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A top US official has accused Los Angeles of being a “city of criminals” amid escalating tensions over federal immigration raids, the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops, and growing criticism of local and state leaders for allegedly failing to curb gang-related violence.
Getting into it: During an interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized Los Angeles city leadership, calling the city a “city of criminals” and blaming Democratic officials for enabling crime through lenient immigration policies. Noem took direct aim at Mayor Karen Bass for describing Los Angeles as a “city of immigrants,” arguing that such language masked the reality of escalating criminal activity. “They’re not a city of immigrants, they’re a city of criminals, because she has protected them for so many years,” Noem said. She also labeled Bass “a train wreck of a mayor” who had “allowed LA to be completely devastated with crime.”
Defending the Trump administration’s ICE raids, Noem said agents were targeting “over 400 to 500” known gang members who had been “victimizing people for years.” She accused both Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom of standing by while these individuals operated freely. “Gavin Newsom has done absolutely nothing, Mayor Bass has done absolutely nothing,” Noem told Hannity, arguing that their failure to act made federal intervention necessary.
Noem also echoed the administration’s message, saying, “We’re going to hit them back harder than we ever have before” in response to violence against law enforcement during ongoing protests. Noem also defended the ramp-up in federal deployment, including President Trump’s decision to send an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles. The troops, she said, are trained for “this type of crowd situation” and are meant to protect both peaceful protesters and law enforcement officers.
This comes as California officials pushed back strongly on the administration’s actions. Yesterday, Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment, calling the move an “unprecedented power grab” and warning it could escalate tensions further. Newsom has continued to argue that local law enforcement has the situation under control and that federal involvement was “purposefully inflammatory.” Despite this, the Trump administration maintains that the surge in troops is necessary to restore public order in the face of unrest triggered by the ICE operations.
