LA Mayor Warns City Will Suffer When ICE Raids Leave ‘Nobody to Do Childcare’

Federal immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles have stirred a growing wave of concern among city officials, who warn the consequences will soon impact everyday life across the city. 

Mayor Karen Bass (D) highlighted Tuesday how ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations could disrupt the labor force in critical sectors, leaving many Angelenos without essential services, including childcare.

Bass spoke about the issue during an interview with journalist Katie Couric, which aired on Couric’s YouTube channel. 

She blamed President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown for triggering the recent unrest in Los Angeles, where protests against ICE escalated into violent clashes and property damage last week—despite her recent claim that the demonstrations were peaceful, as Resist the Mainstream previously highlighted. 

“My biggest fear is the impact that all Angelenos will begin to feel when the labor of immigrants is absent,” Bass said.

She predicted widespread disruptions in industries that rely heavily on illegal immigrant workers, including construction, hospitality and grocery stores.

Bass also focused on the effect in households that depend on illegal immigrants for childcare and domestic work.

 “You think about the mothers who have nannies and housekeepers. They will feel it when there’s nobody to do childcare and there’s nobody to take their kids to school,” she explained. 

“You know, you will feel it when your gardener goes away, and you don’t know where he or she is. So Angelenos will feel the absence of immigrant labor.”

To illustrate the impact, Bass recounted a conversation with a local resident who said a grocery store had empty shelves because “there was nobody to stock” them. 

She warned that ICE raids are causing “trauma” for families, with parents fearful of going to work or sending their children to school.

“[T]o have parents who are not sure they could go to work, or to be fearful of letting their kids go to school, it disrupts families,” Bass said. “It creates unbelievable pressure and tension.”

“You can imagine the mental health impacts on the children, especially the children that are old enough to remember the last Trump administration or were old enough to remember COVID.”

While Bass expressed strong opposition to the immigration enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reaffirmed its commitment to continuing operations targeting criminal illegal immigrants. 

DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement Wednesday addressing the unrest.

“Secretary Noem has a message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down,” she said, according to Fox News. “ICE will continue to enforce the law and arrest criminal illegal aliens.”

Protests erupted across Los Angeles last week following reports of renewed ICE activity, with some demonstrations turning violent and resulting in hundreds of arrests. 

Bass blamed the enforcement efforts for provoking the unrest, which included altercations and property damage.

She maintains that the raids exacerbate family instability and create pressure and tension within affected communities.

The mayor’s remarks highlight ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement efforts and community response. 

As ICE continues its operations, Los Angeles could face disruptions in many areas of daily life, which Bass says rely heavily on the work of illegal immigrants.

WATCH:

The post LA Mayor Warns City Will Suffer When ICE Raids Leave ‘Nobody to Do Childcare’ appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.