Feds Conduct Immigration Raid Outside California Redistricting Press Conference

Masked and armed federal agents made arrests outside of a Los Angeles museum in which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) Thursday was announcing plans to redraw the state’s congressional map to offset the GOP’s redistricting efforts in Texas. 

The aggressive police operation directly outside the press conference appeared to be an attempt at intimidation, the governor’s office said.

“Where are we? At the Democracy Center,” Newsom said, referring to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. “And right outside, at this exact moment, are dozens and dozens of ICE agents.”

“You think it’s coincidental?” Newsom asked. “Donald Trump and his minions decided, coincidentally or not, that this was a location to advance ICE arrests.” 

“Wake up, America,” the governor said. “This is a serious moment.”

Video of the raid showed dozens of Border Patrol agents wearing body armor and masks outside the museum. Some were armed with long rifles and handguns.

Gregory Bovino, U.S. Border Patrol El Centro sector chief, claimed the agents were conducting the operation because unnamed “politicians” failed to make the city safe. 

“We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place. Since we don’t have politicians that will do that, we’ll do that ourselves,” Bovino said.

Bovino has a history of criticizing California’s elected officials despite being a law enforcement agent. 

In a trial over President Donald Trump’s use of the military in Los Angeles, an Army major general revealed earlier this week that Bovino questioned his loyalty to the country after the commander objected to a request for military assistance for an immigration raid on a public park.

On Fox News Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that the operation was planned in advance and that federal law enforcement agencies had information that “illegal criminals” would be in the area.

Noem in a press conference in Los Angeles earlier this year claimed that the Trump administration was attempting to “liberate” the city from Newsom’s and Mayor Karen Bass’s leadership.

“We are not going away,” Noem said. “We are staying here to liberate the city from socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”
During that same press conference, federal agents arrested Sen. Alex Padilla, one of the state’s Democratic U.S. senators, after he attempted to ask Noem a question.

In a follow-up press conference Thursday, Newsom said the immigration operation was “pretty sick and pathetic” and was indicative of “the authoritarian tendencies of the president.”

“As I said a moment ago, wake up, America. You will not have a country if he rigs this election,”  Newsom said, referring to the 2026 midterms.

This story has been updated with new details throughout.