A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that the agency would consider arresting Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she showed up and attempted to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting raids in the city this week.
In an interview with guest host Charlie Hurt on Monday’s edition of “Hannity” on Fox News, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the department was keeping all options “on the table.”
“When you have scenes like you did out in L.A. today where you have the mayor, Karen Bass, interfering with official federal officer proceedings, trying to enforce the laws that are put on the books by members of members of Congress, are you all hesitant to go out and rest her or has all of this behavior not reach that threshold yet?” Hurt asked.
“We are keeping everything on the table, but I want to ask Karen Bass, who is she protecting? Is it the gang members we are going after, or the child, or the drug traffickers? Which of the violent criminals who are terrorizing Los Angeles streets is she trying to protect, because it is not American citizens or her own constituents.
“We know that in the past 150 days under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we’ve arrested almost 600 known or suspected terrorists,” McLaughlin continued, as well as “2,700 members of Tren de Aragua. And for viewers who are not familiar, they are a vicious, highly sophisticated gang who kills, rapes, and maims Americans for sport.”
She added: “They enrich themselves by sex trafficking young women. They have walked with impunity on America’s streets for four years, and under President Trump, no more.”
Meanwhile, Republicans are blaming Democrat actions and rhetoric for an uptick in violence directed at immigration enforcement agents and Border Patrol.
Taking that into account, the Trump administration has pledged a “zero tolerance” stance on violence targeting law enforcement following the shooting of a local police officer near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas on Friday.
“We are closely monitoring the attacks on DHS detention facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are coordinating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blance posted on Saturday to the social media site X.
“The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible,” he added.
The warning followed separate incidents at Department of Homeland Security facilities in Prairieland, Texas, near Dallas, and in Portland, Oregon. Also, it came ahead of what officials say was a planned “ambush” against a Border Patrol facility, also in Texas, on Monday.
Several suspects were apprehended after an officer from the Alvarado, Texas Police Department was shot while responding to a report of a suspicious individual near the Prairieland Detention Facility, where they encountered a person with a firearm, CBS News reported.
When officers attempted to approach the suspects, they came under fire, with one round striking an officer in the neck, according to police. The wounded officer was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Worth, treated, and later released, the Alvarado Police Department confirmed.
The suspects attempted to flee, but several armed individuals were apprehended with assistance from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies.
Trump on Saturday praised ICE officers for “fighting every day to reclaim our Sovereignty and Freedom,” as he spotlighted their role in his plans for the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
“This July 4th weekend I want to give a big ‘THANK YOU!’ to the Heroic ICE Officers fighting every day to reclaim our Sovereignty and Freedom,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
He pointed to his signature immigration plan, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as the key to giving ICE billions more in funding to carry out its immigration enforcement duties.
