Recent figures released by the Controller’s office in Los Angeles reveal that the anti-ICE protests that erupted in the city have cost taxpayers a staggering $32 million from June 1 to June 17.
City Controller Kenneth Mejia attempted to contextualize these expenses on X, attributing the lion’s share of the costs to “ICE raids.”
“Of the total, $29.5 million—or 92%—is associated with the LAPD’s response to protests against ICE, including costs related to citywide tactical alerts,” he noted. However, he conveniently omitted the instances of violence from self-proclaimed protesters that necessitated such police actions.
Since the protests began earlier this month, law enforcement has arrested at least 561 individuals.
Mejia also highlighted that “$1.4 million pertains to clean-up and damage to public property,” yet somehow, the narrative suggests that ICE is responsible for the damages inflicted by rioters and undocumented individuals, exceeding a million dollars.
The total expenditure of approximately $32 million, Mejia pointed out, “does not factor in potential lawsuits.”
UPDATE: ICE RAIDS HAVE NOW COST LA TAXPAYERS $32 MILLION
$29.5 million or 92% relates to LAPD’s response to protests against ICE including citywide tactical alert costs
️ $1.4 million relates to clean-up / public property damage
‍⚖️ Does not include potential lawsuits pic.twitter.com/6sWZALDKeZ
— LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia (@lacontroller) June 20, 2025
The response from ICE agents has reportedly surged by 500% as a consequence of narratives disseminated by Democrats like Mejia, which they claim distort the realities faced by law enforcement.
In a related historical context, Governor Gavin Newsom litigated against President Trump for invoking federal authority to deploy the National Guard to mitigate the violence, aiming to curb the escalating cost and chaos. Initially, Trump dispatched 4,000 National Guard troops to restore order.
After a ruling by a left-leaning federal judge in San Francisco mandated Trump to relinquish control of the National Guard back to California, the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court ultimately sided with Trump, allowing the deployment to continue.
Nevertheless, radical elements and undocumented individuals persist in their confrontations with law enforcement, wreaking havoc on public property.
As reported by , incidents of violence have escalated, including attacks on Border Patrol vehicles in the suburbs of Bell and Maywood, California, where vehicles were rammed, tires slashed, and windows shattered as chaos erupted.
Violent Mobs Attack Border Patrol in Los Angeles Suburbs of Maywood and Bell — Cars Rammed, Tires Slashed, Windows Smashed
