Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D-CA) was featured for an interview on Wednesday’s episode of MSNBC’s Morning Joe to report on an update about the city’s stability and regulation regarding the protests and riots over the ICE arrests. This disaster to the city had brought national attention which led to the stationing of the National Guard, but Bass deflected the thoughts of the defense stating, “there isn’t anything happening here.”
On Tuesday night, a curfew was set in place to regulate protests and people displaying criminal behavior. Bass reports on then new curfew rule stating:
I do think the curfew was effective. We did have arrests, but the majority of the rest were unlawful assembly or violating the curfew. There was no looting. There was no vandalism last night. So, I do think that that has helped. And I do hope that people understand that this is a relatively small slice of Los Angeles, a city with 500 square miles, and this is about two square miles of our downtown area. So, it will be interesting to see what happens today.
Where was this action to protect the Los Angeles area earlier?
An interesting take-away from Bass’s response is the shift in conversation focusing on the size of the city to the upheaval, as if the Los Angeles riots were not the biggest headlines across the country. Bass was feeling the heat of strikes Los Angeles had had in the last 6 months but wanted to inform the public that it was “fiction” for people to think that “Los Angeles is harboring dangerous individuals” according to contributor Jonathan Lemire.
Ignoring her city’s status as a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants, Bass obfuscated the facts:
You know, no, I think that is fiction. Are there dangerous individuals that are here in Los Angeles? Yes. Are we harboring them? No. I think that the idea that what is going on here is chaos and we need federal intervention is just not accurate. It doesn't paint an accurate picture of what's going on here at all. And really what is going to help would be an end to the raids for a city not to know when, where, how, or why raids take place. You can imagine that the entire population of immigrants is very unsettling.
If federal intervention to send in the National Guard and Marines “doesn’t paint an accurate picture of what’s going on,” that clearly denies the truth of the situation. The reality was that the curfew was set in stone after the National Guard was sent. The defense would not have been placed if Mayor Bass, all the way to Governor Gavin Newsom, commanded strong action from the beginning.
It is insanely obvious that California did not take the initiative to put down the foot to stop the riots from occurring.
Once again, California faced the humiliation of the country looking at their lack of leadership and were now defending themselves against the president who sought to protect federal agents and property.
Click here of the transcript.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe
6/11/25
9:25 a.m. Eastern
JONATHAN LEMIRE: Meanwhile, hundreds of U.S. Marines are scheduled to hit the streets of Los Angeles today, joining the thousands of National Guard troops already deployed to the city by President Trump, all against the will of city and state leaders. California Governor Newsom saying yesterday that “the move was meant to incite more violence and not end it.” Joining us now, Democratic Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Mayor Bass, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We'll get to the federal military presence in a moment. But first, can you just provide a quick update as to things there in your city? As the sun is now up in Los Angeles, how did last night go? Do you think the curfew was effective?
KAREN BASS: I do think the curfew was effective. We did have arrests, but the majority of the rest were unlawful assembly or violating the curfew. There was no looting. There was no vandalism last night. So, I do think that that has helped. And I do hope that people understand that this is a relatively small slice of Los Angeles, a city with 500 square miles, and this is about two square miles of our downtown area. So, it will be interesting to see what happens today. But understand that the real thing that's happening here are the egregious ICE raids, and we don't know when or where that's going to happen. And I do think that that will be a test as to where the city goes today, in the next couple of days.
LEMIRE: So, Mayor Bass, let's talk about now we have National Guard, thousands of National Guard members there, Marines also in the area, seemingly going to be walking the streets of Los Angeles today, safeguarding federal buildings, unclear what else their mission might be.
BASS: To do what?
LEMIRE: What is your reaction to that? Yeah.
BASS: Well, my reaction is, is that it is completely unnecessary. What are they going to do? The 100 National Guard soldiers that are downtown Los Angeles are guarding one federal building, so there is no need for this. The city handled things perfectly last night and will continue to do this. I do believe, though, that this is all part of an experiment that's taking place in Los Angeles, and I hope other cities—I know they are, because I was online with about 50 other mayors who are concerned about what's happening in our city, because it could easily come to theirs. And the test is what happens when the federal government intervenes and takes power away from a governor and a mayor.LEMIRE: So, yeah, I was going to ask you that. What experiment is this, do you think? What is, what is President Trump trying to test here? What do you believe? Do you agree as to what his goals are? Do you agree with and do you agree with the Governor in which this is only going to make things worse?
BASS: Well, I absolutely agree with the Governor that it's not only going to make things worse, it has made things worse. And in terms of do I agree with the President's goals, who knows what the President's goals are? I mean, originally it was we're going to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers, and we have people being chased in parking lots of Home Depot. There was a man who was arrested. He was a customer at a car wash. He was taken in and his son was left to essentially care for the family. We had ICE officers go by my grandson's elementary school and toward what purpose? Fortunately, the principal did not allow them in. But these kind of things just create a sense of terror and fear and uncertainty and insecurity in the city. And we are a city of immigrants. We have entire industries that wouldn't even be able to function without immigrant labor. So this is, a this is a terrible to families, but it also is a very powerful blow to the local economy. If this is going to continue.
MARA GAY: Mayor, have you received any kind of communication from the federal government about or even the state government about what you can expect from the hundreds of marines who are in Los Angeles right now? Go ahead.
BASS: I don't think the Governor has any idea. I mean, which is, which is the point. You know, on Saturday night, the President tweeted that because of the great work of the National Guard, the protests and the violence was curtailed. The National Guard wasn't even here. They didn't even arrive until the next day. So, that's why it's very hard not to see this as a stunt or as a test case, because there isn't anything happening here. Thursday, before the first raid took place, the city was peaceful. Nothing was going on when the raid happened. That's when people were just outraged at the way the raid happened. And then, of course, the arrest of one of the most respected labor leaders in our city.
GAY: Mayor, you know we’re getting cherry-picked images from the Trump administration, a sense that there’s chaos in Los Angeles. Can you actually talk to us—
BASS: No.
GAY: — what has driven most Angelenos into the streets, and how this movement who are peacefully protesting largely feels on the ground?
BASS: Well, again, we are a city of 3.8 million, 500 square miles. This is happening over about five or six streets in downtown Los Angeles. The curfew that we put in place last night covers about two square miles of our city. If that is a picture of chaos, I'm sorry, but that's just not true. Just like it wasn't true that the National Guard saved the day before they even got here.
LEMIRE: So Mayor Bass, we had Tom Homan on the show earlier this week and, the border czar, and he told us that the original ICE raids were to pick up individuals. He said they had lengthy criminal records. He detailed some of them. So, my response, my question to you is a two parter. One, is he presented any evidence to you that indeed they picked up individuals with violent criminal records? And secondly, are you concerned at all that there are, there are people out there who say, well, the city of Los Angeles is harboring dangerous individuals.
BASS: You know, no, I think that is fiction. Are there dangerous individuals that are here in Los Angeles? Yes. Are we harboring them? No. I think that the idea that what is going on here is chaos and we need federal intervention is just not accurate. It doesn't paint an accurate picture of what's going on here at all. And really what is going to help would be an end to the raids for a city not to know when, where, how, or why raids take place. You can imagine that the entire population of immigrants is very unsettling. I also have to tell you an example of people who went to their annual appointments. You know, they're here legally. They have papers. They're supposed to check in with the immigration office once a year, even they've been detained. So, I don't think that there is a crisis here that is happening at all, except for one manufactured by Washington.
LEMIRE: Yeah, certainly. There have been reports of those types of arrests at those centers, as well as near schools, you know, of students. And lastly, Madam Mayor, before you go, just what is your message then, to your city and to those of us watching from elsewhere in the country about what you hope happens these next couple of days?BASS: Well, let me also say that our immigrant rights organizations have not been able to be in contact with the people that are detained. We don't even know how many people are detained. We don't know why. We don't know where they are. They've had no access to legal counsel or contact with their family members. But my message to Los Angeles is we are a city of immigrants. We take pride in the diversity in our city, and it is my job as the mayor of Los Angeles to protect all Angelenos, regardless of when they got here, why they came, or where they came from.
LEMIRE: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, we’ll let you get back to work. Thank you for joining us this morning.
BASS: Thank you.
