Democrat-led jurisdictions have faced little in the way of fallout for their historical refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but now that the Trump administration is in charge, things are beginning to change.
As Fox Business reports, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced over the weekend that its regional office in Los Angeles will be relocated out of the city due to local authorities' unwillingness to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Trump agenda.
The SBA's decision was precipitated by a statement issued by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in response to a surge in federal immigration enforcement efforts in the city she leads.
Bass posted her take on X, writing, “This morning, we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles.”
She continued, “As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place.”
Bass went on, “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations.”
The mayor concluded her statement in a defiant tone, asserting, “We will not stand for this.”
It was not long before SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler responded to the Los Angeles mayor's declaration, taking to X herself to announce her agency's plans to depart the city.
“Los Angeles is openly refusing to cooperate with ICE -- siding with illegal aliens over American citizens and small businesses,” she wrote.
Loeffler's statement went on, “Therefore, effective immediately, @SBAgov will begin relocating its Regional Office out of L.A.”
Underscoring her rationale for the decision, Loeffler added, “If a city won't protect its people, we won't stay.”
As protests against ICE operations flared in Los Angeles on Saturday and saw projectiles thrown at law enforcement vehicles and a car set on fire, concerns of further escalation prompted action from the White House.
President Donald Trump signed a memo deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to the impacted area, as ABC 7 noted, with the commander in chief also noting that masks will no longer be tolerated among protestors.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth weighed in as well, decrying the “violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law enforcement” and stating that if National Guard troops are insufficient to quell the unrest in Los Angeles, “active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized,” underscoring what officials appear to assess as the extreme volatility of the situation at present.
