The network cut to a live split-screen of federal immigration officers apprehending suspected undocumented immigrants outside of a press conference sponsored by California Governor Gavin Newsom while Kristi Noem was in the middle of an interview on Fox News.
Newsom had been promoting the state’s intentions to redraw congressional districts in a manner that Democrats claim will combat alleged Republican gerrymandering in Texas when the shocking video was shot on Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. The Border Patrol officers who made the arrests were loudly jeered by the Democratic audience as Newsom confirmed their presence outside the venue.
The picture was narrated by Fox News anchors John Roberts and Aishah Hasnie, who described it as a very direct attempt to demonstrate to Democrats that President Donald Trump’s immigration policy will be implemented regardless of the political fallout.
Hasnie informed viewers that the arrests seemed to target illegal immigrants in the near vicinity of Newsom’s press conference, adding that the video had just been received by Fox reporters in Los Angeles. Then she turned to Noem and asked her how she felt about the sight unfolding in front of them while they spoke.
In response, Noem hailed the wider immigration crackdown as a victory for American labor. According to her, 2.5 million Americans found work in the last six to seven months, in addition to 1.6 million people leaving the country who shouldn’t have been there.
Breaking: As ICE detains undocumented immigrants outside of Newsom’s press conference, Karen Bass is going crazy.
Officially, Trump has pushed her over the edge.image.twitter.com/402FWGxXJD
(@ImMeme0) August 14, 2025 I Meme Therefore I Am
Those who love this nation, were born here, want to work, and now have new prospects for achievement will all benefit from that amazing growth, as will their families. Her comments reaffirmed the administration’s claim that increasing employment opportunities for American residents is a direct result of the removal of unauthorized immigrants.
Noem maintained that operations such as the one depicted on film were not random when asked about the details of the arrests in Los Angeles. “Remember, we’re concentrating on the worst-case scenario,” she stated. I am unsure of the particular details of the intelligence they had for the planned operation today, but it was based on the investigative work that all law enforcement agents perform for each and every operation they carry out in order to ensure that dangerous individuals are removed from our streets.
She underlined that intelligence and casework are the foundation of ICE and Border Patrol operations. Considering who they believe might be in that location and the evidence they have that indicates there are criminals there, it’s a case and an operation that has been planned, she continued.
Both sides of the political spectrum instantly seized on the arrests’ optics, which showed federal agents operating within earshot of a Democratic governor’s gathering. Critics claimed it was a political ploy to humiliate Newsom and incite his audience, while supporters viewed it as a direct demonstration of immigration enforcement in action.
In a subsequent interview with reporters, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass charged that the federal agents were purposefully putting on a show. “They decided to come and thumb their nose in front of the governor’s face,” she said, describing the action as needless and insulting.
Social media rapidly became trending with videos of the Border Patrol arrests and Noem’s live reaction. With a governor on stage, a split-screen interview, and arrests taking place only feet from the cameras, the episode was a unique fusion of political theater and real-time law enforcement activity for Fox News viewers. As the rest of the nation watched the drama unfold in real time, Noem used it as a chance to reaffirm her hard-line immigration stance.
Because of his verbal sparring with Trump and his vow to redraw California’s boundaries in response to Republicans’ attempt to gerrymander Texas, Newsom has been in the news.
