ICE's Reign of Terror In LA: “We Can Go Anywhere!"

Summary

Bulwark Takes: ICE's Reign of Terror In LA: “We Can Go Anywhere!" – Episode Summary

Release Date: July 9, 2025
Host: The Bulwark Team (Sam Stein and Bill Kristol)

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Introduction

In this episode of Bulwark Takes, hosts Sam Stein and Bill Kristol delve into the escalating presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles. The discussion centers around ICE's recent militarized operations in MacArthur Park and the broader implications for civil liberties, local economies, and Democratic responses to aggressive immigration enforcement.

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Militarized ICE Presence in Los Angeles

[01:00] Sam Stein begins by highlighting the ongoing federal footprint in California, emphasizing that it hasn't diminished despite previous efforts to quell protests. He introduces footage from MacArthur Park showcasing a heavy, intimidating presence of ICE officials and military personnel.

Notable Quote:

Sam Stein ([01:30]) – "There's a militarized presence of ICE officials and law enforcement walking through the park in an incredibly intimidating fashion. For what purpose? I'm not entirely sure, honestly."

[02:07] Bill Kristol responds by dissecting the visible militarization, questioning the necessity of such a display in a park without current disturbances. He points out that the National Guard's involvement is based on ICE's directives rather than immediate local needs.

Notable Quote:

Bill Kristol ([03:00]) – "They want to show people that they can go anywhere in LA. This is a show of force to intimidate and assert control, which is something we don't typically see in America."

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Intimidation and Its Objectives

The hosts discuss the strategic intentions behind ICE's aggressive stance. Kristol interprets the actions as a means to intimidate not only the immigrant communities but also elected officials in "blue" states, signaling that ICE can operate freely beyond traditional borders.

Notable Quote:

Bill Kristol ([04:00]) – "This is a total attempt to intimidate mayors and governors from making their own decisions about cooperation with ICE's deportation efforts."

[04:48] Sam Stein reinforces this by suggesting that the presence is aimed at discouraging local businesses and communities, effectively fostering self-deportation among immigrants and creating an atmosphere of fear.

Notable Quote:

Sam Stein ([06:00]) – "They're trying to drive immigrants into the shadows, harass them, and make them leave the country. This impacts local economies, reducing foot traffic and harming businesses dependent on diverse communities."

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Economic and Cultural Impact

The conversation shifts to the tangible effects of ICE's actions on local economies and cultural landscapes. Stein references reports from Chicago, where immigrant communities are experiencing significant downturns in economic activities and cultural events due to heightened deportation pressures.

Notable Quote:

Sam Stein ([07:00]) – "Businesses are seeing a 60-70% reduction in patronage, festivals are struggling, and the overall economic vitality of neighborhoods is at risk."

Bill Kristol adds that such policies not only undermine community stability but also ignore the essential roles that immigrants play in various sectors, contradicting claims that deportations would free up jobs and resources for native-born Americans.

Notable Quote:

Bill Kristol ([08:30]) – "The premise that deporting immigrants will open up social services and jobs is misleading. Many on Medicaid are employed, and sectors like agriculture and hospitality rely heavily on immigrant labor."

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Democratic Response and Political Ramifications

Addressing the political landscape, Stein observes a shift within the Democratic Party. Recent actions by figures like Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom indicate a more unified stance against the current immigration enforcement strategies, moving away from previous disjointed positions.

Notable Quote:

Sam Stein ([09:30]) – "Democrats are now more vocal against these aggressive ICE tactics, contrasting sharply with their earlier attempts to balance party pressures with constituent demands."

Bill Kristol counters that Democrats are under no real choice but to stand against these measures, emphasizing the importance of upholding civil liberties and resisting the normalization of a militarized police force.

Notable Quote:

Bill Kristol ([10:11]) – "Someone has to stand up and say this is wrong. The militarization of ICE violates civil liberties and undermines community trust."

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Future Implications and Conclusion

The discussion culminates in an analysis of ICE's expanding role and the long-term implications for American society. Kristol warns of ICE becoming the largest federal police force, surpassing agencies like the FBI, with fewer constraints and diminished professionalism.

Notable Quote:

Bill Kristol ([11:07]) – "ICE is poised to become the largest federal police agency, which raises serious concerns about oversight, accountability, and abuse of power."

[12:13] Sam Stein concludes by stressing the importance of public awareness and resistance to prevent the entrenchment of an immigration police state.

Notable Quote:

Sam Stein ([12:30]) – "Setting a budget and allocating resources to ICE now makes it harder to reverse course in the future. Public vigilance is crucial to protecting our communities and civil liberties."

Final Remarks:

Bill Kristol ([13:00]) – "Take what you can and stand against policies that threaten the fabric of our society. Thanks for tuning in, and stay informed."

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Key Takeaways

• Militarization as Intimidation: ICE's overt militarized presence in LA serves to intimidate both immigrant communities and local officials.

• Economic and Cultural Damage: Aggressive deportation strategies are detrimental to local economies, reducing business patronage and disrupting cultural activities.

• Political Shifts: The Democratic Party is increasingly uniting against harsh immigration enforcement, signaling a potential realignment in policy and public stance.

• Future of ICE: Without intervention, ICE is set to become the largest and possibly least regulated federal police force, posing significant threats to civil liberties.

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This episode of Bulwark Takes provides a critical examination of ICE's strategies in Los Angeles, highlighting the broader implications for society, economy, and political dynamics. Stein and Kristol effectively argue that such aggressive enforcement tactics are not only counterproductive but also harmful to the foundational values of American communities.

Transcript

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[Bill Kristol]

9.

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[Sam Stein]

All right, hey, guys. Me, Sam Stein, managing out at the Bulwark, back with Bill Kristol. And we are going to be talking about ICE and what's happening in California, because I think people are still, or people maybe not recognizing that the federal footprint in California has not actually gone away since several weeks ago when they first sent the Guard and the military to quell the uprisings. I put that in quotation marks. There's like, a couple blocks of protests over the ICE raids in Los Angeles. So I want to just play some footage here of what's happening in MacArthur park, where you basically see. I mean, I guess it's a militarized presence of, you know, ICE officials and a mix of law enforcement officials just walking through the park in this incredibly intimidating fashion. For what purpose? I'm not entirely sure, honestly. So let's watch the footage. And then, Bill, I want you to just kind of ruminate when we get to the other side of that, because it is. It's crazy. Okay, Bill, what did you make of that? Because I know it's totally been on top of your mind. You've been wanting to write about it. We haven't gotten around to it, but clearly you're. You've been moved by it.

[Bill Kristol]

Yeah, the horses, the. The military vehicles, the Humvees. I mean, what is all that about? And they say, actually, if you look at the National Guard memo explaining what the Guard's gonna do, they're gonna work with ice really at ice's direction. So remember, these are Title 10 US army soldiers. Now, at this point, National Guard, I don't Know that they're the active duty troops there working with ICE in an area where there's no. There haven't been any riots or disturbances or whatever it was that they alleged.

[Sam Stein]

Right.

[Bill Kristol]

Which there was a little bit of three weeks ago when they first came in. They haven't been for quite a while. But this is a park in a slightly, I guess, rundown area of la. It has a certain amount of drug dealing, perhaps, and other things. And instead of. But the cops are dealing with that, or not dealing with it, but they're whatever, doing what cops are supposed to do. Anyway, there was no request for help from the LAPD here and this on that issue. And it's not an issue that presumably the military is supposed to be dealing with normally. Instead, they wanted. They say in the memo, we want to, I think, show presence. Is that the show?

[Sam Stein]

I think that's right, yeah. Show Force.

[Bill Kristol]

Yeah, show force. Show of presence here in la to tell people that the. And they actually, the Border Patrol guy said this publicly, explicitly. We want to show people that we. We can go anywhere. We can go anywhere in la. So that's the situation we now have where ice, this is the Border Patrol, incidentally. LA is not on the border. Right. The Border Patrol has decided and Trump has decided and Secretary of DHS has decided that the Border Patrol can go anywhere. They can be supported by National Guard troops anywhere. They can go to a place that's having no disturbances, no riots, no challenges to the safety of ICE agents or federal facilities, which is the excuse for bringing in the Guard, remember? And they. Just because they want to show force and intimidate people, that's bad. I mean, that is really something that we don't do in America, you know, I mean, we don't have credible forces sort of mobilizing with. In a quasi militarized way, to say nothing of the masks and all this. But no more than quasi. In a really militarized way.

[Sam Stein]

No, it was pretty overtly militarized. Right. The horsebacks, the masks on, the camo gear, all that stuff. And for what? Right. Like, I guess that's the thing that we're getting is like there's nothing to put down here. There's no disturbance, there's no need for this. This is totally within the realm of local law enforcement. Even if there were disturbances that need to be put down, so what is the actual thing they're trying to do here? And obviously it's an act of intimidation and it's a warning to anyone else across the country. Specifically, I think to elected leadership and people who run the cities. This could be you like this, we can easily do this. And therefore you should, I don't know, participate in anything we want to do when it comes to ice.

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[Bill Kristol]

Because one of the excuses for this has been that LA is a, is a sanctuary city and therefore they. Yes, it's a total attempt to intimidate mayors and governors and others, police chiefs from making their own decisions, so to speak, about how much they want to cooperate. And some of the, in the deportation efforts against, against immigrants. And it also, I think, is an attempt to get more self deportation by immigrants or mostly just to drive them. They're working, they're running little food trucks. Little. They're running food trucks there around MacArthur Park's a big thing, stalls, it's kind of a street shopping, I guess you might call it, area. And they don't want that. And they're trying to drive the immigrants into the shadows and then they'll go, you know, harass them and hopefully they think drive them out of the country. And that would be true, I think, of some undocumented immigrants, but also their families and also presumably their kids and also maybe some documented immigrants who don't want to be hassled or are worried that they made a slip up eight years ago on their documentation once they're picked up. I mean, the degree to which we are really engaged in, I don't even know what to call it. I mean, a kind of ethnic cleansing seems a little dramatic, but, you know, a real attempt to just go after these people, to intimidate them. But I think your first point is very important. To intimidate blue state officials, elected officials and other appointed officials is also a very big part of this. And we've, I've underestimated that part of it a little bit. The degree to which from the beginning this was about, you know, empowering Trump's police force against the law enforcement agencies available to blue state mayors and governors.

[Sam Stein]

I think people don't quite fathom the actual impact that this is going to have culturally, obviously, but also economically. So our colleague Adrian Carrasquillo, he just basically was in Chicago, he's following this church that's basically, you know, at the front lines of the mass deportation movement. They're trying to protect their community. Heavy Hispanic Latino population of the church and in and around that area. I mean, the people he was talking to, like foot traffic down, you know, significantly 60, 70%, restaurants down, you know, bars, people don't go out anymore. And he was doing the Same thing the other week he did a piece on, on the Latino music industry that is in the United Foreign artists not getting their visas renewed. Businesses that depend on crowds showing up at these festivals seeing incredible reduction. And you know, we haven't seen it in the macroeconomic data yet. But I look around and you have to imagine like this is going to like gut whole neighborhoods within major cities and not just major city cities obviously, but across the country. But I think it's concentrated in the cities and I can't imagine. For instance in la you said self deportation. I think that's the goal. I think they want people to leave this country. I think that's it. They want to leave this country because they have an idea that if they leave this country it will open up social services and jobs for native born Americans and that's what they want.

[Bill Kristol]

Yeah, you're probably being too nice to them with that last clause or sentence because I don't even know if they care about opening up. They don't want those people here. They don't want the things they do being done which is, you know, running the food trucks for those neighborhoods. They don't care if those neighborhoods fall apart and get much worse off than they are because that will just increase the self deportation there right? Now then they say when they're challenged, the agriculture secretaries, oh well, there are 34 million able bodied people on Medicaid. Most of those people already have jobs. I mean that's the whole point about Medicaid, right? Well, the single biggest group of people on Medicaid are Walmart employees and Walmart doesn't provide health insurance sometimes. And people therefore they use Medicaid. So the idea that they're going to go work in the fields is ludicrous, but ludicrous. Now Trump is the one area where Trump sort of occasionally indicates he might want to change. Mass deportation is of course for his buddies and Big Ag or big hospitality. No, seriously, I mean he knows those guys and they call, pick up the phone, they, if they can't get in, they could certainly get Trump's cabinet secretaries who were all tight with these big shots. And so that's where he kind of thinks, gee, I don't know, the owner should be able to keep the guys working in the fields. But they do not want a, I'm put it very simply, if there's a thriving or at least busy and well populated, let's just say working class Hispanic Latino community in la, which features a park and it features food trucks and it features people with date Getting day job, going to the 711 or Home Depot to get a day job. But it features all kinds of things and it features music. They don't want any of it. That's not the America they want. They want to get rid of these people.

[Sam Stein]

Let me ask you about the Democratic response to this because it's been interesting to watch. Karen Bass went to the front lines, grabbed, apparently grabbed a cell phone of someone there to get some answers. It was, it was kind of a dramatic scene, but she's been heavily criticized for how she's handled some of this stuff. Gavin Newsom was in South Carolina, I think it was yesterday, and he addressed it. I mean, he just went off on it saying, this is un American, this is dangerous. They're trying to spread fear, chaos and disorder. It's interesting to see Democrats get, put their backs in more on this stuff. It wasn't that long ago, I mean, four months ago, really, where the party was really disjointed on, on immigration. Felt like they had just a horrible hand to play and thought they had to cozy up to Trump. Frankly, now, not so much. But I do wonder, are they, are they over talking? I don't think so. But you can see like Trump clearly thinks he has the upper hand here, too.

[Bill Kristol]

I don't think so. I don't think they have any choice. I mean, they've got, at some point, somebody's got to stand up and say, this is wrong. And they just have to say, you know what, I respect the Border Patrol. I'm happy they, they've done a good job, they're doing a better job. But they've been given the tools, if you want to praise Trump for two seconds, the tools to do a better job at the border. Biden already was giving some of those tools, but whatever. But what are they doing in la? I mean, I just think you've got to make it. And I do think there's a kind of civil liberty streak. I hope there is still among Americans that gets nervous when they see these guys, masked guys and camo outfits, riding horses and riding on Humvees and on other vehicles coming through a park in LA where the kids are literally playing soccer. I mean, little kids, I guess they have daycare, they have day camps and so forth, you know, in this park for community people and stuff. And so they're trundling through, you know.

[Sam Stein]

And as JVL writes, I mean, it's like they're getting, what is it, like 60 billion? Eventually, if you add it all up, something in 170.

[Bill Kristol]

All of it up, but not all. Some of that's for the wall. No, it's sure. ICE will become the largest, by far the largest federal police force. Much larger than the FBI, with many fewer constraints, much less professionalism. That was an excellent triad or JVL's yesterday. Yesterday. People should read.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, no, I mean, they're going to hire 11,000 new ICE agents in three years. It is. And they're not going to hire them. They get. They're going to pay for them, they're going to hire them, they're going to staff up. I mean, they're going to do what they can. Because this is kind of Trump's force.

[Bill Kristol]

You know, it's such an important. I mean, that's sort of conventional. I've been following more immigration experts these days, and they still, some of them, understandably, I guess, are still living in the old world. It's going to be very hard for them to hire all these people. You know, there's very, a lot of things they have to go through to hire a border agent and stuff. You know what? They're not going to go through any of them. They're going to waive the vetting. They're going to hire them. They're going to hire them, they're going to spend the money. They're going to build detention facilities, the Florida Everglades thing that doesn't live up to the standards they're supposed to have for ICE detention facilities. Obviously, it gets flooded the first day. They don't care. So people should not be reassured that in a normal course of things, they couldn't spend this money. Well, they're going to spend it because they want to intimidate, because they want these people to leave.

[Sam Stein]

And they're going to spend it because they want to set a baseline for what a immigration police state should be. Because once you spend the money, once you budget the money, it becomes a lot harder to say, next year we're going to pull back because they've spent it all. All right, well, Bill, that's a really positive note to leave on. You know, you get, you take what you can. Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it. Everyone, obviously should be following you at morning shots and we will talk to you soon.

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