Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman quickly made her position on immigration enforcement clear Saturday, joining anti-ICE demonstrators and leading chants calling for federal agents to leave the city.
Raman appeared outside Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights after a tense overnight clash between federal agents and protesters at the hospital.
“I am an immigrant myself,” Raman told the crowd. “I have felt the fear that so many people across this city and this country have experienced since these raids began.”
Addressing demonstrators in Spanish, Raman led chants of “ICE out of Boyle Heights” and “ICE out of LA.” She later described the previous night’s confrontation as an affront to Americans.
Outgoing Mayor Karen Bass also criticized the operation, urging the Trump administration to end immigration enforcement activity in and 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 criticism came after Friday night’s incident, when ICE agents brought a person in custody to White Memorial’s emergency department for medical reasons that were not disclosed.
Hospital officials said federal agents blocked the emergency entrance for approximately two hours.
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“When agents formed a line across our ambulance entrance, which we did not request nor authorize,” a hospital spokesperson told NBC 4, explaining that the obstruction forced the hospital to reroute ambulances.
Hospital President Daniel Fontoura said: “White Memorial is a place of healing and safety for everyone, regardless of immigration status.”
Protesters said agents used pepper spray and arrested several U.S. citizens, including people who had gathered to protest the enforcement action.
At least one individual was reportedly removed from doctors’ care and transferred to a detention facility.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the demonstrations but said its officers were not involved in immigration enforcement.
The confrontation adds to the uncertainty surrounding LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s future. Raman has vowed to replace him after defeating Bass in Thursday’s mayoral election.
The 45-year-old mayor-elect has accused McDonnell of failing to respond adequately to ICE operations targeting undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles.
Raman’s 100-day public safety plan also proposes hiring additional 911 operators, expanding unarmed crisis-response teams and auditing police compliance with the city’s sanctuary law, which limits the sharing of immigration information with federal authorities.