LA Vice Mayor Sparks Outrage, Calls for Gang Help Against ICE Raids

Paul Riverbank, 6/27/2025LA Vice Mayor sparks crisis by calling gang intervention against ICE raids, intensifying immigration tensions.

Immigration Tensions Boil Over in Los Angeles as Communities Clash with Federal Enforcement

The complex dance between federal immigration enforcement and local sanctuary policies has erupted into unprecedented confrontations across Los Angeles, laying bare the deep fissures in America's immigration debate.

I've spent the past week watching this powder keg situation unfold. What began as routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations has morphed into something far more volatile, particularly after an elected official's shocking call to arms.

Cudahy Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez sparked outrage with an ill-conceived social media video – now deleted but not forgotten – where she explicitly called for gang intervention against ICE operations. "Not for nothing, but I wanna know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles," she declared, before specifically naming street gangs. The implications were unmistakable and dangerous.

The fallout was swift. Law enforcement officials I spoke with expressed dismay at an elected official apparently soliciting criminal elements to interfere with federal operations. This comes mere months after border czar Tom Homan's stern warnings about legal consequences for such interference.

But here's what's fascinating: this crisis has revealed unexpected fault lines and alliances across LA's diverse landscape. While much media attention focuses on Latino communities, Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders tell me their communities are equally affected.

"People don't realize we're seeing families torn apart in our communities too," Manjusha Kulkarni told me during a lengthy discussion at AAPI Equity Alliance headquarters. Her colleague Connie Chung Jo painted a disturbing picture of enforcement patterns: dawn raids on homes, arrests at courthouses – tactics that spread fear regardless of the target community.

The LAPD finds itself in an impossible position. Take last week's incident: officers responded to what witnesses reported as a kidnapping, only to discover ICE agents conducting an operation. The resulting crowd control nightmare forced the department to issue a carefully worded statement emphasizing their strict neutrality in immigration enforcement.

I've covered immigration issues for two decades, and I've rarely seen such a perfect storm of conflicting jurisdictions, policies, and priorities. Local officials remain committed to sanctuary city policies while federal authorities press ahead with mandated enforcement – an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

The tensions show no signs of easing. If anything, they're likely to intensify as federal operations continue and community resistance grows more organized. What's clear is that Los Angeles has become ground zero for America's immigration enforcement debate, with implications that will ripple far beyond Southern California.

This isn't just about immigration anymore – it's about the fundamental relationship between federal authority and local governance, between law enforcement and community trust, between competing visions of public safety and civil rights. The outcome of this struggle may well shape immigration enforcement policies across the nation for years to come.

Immigration Tensions Boil Over in Los Angeles as Communities Clash with Federal EnforcementThe complex dance between federal immigration enforcement and local sanctuary policies has erupted into unprecedented confrontations across Los Angeles, laying bare the deep fissures in America's immigration debate.I've spent the past week watching this powder keg situation unfold. What began as routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations has morphed into something far more volatile, particularly after an elected official's shocking call to arms.Cudahy Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez sparked outrage with an ill-conceived social media video – now deleted but not forgotten – where she explicitly called for gang intervention against ICE operations. "Not for nothing, but I wanna know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles," she declared, before specifically naming street gangs. The implications were unmistakable and dangerous.The fallout was swift. Law enforcement officials I spoke with expressed dismay at an elected official apparently soliciting criminal elements to interfere with federal operations. This comes mere months after border czar Tom Homan's stern warnings about legal consequences for such interference.But here's what's fascinating: this crisis has revealed unexpected fault lines and alliances across LA's diverse landscape. While much media attention focuses on Latino communities, Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders tell me their communities are equally affected."People don't realize we're seeing families torn apart in our communities too," Manjusha Kulkarni told me during a lengthy discussion at AAPI Equity Alliance headquarters. Her colleague Connie Chung Jo painted a disturbing picture of enforcement patterns: dawn raids on homes, arrests at courthouses – tactics that spread fear regardless of the target community.The LAPD finds itself in an impossible position. Take last week's incident: officers responded to what witnesses reported as a kidnapping, only to discover ICE agents conducting an operation. The resulting crowd control nightmare forced the department to issue a carefully worded statement emphasizing their strict neutrality in immigration enforcement.I've covered immigration issues for two decades, and I've rarely seen such a perfect storm of conflicting jurisdictions, policies, and priorities. Local officials remain committed to sanctuary city policies while federal authorities press ahead with mandated enforcement – an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.The tensions show no signs of easing. If anything, they're likely to intensify as federal operations continue and community resistance grows more organized. What's clear is that Los Angeles has become ground zero for America's immigration enforcement debate, with implications that will ripple far beyond Southern California.This isn't just about immigration anymore – it's about the fundamental relationship between federal authority and local governance, between law enforcement and community trust, between competing visions of public safety and civil rights. The outcome of this struggle may well shape immigration enforcement policies across the nation for years to come.