Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman joined anti-ICE demonstrators Saturday outside Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights, leading chants calling on federal immigration agents to leave the city just days after winning office.
The protest followed a tense confrontation the night before, when ICE agents brought a person in their custody to the hospital’s emergency department for undisclosed medical reasons. Hospital officials said agents blocked the emergency entrance for roughly two hours, forcing staff to reroute ambulances.
“When agents formed a line across our ambulance entrance, which we did not request nor authorize,” a hospital spokesperson told NBC 4, describing why the facility had to divert incoming patients.
Addressing the crowd Saturday, Raman spoke directly to the fear the raids have caused.
“I am an immigrant myself,” Raman said. “I have felt the fear that so many across this city, across this country have felt since these raids began.”
Raman also spoke in Spanish, leading chants of “ICE out of Boyle Heights” and “ICE out of LA,” and called the previous night’s standoff an affront to Americans.
Outgoing Mayor Karen Bass, whom Raman defeated in Thursday’s election, echoed the criticism, calling on the Trump administration to stop enforcement actions near medical facilities.
“I condemn ICE’s action and call on the Trump Administration to stop all immigration enforcement in and around health care facilities,” Bass said.
Hospital president Daniel Fontoura said the facility is meant to be a refuge regardless of a patient’s immigration status: “White Memorial is a place of healing and safety for everyone, regardless of immigration status.”
Protesters alleged that agents pepper-sprayed demonstrators during the confrontation and detained several US citizens along with the people federal agents had come to take into custody. At least one person was reportedly removed from doctors’ care and transported to a detention center.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene but said its officers did not take part in any immigration enforcement activity.
A Test for the Incoming Administration
The episode lands as LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s future with the department remains uncertain. Raman, 45, has said she intends to replace McDonnell, whom she has criticized for what she considers a weak response to ICE operations targeting undocumented residents in Los Angeles.
Her 100-day public safety plan includes hiring more 911 operators, expanding unarmed crisis response teams, and auditing police compliance with the city’s sanctuary city law, which limits how much immigration information local authorities can share with federal agents.
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