As ICE raids terrorize immigrant communities across Los Angeles, Councilmember Traci Park’s public messaging has taken a deeply disturbing turn. In newsletters issued between early June and the end of July, Park has shown time and again that her focus isn’t on protecting vulnerable residents—it’s on targeting them. Whether it’s unhoused Angelenos, renters, immigrant workers, or protesters, Park has used her platform to reinforce carceral logic, expand police power, and criminalize the people most in need of care.
At a time when residents in her district are hiding in their homes for fear of abduction by federal agents, Park has prioritized showcasing what she calls “community improvements”: RVs being towed, encampments being swept, surveillance systems being expanded. In one newsletter, she boasts that her team conducted “major RV operations in Westchester and Venice,” noting that “Washington Boulevard looks much better – but we’re not done yet.” Accompanying images show a Pacific Division LAPD tow truck hauling away someone’s home like it’s junk metal. The newsletter labels this before-and-after footage a “success story.”
It doesn’t stop there. Park also celebrated her legislation cracking down on so-called “vanlords”—people she describes as “unscrupulous operators” who profit off of “unsafe, unsanitary, unpermitted RV encampments.” What she leaves out is that these RVs often represent the last form of shelter available to people who’ve been priced out of housing entirely. Rather than addressing the crisis of affordability, Park’s solution is more punishment: her legislation seeks to “increase civil penalties and add criminal penalties for the worst offenders.”
Even when unhoused residents aren’t accused of wrongdoing, Park frames them as dangerous. In her July 28 newsletter, she shares a story of a man allegedly squatting in a vacant property and calls him a “violent predator,” urging constituents to “immediately report any suspected trespassing or squatting to LAPD and to my office.” This, she says, is part of a larger effort to “overhaul the City’s arcane nuisance abatement process”—another euphemism for displacing poor people to satisfy wealthier residents’ complaints.
All of this comes amid a wave of ICE raids that have disproportionately targeted working-class immigrant neighborhoods in and around Park’s district. To date, Park has offered no legislative response to the raids, no public denunciation of LAPD-ICE data sharing, no motion to strengthen sanctuary protections. Her July 14 newsletter briefly acknowledges that “it doesn’t appear these were drug dealers, burglary gangs, or violent offenders” but “just people trying to work and go about their days.” That single sentence is the only expression of empathy. The rest of the paragraph is devoted to condemning “rioters” who protested downtown, claiming “buildings were vandalized,” “Waymos were burned,” and “sidewalks were chopped into concrete rocks used to assault police officers.” She warns constituents that “blaming LAPD for the actions of the federal government doesn’t help immigrants”—a line that neatly shields the department despite mounting evidence of its ongoing coordination with federal immigration agents.
Rather than question law enforcement’s role in the crisis, Park has moved to expand it. In multiple newsletters, she proudly announces the installation of hundreds of automated license plate readers across her district. These surveillance devices, she explains, will feed directly into the Westside’s new Real Time Crime Center. She presents this as a smart investment: a way to “make the most of limited resources at a time when police hiring is being scaled back.” But for immigrant families already in hiding, these systems represent a real threat. Data collected by ALPRs is regularly shared across local, state, and federal agencies—meaning the information gathered in CD11 could easily be used to track, detain, and deport residents.
Park’s loyalty to the police doesn’t end with policy. In her newsletters, she repeatedly elevates LAPD’s role as protectors, even as community trust continues to erode. She devoted a full section to the death of an LAPD sergeant in June, closing her City Council meeting in his honor and highlighting her time spent with officers at the West LA Division. There is nothing wrong with mourning a public servant—but the contrast is glaring. There is no comparable recognition for the immigrant workers detained during ICE sweeps. No space made for the families now facing sudden financial ruin. No outrage over agents in masks and unmarked vans prowling her district’s streets. And she still remains one of only two councilmembers who oppose LA’s sanctuary status (the other is Republican Councilmember Lee).
Her newsletter visuals make her priorities crystal clear. As immigrant families are torn apart, she shares images of a new bench on Ocean Front Walk—designed with a metal bar down the middle to prevent unhoused people from lying down. She beams in a cowboy hat at a Venice concert, alongside a caption celebrating “summer fun.” She labels the mass towing of RVs as “community clean-up” and includes Instagram-ready thumbnails of sanitation crews disposing of what appear to be people’s belongings. American flags abound. Nowhere in these images is there any trace of compassion, or any evidence that she sees the people impacted as neighbors rather than nuisances.
Even Park’s gestures toward support are paltry. In a brief paragraph buried near the end of her July 21 email, she notes that “families are scared, workers are staying home,” and adds a link to “Know Your Rights” resources. That’s it. No call for emergency legal aid. No mobile response teams. No budget motion. No policy. Just a flyer and a signature.
This lack of action stands in sharp contrast to how Park handled the Palisades Fire earlier this year. When President Trump visited the burn zone, Park welcomed him warmly and basked in the media spotlight. She was quick to brand herself as a leader and used the disaster to raise her public profile—despite having previously supported budget cuts to the fire department. Even now, months later, many fire survivors remain displaced. But Park continues to focus her attention on symbolic wins and media-friendly moments. During the ICE crisis, she has offered no leadership at all.
What Traci Park has laid out in her newsletters is not a public safety strategy. It’s a political blueprint built on punishment, displacement, and surveillance. She governs for homeowners, police unions, and business associations. Immigrants, renters, unhoused residents and protesters are expendable. The message is clear: if you’re vulnerable in CD11, Park is not here to protect you. She’s here to remove you.
