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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass repeatedly avoided and directly answered whether all illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay.
Bass further criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to federally assemble 4,000 National Guard units and deploy about 700 Marines in an interview with ABC Go to Los Angeles Amid anti-immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) riots and protests. ABC host Martha Raddatz’s inquiry to the Democratic mayor for whom she believes should be deported – whether it should be just the person convicted of the crime, as there are about one million “undocumented workers” in Los Angeles.
“What should those people do?” Radaz asked.
“I just want to say that because we are a city of immigration, we have the entire economic sector that relies on immigration labor. We have to Rebuild the fire zone. Bass claims we won’t rebuild our city without immigrant labor. Not only were they deported, but they were afraid that people would be taken away in the event of a raid. And I know you know that even legal people, even American citizens, are detained. ”
Pentagon deploys National Guard to Los Angeles
Mayor Karen Bass spoke on June 10, 2025 from Los Angeles’ perspective on the Trump administration’s dispatch of National Guard troops to the city. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
“So they shouldn’t be deported?” Radaz pressed.
Bass replied: “I don’t think so. I think they should stay.”
The ABC host interrupted and pointed out that the mayor was discussing “one million unauthorized”.
“No, let me tell you, I think what we need is comprehensive immigration reform. I’ve been in Congress for 12 years.”
Raddardz interrupted the mayor again, noting that as a congresswoman, bass does not ensure the passage of such immigration reform.
“Why don’t we understand? I mean, I mean, there’s an immigration reform bill that has bipartisan support,” Bass tried to blame Trump. “It was during the campaign. The president didn’t think he wanted to achieve that because he didn’t want immigration reform to happen, and he wasn’t praised for it.”
Noting a surge in border crossings President Joe Biden, Radaz recalls asking a Border Patrol agent if he felt bad about illegal immigration.
Raddatz said his response was certain, but “they cut in front of people who want to do this legally in the right way.”
The U.S. Marine Corps and National Guard protect the entrance to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, California on July 4, 2025. (Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images)
“Let me tell you, those who trek, many of whom went from Central America and even South America to our borders, risked their lives. I don’t believe all of these people are sitting at home and dreaming of coming to Los Angeles,” Bass said in his response. “They came here out of despair.”
Ladaz pointed out that “thousands of people” illegally cross the borders of the Biden administration. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data record about 10 million border encounters, and during Biden’s tenure, there were about 20 million known “get-aweages”. Meanwhile, Trump reported Record low boundaries Since he began his second term.
When asked if there was “any good thing,” she thought the Trump administration had done on the border in the six months, “Well, I would have praised the administration in Los Angeles for the first six months in Los Angeles. If you ask me, if you ask me what good things are doing well in immigration, I don’t know. I think it’s good.
Bass said she hasn’t had a conversation with the Trump administration about immigration despite the National Guard in the city.
July 4, 2025, the U.S. Marine Corps and National Guard in Los Angeles, California. (Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’ve made a request, hope. I’ll always accept the conversation,” the mayor said. “I want to work with the government to solve this problem. We have the World Cup in just 11 months. We have the Olympics and Paralympics in three years. I know these games are very important to the president and I look forward to working with him, we have an extreme difference on this issue, but we can keep going, I’ll keep working and hope they can challenge it.
The mayor also responded to her hope that the next six months to two years would be immigration to Los Angeles and dug out what she believes is the Trump administration’s “reign of terror.”
The Pentagon announced last week that it would withdraw 2,000 National Guards from Los Angeles, citing how the “illegal violations” seen in the anti-ice riot in early June subsided.
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“Well, I just hope this horrible rule ends. I want the military to leave because they never need to start here,” Bass said. “I hope we can get back to normal.”
