The following is an interview transcript with Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, aired on July 20, 2025 on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brainon”.
Margaret Brainon: We now turn to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Good morning, madam mayor.
Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles: Good Morning, Good Morning.
Margaret Brainon: Glad that you can hear me. We are looking at the issues of immigration in six months. You had the first such experience in LA, given us the deployment of American soldiers. The President ordered the initial release of about half the National Guard from LA. Have they gone so far? What are the remaining?
Mayor Bass: Well, I believe they have departed, but they never needed in the first place, and the rest they are doing what they were doing with all, which is essentially protecting two federal buildings, one of which in Westwood, where there has never been a big opposition against the immigration raid. This is only an incredible abuse, not only the money of taxpayers, but for the youth who are in the national guards who have had to give up their families, their jobs and their education for this deployment that is completely unnecessary. 4,000 soldiers, my understanding, is that most of their time is perfectly spent bored, playing video games and essentially waiting. Because again, 4,000 deployed, and around 200 were actually used.
Margaret Brainon: White House, of course, argues that they deployed them as there was intervention with the operation of law enforcement in completing some roundups. Enforcement action is still being taken by ice. You have talked about your objections, as you have described them to “masked men, unconscious cars, guns pulling, snatch people from the road”. You filed the freedom of information request to give quotation, “Know who these masked men are.” Why, however, is their identity important to you? Do you plan to prosecute them?
Mayor Bass: Okay, no, just explain to me, because you have people who are really walking on the road, sitting at the bus stop, are personal sellers selling fruits on the road. These masked men pull into unprotected cars and jump out of cars with rifles and take people into custody. So for the average citizen, it seems that it is a violent kidnapping. So you should never do this. They do not identify themselves. And in addition, for their previous guests, how on earth they know that they are a threat when they are pursuing random people through the parking lot in the house depot, going into the car wash and scoring people goals. Now it is difficult to wash your car in Los Angeles, because most cars will be a raid that the employees will not work with fear.
Margaret Brainon: Well, the acting director says that his agent, some of them fear that their families will retaliate, and that is why they are covering their face, that they wear marking for agencies with whom they work. How do you answer?
Mayor Bass: Okay, Okay, first, let me tell you that masked men are not from Los Angeles, and therefore how retaliation can be taken against their families. And then the local law enforcement, what to say to the Los Angeles Police Department, none of which are ever masked who always recognize themselves and even hand over a business card to someone. So this is absolutely no meaning. And I don’t know, but I have difficult times to believe that a woman selling pineapple on the corner is going to attack an ice agent. And then when he says that there is identity, the problem is that many of these people are in plain clothes, which states that ‘police’, it seems something that they could meet online. I think it is really important to pointing to the extreme nature of randomism. And you know, Homan has said, he has mentioned many criteria to stop people. One of the points of norms is the physical appearance. Los Angeles are 3.8 million people, and about 50% of our population is Latin, so I think 50% of Los Angeles may be suspicious in an immigration raid.
Margaret Brainon: Well, Tom Homan Has-Tom Homan has said that physical details may not be the only factor for proper doubt, but add things such as location, business, physical appearance, especially if a person runs away, or if there is a tattoo or something. You do not believe so.
Mayor Bass: Location, A-Well, Sitting at Location, Sitting at a Bus Stop, walking on the road, selling fruits? No, I dispute that, of course. And you know, again, the National Guard should never be deployed in the first place. We did not ask them. This is the federal seizure of power from a governor who deployed the National Guard when the National Guard was not needed. We had protests at the end of peaceful protests, there was exactly some violence and some looting and barbarity, we brought it to control it completely. Soldiers never joined the mob control, never involved in protest. They are guarding a building. Our police department and our Sheriff Department are those who bring protests, when it is under control, in violence. We never needed a national guard in the first place. It is a political stunt, a terrible misuse of the dollar of taxpayers.
Margaret Brainon: There is more about which we can talk about here but I want to ask you about the fire, because we are now officially in the fire season. Six months ago we saw those blazes in La, you fired the then fire chief, which failure to prepare for you. But you still have a permanent fire in that role. Isn’t this a problem? Are you ready?
Mayor Bass: No, no, I don’t think it’s a problem. Our interim fire chief has 40 years of experience. In fact, he recently retired. I called him out of retirement, during the fire. He was doing an emergency operation center. So he stepped, he did not remember a beat by handling the fire department. And we are ready. We know that this is a fire season.
Margaret Brainon: So is your plan to keep it because you bring him out of retirement?-
Mayor Bass:-No-
Margaret Brainan:-Keep it in interim base?
Mayor Bass: Forgive me, no, we are doing a national discovery, and he is definitely open to apply. But the second largest city in the country needs to ensure that we search for the country for the best talent. And I am sure that there will be people in the department who apply, but we want to cast a net wide. We discovered the same type for our police chief-
Margaret Brainon:-Ok-
Mayor Bass:-In the meantime he is more than capable of managing well.
Margaret Brainon: Okay, best wishes to the city. As soon as you walk in the fire season, we will be watching. Thank you–
Mayor Bass: -Jur.
Margaret Brainon: -We will be right back.
