Karen Bass’ Response to ICE Is a Model for Democratic Mayors
The mayor of Los Angeles has leaned on her background in community organizing in her response to the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda.
Showing the way.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images North AmericaFor now, thousands of National Guard troops will remain on the streets of Los Angeles, following a federal appeals court ruling that found the violent behavior of some protesters had given President Donald Trump reason to deploy them. Trump, of course, immediately hailed the decision as a “BIG WIN.” But in the court of public opinion, his plan to carry out mass deportations by militarizing more Democratic-run cities is already starting to lose public support — and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has had a lot to do with that.
Bass, 71, has quietly leaned on her history of community organizing and coalition politics to redirect an angry populace toward more peaceful demonstrations. In doing so, she has helped build a model for resisting the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda that, organizers tell me, is likely to be replicated by other Democratic mayors.