By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared yesterday that Los Angeles is prepared to welcome the world for an unprecedented stretch of global sporting events while delivering a blistering rebuke of federal immigration enforcement, saying “ICE’s presence in Los Angeles” must end.
Speaking before hundreds of city workers and officials at the Expo Center in Exposition Park, Bass used her unconventional State of the City address to strike a tone both celebratory and defiant as the city prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl, and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“When the world looks at Los Angeles, they won’t just see venues,” said Bass. “They will see our values, the diversity of our people, the pride in our shared home, and all that our neighborhoods offer.”
The timing of the speech broke with tradition. Los Angeles mayors typically deliver a single State of the City address in April alongside the city budget release. Bass plans a second, more traditional address in mid-April that will focus on fiscal priorities and the city’s budget challenges.
World Cup Preparations
Bass announced that the city will host free community celebrations in public parks across all 15 Council Districts for the duration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. All 34 competition days will be broadcast on large mobile LED trailers, allowing Angelenos to watch matches, participate in soccer clinics, and enjoy cultural programming.
“These moments will not belong only to those who can afford stadium seats,” Bass said. “They will belong to all of us.”
Angel City Football Club co-founder Julie Uhrman, who introduced the mayor, announced a $3 million partnership with the city for a three-year initiative serving more than 45,000 girls and gender-expansive youth. The city’s Department of Recreation and Parks will also launch Golf for Girls clinics at public golf courses during June’s U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club.
Bass also unveiled a Clean Corridors Initiative to accelerate beautification efforts along major city corridors, with a focus on areas near World Cup watch parties and activation sites.
Homelessness and Housing
Bass defended her Inside Safe program, which has resolved nearly 120 encampments and moved thousands of Angelenos into interim and permanent housing with an 85 percent retention rate in permanent housing.
“Ending street homelessness and housing all Angelenos is one of the defining challenges of our time,” Bass said, noting the city achieved its first-ever consecutive year decrease in homelessness, including among veterans.
Through her House Our Vets initiative, launched in 2025, the city has housed nearly 600 veterans. More than 42,000 units of affordable housing are in the pipeline under Executive Directive 1, with more than $14 million in rental assistance for seniors and people with disabilities funded through ULA.
ICE Enforcement
Bass sharply condemned ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles, citing the deaths of Keith Porter, a 43-year-old father of two shot by an off-duty ICE officer, along with similar incidents in Minneapolis involving Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
“Staying silent or minimizing what is happening is not an option,” Bass said. “This Administration does not care about safety. They do not care about order. And they certainly do not care about the law. This senseless death, lawlessness, and violence must end. And so must ICE’s presence in Los Angeles.”
The speech comes as Bass campaigns for reelection ahead of the June 2 mayoral primary, just days before World Cup matches begin at SoFi Stadium on June 12.
Her April address is expected to detail how the city will balance the costs of international hosting with everyday resident needs amid projected budget challenges.
