Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has sparked controversy after comparing the chilling effect of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids to the COVID-19 lockdowns that her own party imposed on Californians—arguing that both kept people indoors and devastated local economies. Her comments came during a Father’s Day weekend tour of small businesses in Boyle Heights, a heavily immigrant-populated neighborhood in Los Angeles.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bass told reporters:
“It’s the uncertainty that continues that has an absolute economic impact. But it is pretty profound to walk up and down the streets and to see the empty streets—it reminded me of COVID.”
Bass claimed that the community was so paralyzed by fear of ICE activity that residents refused to leave their homes—even for a holiday celebration. The remarks came as she toured businesses alongside Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles), visiting locations like Casa Fina and Birrieria De Don Boni, where business owners reportedly complained that current conditions are worse than the pandemic.
Bass relayed that restaurant owners told her that unlike during the pandemic, there has been no increase in takeout orders, and fewer people are spending money locally—likely due to a lack of work and general fear in the community. Yet critics were quick to note the irony of Bass’s comparison: during COVID, her own party championed strict lockdowns, school closures, and economic shutdowns, often dismissing the consequences for small business and working-class communities.
Donald Trump is incapable of empathy and doesn’t believe in science.
He’s the last person who should be briefing the American people about the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/9Fj2v8bGDl
— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) July 23, 2020
The very economic devastation Bass is now decrying—caused by people staying home—is eerily similar to the policy outcomes Democrats enforced during COVID, often with minimal long-term health benefit and devastating consequences for lower-income families.
Bass’s remarks also come with heavy political baggage. During the height of the pandemic, Bass and other Democrats were quick to blame then-President Donald Trump for what they framed as a botched pandemic response—accusing him of endangering public health by resisting harsh mandates. Now, Bass is blaming Trump-era immigration enforcement for depressing the economy in immigrant-heavy communities like Boyle Heights.
In a further escalation, Bass has previously claimed that ongoing unrest and street protests in Los Angeles won’t stop until ICE raids end—a troubling suggestion that appears to justify civil disruption in response to federal law enforcement.
While Bass stops short of outright calling for the abolition of ICE, her statements continue a broader Democratic pattern of sympathizing with illegal immigrant communities while deflecting responsibility for economic hardship caused by their own policies.
Critics argue that Bass’s latest remarks are less about genuine concern and more about shaping a political narrative: redirecting public frustration away from Sacramento and Washington’s failed policies, and back toward federal enforcement that seeks to uphold immigration law.
