” noting it disrupted a children’s summer camp. Bass spoke with Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino via an agent’s phone, urging agents to leave “ASAP.” Bovino reportedly responded defiantly, saying, “I don’t work for Karen Bass. Better get used to us now.”Read also:Report on Recent Jeffrey Epstein DevelopmentsProtesters: Crowds chanted “Get out!” and “La migra!” as they confronted the convoy. Some protesters, including 28-year-old Mikema Nahmir, reported agents firing an irritant at them. Nahmir, on his morning walk, joined the resistance, declaring, “L.A. is ours. They’re terrorizing our neighborhood.”Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez: Representing the district, Hernandez condemned the operation as an attack on MacArthur Park’s symbolic role as the “Ellis Island of the West Coast,” chosen for its immigrant community’s resilience and diversity. She warned, “What’s happening here is coming to you.”Activists: Ron Gochez of Unión del Barrio called the raid a “perverse publicity stunt” meant to intimidate rather than enforce, noting social media alerts spread quickly to warn residents.Context and SignificanceMacArthur Park: Located in a dense, low-income immigrant neighborhood, the park is a cultural hub with playgrounds, fields, and palm trees, where families find refuge. Despite city efforts to curb issues, it faces challenges with drug use and homelessness, as noted in some X posts (though unverified).Political Climate:
The raid follows President Trump’s recent budget bill, signed days earlier, which boosts funding for immigration enforcement. Los Angeles, a sanctuary city, has been a focal point of Trump’s deportation plan, with over 1,600 arrests reported from June 6–22, 2025.Read also:McDonald's Big Announcement.. New Items and OffersLegal Challenges: Immigrant rights groups sued Border Patrol Chief Bovino and others last week, alleging unconstitutional raids, racial targeting, and inhumane detention conditions. A coalition of 18 states, including California, supported the lawsuit, claiming such operations have turned neighborhoods into “ghost towns.” A federal court hearing is scheduled this week.Aftermath
By 11:30 a.m., the operation ended, and agents left. Protesters lingered, some waving Mexican and Salvadoran flags and chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” Plans were made to march to Koreatown.Street vendors, a staple of the park’s culture, vanished during the raid. Local shop owner Fernando Rodriguez, who shuttered his store, lamented, “The nightmare is just beginning. People don’t walk around like they used to.”Bovino warned on X that agents may return to MacArthur Park and other Los Angeles areas, stating, “Illegal aliens had the opportunity to self-deport, now we’ll help things along.”Critical AnalysisIntent and Impact: The operation’s heavy military presence, with no arrests, suggests a symbolic display of federal power rather than a substantive enforcement effort. Its timing during a children’s camp and in a culturally significant park amplified community fear.Federal-Local Tensions: Bovino’s dismissive response to Bass and the lack of transparency from federal agencies highlight a growing rift with Los Angeles’ sanctuary policies.Community Resilience: The rapid response by activists, who used fliers and social media to warn residents, underscores the community’s preparedness but also the pervasive fear of further raids.The July 7, 2025, operation at MacArthur Park was a brief but provocative federal action that disrupted a key immigrant community without clear results. Mayor Bass, local leaders, and residents condemned it as a fear-driven stunt, while federal officials signaled more actions to come. As legal challenges mount and community resistance grows, the raid underscores the deepening divide over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, with MacArthur Park as a flashpoint.Contributors: Based on reporting by Richard Winton, Ruben Vives, Kevin Rector, Noah Goldberg, and Libor Jany.If you meant a different topic (e.g., McDonald’s or another interpretation of “macarthur park”), or if you’d like a specific focus (e.g., legal details, community impact, or X sentiment), please clarify, and I’ll adjust the report accordingly!What happened in MacArthur Park?
Immigration agents in military green surrounded MacArthur Park as the convoy readied for a show of force akin to a Hollywood movie.They came with horses and armored vehicles, carrying rifles and in tactical gear in the middle of what is the heart of immigrant Los Angeles. But there were few of their supposed targets to be found Monday — immigrants without documentation.Since at least Sunday, rumors had spread about an operation at the park. Fliers were plastered around the area, warning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or la migra as they’re also known, were coming.It’s unclear if anyone was arrested during the sweep. “We don’t comment on ongoing enforcement operations,” said a senior Department of Homeland Security official when asked for comment on whether any arrests had been made.Read also:Video: USA vs Mexico.. Mexico wins the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2-1“It is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our park,” Mayor Karen Bass said at an impromptu press conference at City Hall after federal authorities cleared out. “What happened to the criminals, the drug dealers, the violent individuals? Who were in the park today were children. It was their summer camp, their summer day camp.”
MacArthur Park raid
The park sits in the heart of a dense immigrant community marked by poverty and a thriving street culture. Vendors line the streets, and the palm-tree-dotted park is filled with playgrounds and fields, where many of the families living in nearby apartments find refuge. But it has also become known for prevalent drug use, where people are frequently seen smoking out of pipes on the sidewalk and in nearby alleys, though the city has made a concerted effort to turn it around.“MacArthur Park is the Ellis Island of the West Coast. It was chosen as this administration’s latest target precisely because of who lives there and what it represents: resilience, diversity and the American dream,” said City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area. She said the National Guard descended on the park alongside agents bringing military weapons. “Please understand that what’s happening here in the city of Los Angeles, we are the canary in the coal mine. What you see happening in MacArthur Park is coming to you ... So wake up.”Monday’s sweep comes days after President Trump signed a budget bill that will provide a mass infusion of funds to drastically ramp up immigration enforcement and detention levels across the country. Los Angeles has become the poster child of Trump’s mass deportation plan, as more than 1,600 people have been arrested between June 6 and 22.“There’s no plan other than fear, chaos and politics. Home Depot one day, a car wash the next, armed vehicles and what looked like mounted military units in a park the next day,” Bass said.
Anxiety and unrest in MacArthur Park
The agents appeared around 10:30 a.m. after amassing at nearby locations. Once they were at the park, they were met with crowds of people screaming “get the f— out!” and “get out!” Bass showed up at the park after being alerted about some kind of military or immigration operation there.While at the park Monday, Assistant Chief Border Patrol Agent David Kim handed his cellphone to Bass to speak with U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino, who has been leading enforcement efforts on the ground in Los Angeles. Bass could be heard saying on a live news feed, “You’re getting ready to leave? Can you leave ASAP?”Demonstrators began to chant, drowning out her conversation. Bass handed the phone back to Kim.When asked to comment at the park, Bass said the federal immigration agents needed “to leave and they need to leave right now, they need to leave because this is unacceptable.” When asked who she was talking to on the other end of the line she said it was “the head of customs.”She left the area shortly afterward in a black SUV.Activists, who have been on high alert for weeks, appeared to be prepared to deploy lawyers to the scene. Fliers in English and Spanish were posted around the park warning that ICE would be raiding the park July 7.Ron Gochez, a member of Unión del Barrio, an independent political organization advocating for immigrant rights and social justice, said there were people at the Home Depot in Westlake who spotted the agents heading toward MacArthur Park.Soon afterward, they posted about the deployment on social media to alert community members. Gochez said word had started to spread about the operation Sunday.“This was just one big, perverse publicity stunt,” said Gochez, in a call from the park Monday morning. “It was just to show force, it was just to take pictures.”The chaos on Wilshire Boulevard around MacArthur Park had mostly calmed by 11:30 a.m., though a few protesters and members of the news media lingered afterward.Mikema Nahmir, 28, said he was out for his morning walk at 11 a.m. when he saw two women running down the street yelling that “la migra” was at MacArthur Park.Read also:Information about seattle sounders vs columbusNahmir joined the group of protesters who chased and yelled after the military-style trucks. At one point, he said, someone from the truck shot out an irritant toward him and another protester.“L.A. is ours, this is our city,” Nahmir said. “This is what my morning walk turned into. They’re terrorizing our neighborhood.”About an hour after the raid, some people returned to the park to play, but the street vendors were mostly absent.Dozens of protesters stuck around, some carrying Mexican or Salvadoran flags.“Whose streets? Our streets!” they chanted. An organizer said they planned to march from the park to Koreatown.Fernando Rodriguez runs a small shop selling everyday household goods and snacks across the street from MacArthur Park said he quickly dragged in his cooler full of drinks and ice and shut the metal gate of his store when agents showed up.