There is no “termination date” for the curfew for a one-square-mile section of downtown Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference Friday.
“We are hoping that if the cause of the turmoil ends, which is stopping the raids, then I can almost guarantee you that curfew will go away,” Bass said Friday afternoon.
The New York Times reported Friday night that the Trump administration has abruptly shifted the focus of its mass deportation campaign, telling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to largely pause raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, according to an internal email and three U.S. officials with knowledge of the guidance.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the guidance to The Times.
The 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, which Bass imposed on Tuesday in response to looting and vandalism, is “making a difference” in curtailing criminal activity, she said.
According to the mayor, the majority of arrests Wednesday and Thursday nights have not been for violence, looting or vandalism but rather for curfew violations and unlawful assembly. Overall, Bass said “we’ve seen the numbers go down.”
Los Angeles is in its eighth day of protests that have occurred daily since federal immigration enforcement operations began last Friday.
Meanwhile, ahead of several demonstrations scheduled to take place throughout Los Angeles County Saturday as part of the nationwide “No Kings Day of Defiance,” Bass said she was supportive of the law enforcement plan in place.