Federal Agents, National Guard Stage Hour-Long Immigration Sweep at LA’s MacArthur Park

Dozens of armed federal immigration officers, flanked by about 90 California National Guard troops, swept through Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park late Monday morning, remaining for roughly an hour before abruptly withdrawing. The contingent—estimated by local media at about 100 agents—arrived on foot, horseback and in a convoy that included 17 Humvees, four tactical vehicles and two ambulances. A Homeland Security helicopter circled overhead, but no detentions were confirmed during or after the operation. The park sits in the Westlake district, one of the city’s most densely populated immigrant neighborhoods. At the time of the sweep, a children’s summer camp was in session; counselors quickly ushered campers indoors as agents advanced across playing fields. The Department of Homeland Security declined to explain the objective, saying only that it does not comment on ongoing enforcement actions. Mayor Karen Bass confronted officials on site and later condemned the raid as “un-American” and a “show of force designed to terrorize.” City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson likened the scene to “staging for a TikTok video,” while Governor Gavin Newsom called the display a political spectacle. Activist groups reported heightened fear among residents and a drop-off in park use and nearby commerce following the incursion. Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Greg Bovino told Fox News that agents "will go anywhere, anytime" in Los Angeles and may return to MacArthur Park. The sweep follows President Donald Trump’s June deployment of thousands of Guard members and Marines to the city and a new federal budget that steers tens of billions of dollars toward expanding immigration enforcement. Between 6 and 22 June, federal data show more than 1,600 immigration arrests in the region.