A new front in the immigration fight is unfolding in Los Angeles.
City leaders have installed more than 450 signs across public spaces declaring them off-limits for federal immigration enforcement — a move federal officials say is legally meaningless.
The signs, posted at parks, libraries and transit hubs including MacArthur Park, Lafayette Park and the Los Angeles Zoo, state that city property cannot be used for immigration raids, staging or processing.
The effort stems from Executive Directive 17, issued by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“I will not stand by while federal agents use our neighborhoods as staging grounds for fear and intimidation,” Bass said in a statement to FOX 11. “In Los Angeles, we are setting clear boundaries: city property will not be used to carry out these raids.”
Federal officials aren’t backing down.
Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, dismissed the move outright.
“I just think this whole thing is silly. The signs have no legal weight, force or effect on anything the federal government does,” Essayli said.
He made the federal position unmistakably clear.
“Federal agents will go anywhere they need to go to enforce federal law, including city property.”
Pressed on whether the signs would actually stop enforcement, Essayli didn’t hesitate.
“No. Not at all. They’re null and void. They mean nothing to us.”
City officials have not disclosed the cost of producing and installing the signs. However, based on industry estimates of roughly $500 per sign for production and installation, the total could reach around $250,000.
Watch the clip below:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spent $250,000 of taxpayer money putting up 450 signs around LA declaring parks and other city property off limits to ICE.
US Attorney Bill Essayli confirms the signs hold no legal weight and are completely useless. pic.twitter.com/Q2vJrKvI28
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) May 5, 2026
