One of the tricks Democrats have tried to pull since the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration began has been to implement directives, executive orders, and even pass legislation at the state level to try to thwart immigration enforcement agents from doing their jobs.
Back in February, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) signed Executive Directive 17 (ED-17), which was designed to do just that. Among other things, the directive mandated "that City property is not [to be] utilized by federal immigration agents for staging areas, processing locations, or bases of operation." It also mandated signs to be posted that read "This property is owned or controlled by the City of Los Angeles. It may only be used for its intended City purpose and not used for immigration enforcement as a staging area, processing location, or operations base."
It also called for "physical barriers such as locked gates and doors [to be] used to limit access to City-owned or controlled parking lots, vacant lots, or garages, and non-public portions of City facilities."
SEE ALSO: Karen Bass Has Another Meltdown About Federal Operation, Shows She Doesn't Know How Things Work
According to local reports, the signs mandated by ED-17 began cropping up this week around L.A., a project that the Fox 11 LA news station estimated cost around $250,000 taxpayer dollars:
More than 450 signs have been installed at parks, libraries, parking lots and transit hubs, including MacArthur Park, Lafayette Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. The signs state that city property is not to be used for immigration enforcement activities, including as staging areas, processing sites or operational bases.
"I will not stand by while federal agents use our neighborhoods as staging grounds for fear and intimidation," Bass said in a statement to FOX 11. "In Los Angeles, we are setting clear boundaries: city property will not be used to carry out these raids."
There are now 500 of these signs being posted around LA by City Hall https://t.co/gJlGquBRfj
— Shelby Grad (@shelbygrad) May 4, 2026
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli responded accordingly, noting that the signs "have no legal weight" and that federal immigration agents would go where they needed to in order to enforce federal immigration laws:
"I just think this whole thing is silly. The signs have no legal weight, force or effect on anything the federal government does," said Bill Essayli. "Federal agents will go anywhere they need to go to enforce federal law, including city property."
When asked directly whether the signs would stop federal immigration enforcement, Essayli responded, "No. Not at all. They’re null and void. They mean nothing to us."
Watch:
NEW: LA has installed 450+ “anti-ICE” signs across parks, libraries & transit hubs declaring public property off-limits for federal immigration enforcement under @MayorOfLA Karen Bass’ directive.
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) May 5, 2026
@USAttyEssayli calls them “null and void,” saying agents will enforce the law… pic.twitter.com/BMfjxbwWth
Just as a reminder, MacArthur Park in L.A. was the scene of a massive immigration enforcement operation last summer, which infuriated Bass, who arrived on the scene and demanded agents leave "right now!" She and other California Democrats, including then-Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14) infamously tried to gaslight people on the supposedly "family-friendly park."
Except the receipts said otherwise:
“It is a playground, a picnic spot, a community spot” - Eric Swalwell, telling us he’s never been to MacArthur Park without telling us he’s never been to MacArthur Parkpic.twitter.com/SgSq1MgdIZ https://t.co/luV6Lo0oAY
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) July 8, 2025
Man, this is not going well for you. It’s definitely war zone-like. pic.twitter.com/GUiFcbn9cv
— Sean Spicier - Former Tango Dancer (Parody) (@sean_spicier) July 8, 2025
I would be shocked if there were kids playing in McArthur Park before. Whole area is covered in trash, human waste, and a bunch of drugged out people. https://t.co/OqYe19sgm1
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) July 7, 2025
Can you send me an audio clip of you saying that so I can superimpose it on video of all the druggies and violence?
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) July 8, 2025
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin also noted at the time that "a massive federal immigration enforcement operation is underway in the MacArthur Park area of the sanctuary city of Los Angeles, an area with heavy MS-13 influence."
Months later, we learned that Bass had "greenlighted a multi-million dollar project to clean up the city’s drug-filled MacArthur Park — mere months after the Democrat berated immigration officers who tried to do the same thing in the troubled greenspace."
What was the stated rationale for Bass' clean-up project? “Ongoing public safety and quality of life challenges."
It's amazing how President Donald Trump taking bold action on issues that have persistently plagued Democrat-run cities and states will inevitably prompt those same Democrats to take action themselves (on a much smaller scale, of course) once the smoke and dust have cleared - while trying to take credit for ideas initiated by Trump that prompted their fauxrage to begin with.
This is something we saw, for instance, when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ordered the state police to help combat crime in blue cities (the same ones we were reliably told didn't have a crime problem) in August 2025 after Trump put him on full blast over crime issues in the Golden State.
READ MORE -->> The Trump Effect: Watch the Tables Get Hilariously Turned on Gavin Newsom During Law Enforcement Briefing
Whatever the case may be, while Bass' executive directive and the signs put up from it might make her feel like she's Done Something™ to combat the feds, the reality of the matter, as Essayli observed, is that it was a meaningless action that will have no impact whatsoever on immigration enforcement agents doing what Bass and other Democrat officials in the city have consistently failed to do: protect its residents from criminal illegal aliens.
Editor’s Note: Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.
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