LA Mayor Installs Anti-ICE Signs Across the City
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has reportedly spent around $250,000 to put up more than 450 signs declaring certain city areas as no-immigration enforcement zones.
The signs, which feature the mayor’s name, can be found in parks, libraries, parking lots, transportation hubs, and even at the zoo. The bright red and white signs declare that the property is “owned or controlled” by the city and specifies that it “may only be used for the City’s intended purposes and may not be used for immigration control as a staging area, processing location, or base of operations.”
Bill Esseri, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, commented that the signs are “invalid” and “mean nothing to us,” despite carrying the city seal. He expressed disbelief: “I just think this is ridiculous in and of itself. This sign has no legal weight, no enforcement, no influence on federal action,” he added, emphasizing that federal agents can enforce the law anywhere, including city property.
Interestingly, the signs reference Administrative Directive 17, which Bass introduced in February to shield residents from what she described as an “ongoing and dangerous federal migration operation.”
Bass contends that federal enforcement instills fear and anxiety in residents, insisting that non-public spaces on city property should be off-limits to immigration enforcement unless there’s a proper judicial warrant or court order. “I will not stand by while federal agents use our neighborhoods as theaters of fear and intimidation,” she told Fox 11 in a statement before the November election. “In Los Angeles, we have established clear boundaries. City property will not be used to carry out these raids.”
While the exact cost of the signs hasn’t been officially disclosed, Fox 11 estimates that, at about $500 per sign, the total could reach around $250,000.
Neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor Mayor Bass’s office has responded to requests for comments on this matter.
In the past, an appeals court blocked a separate California law that aimed to regulate federal immigration enforcement, including requirements for agents to wear uniforms and clearly visible identification while on duty.
