Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman wasted little time signaling where she stands on immigration enforcement, joining anti-ICE protesters Saturday and leading chants demanding federal agents leave the city.
Raman appeared outside Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights following a tense overnight confrontation between federal agents and demonstrators at the hospital.
“I am an immigrant myself,” Raman told the crowd. “I have felt the fear that so many across this city, across this country have felt since these raids began.”
Speaking in Spanish, Raman led chants of “ICE out of Boyle Heights” and “ICE out of LA” before declaring the previous night’s incident an affront to Americans.
Outgoing Mayor Karen Bass also piled on, calling on the Trump administration to halt immigration enforcement around medical facilities.
“I condemn ICE’s action and call on the Trump Administration to stop all immigration enforcement in and around health care facilities.”
The backlash followed Friday night’s confrontation, when ICE agents brought a person in their custody to White Memorial’s emergency department for undisclosed medical reasons.
Hospital officials said agents blocked the emergency entrance for roughly two hours. “When agents formed a line across our ambulance entrance, which we did not request nor authorize,” a hospital spokesperson told NBC 4, explaining the decision to reroute ambulances.
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Hospital president Daniel Fontoura added: “White Memorial is a place of healing and safety for everyone, regardless of immigration status.”
Protesters alleged agents pepper-sprayed demonstrators and arrested several US citizens alongside the people they had come to detain.
At least one person was reportedly taken from doctors’ care to a detention center.
The LAPD responded to the protests but said officers did not participate in immigration enforcement.
The confrontation comes as LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell faces an uncertain future under Raman, who has pledged to replace him after defeating Bass in Thursday’s mayoral election.
The 45-year-old mayor-elect has criticized McDonnell for what she views as an insufficient response to ICE operations targeting illegal migrants in Los Angeles.
Her 100-day public safety plan also calls for hiring more 911 operators, expanding unarmed crisis response teams and auditing police compliance with the city’s sanctuary city law, which restricts the sharing of immigration information with federal authorities.
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