Introduction to the Nation’s Priorities
The nation’s priorities are now crystal clear. We are adding ICE and Border Patrol agents, activating troops and invading American neighborhoods, including L.A.’s MacArthur Park on Monday morning. Meanwhile, we are getting rid of medical researchers and weather forecasters, even as extreme and deadly weather events become more common.
The Real Threats to Health and Security
You would think — based on the priorities in President Trump’s budget, tax and policy bill approved last week — that immigration is the greatest threat to our health and security. It’s not. But billions of dollars have been added for border and ICE agents while billions more have been trimmed from medical, climate and weather-related resources.
Invasion of MacArthur Park
On Monday morning, federal agents on horseback and in armored vehicles descended on MacArthur Park in a show of force. Children playing in the park were ushered to safer ground, Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference. “Frankly it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in our parks,” Bass said, adding that she didn’t know if anyone was even detained. “It’s a political agenda of provoking fear and terror,” she said. The event “looked like a staging for a TikTok video,” said City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
Problems in MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park has a sizable undocumented immigrant population, and a lot of big problems to tackle — homelessness, a wide-open drug trade and gang activity. On some days areas of the park were unusable for families. First responders rolled out on overdose calls, addicts took over an alley, and merchants struggled to stay open amid all the mayhem. In December, people sit at the corner of Alvarado Street and Wilshire Boulevard, an area known for illegal drug use in the Westlake neighborhood. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Lack of Effective Solutions
As I found last year over the course of several months on the ground, local officials waited too long and moved too slowly in response to the long-festering crisis. But a silly military parade isn’t going to help, unless they actually were going after undocumented drug lords — but there was no immediate evidence of that. If the federal government wanted to help, L.A. could use more support for housing, drug interdiction and treatment. It could use a more stable and equitable economy that’s not undermined by tariff uncertainties and the president’s taunts of trading partners.
Immigration Reform
As we know in California, countless industries rely on undocumented laborers. It’s an open secret, and has been for decades, not just in the Golden State but across the nation, and yet Washington has been unable to put together a sensible immigration reform package over the years. Congress got close last fall, but do I need to remind you what happened? That’s right. Trump threatened lackey GOP Congressman, ordering the spineless ninnies to pull their support.
Terrorizing Neighborhoods
Every time I see a helicopter now in L.A. — and as we know, they’re like mosquitoes up there — I wonder if Trump has sent in the Air Force, with bombers coming in behind them. My colleague Rachel Uranga recently reported that “ICE has not released data on criminal records of detainees booked into its custody.” But nonpublic data from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, “showed about 9 out of 10 had never been convicted of a violent or property crime, and 30% have no criminal record. The most frequent crimes are immigration and traffic offenses.” Federal immigration agents near MacArthur Park in the Westlake area on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Existential Threats
It’s almost as terrifying as several other real and existential threats: An anti-vax crackpot is in charge of the nation’s healthcare and medical research system. Trump’s Big Bonehead Bill calls for an $18-billion cut for the National Institutes of Health. Some of the leading researchers in medicine and science are leaving the country in a trend that could end up being a catastrophic brain drain.
Global Consequences
I got an email the other day from the Social Security Administration informing me the “(SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill.” I thought it was a joke at first — a satirical take on the rise of an authoritarian regime. But it was real, and so are the cuts to the National Weather Service, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Meteorologists say extreme weather events like the rainstorms that led to a river surge and killed dozens of children and adults in Texas’ Hill Country over the holiday weekend are going to become more common. Florida had a record-tying number of hurricanes in 2024 with 11 of them, and $130 billion in damage. Wildfires destroyed thousands of homes in Southern California last year and are becoming ever-more common around the world. Temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea smashed records for June, and scientists are warning of dire impacts on sea life and food chains.
Conclusion
To the president and his minions, the crisis is overblown. It’s fake news. And the federal government can’t be distracted from its core mission. The week is young, and there’s no telling which L.A. neighborhood will be invaded next. steve.lopez@latimes.com
FAQs
Q: What is the current priority of the nation based on President Trump’s budget and policy bill?
A: The current priority is to add billions of dollars for border and ICE agents while trimming billions from medical, climate, and weather-related resources.
Q: What happened at MacArthur Park on Monday morning?
A: Federal agents on horseback and in armored vehicles descended on the park in a show of force, with children being ushered to safer ground.
Q: What are the problems faced by MacArthur Park?
A: The park faces issues such as homelessness, a wide-open drug trade, and gang activity.
Q: What is the impact of the cuts to the National Institutes of Health and other scientific research institutions?
A: The cuts could lead to a catastrophic brain drain, with leading researchers leaving the country, and hinder the nation’s ability to respond to extreme weather events and other existential threats.
Q: What is the author’s concern about the federal government’s actions?
A: The author is concerned that the federal government is prioritizing the wrong issues, terrorizing neighborhoods, and ignoring real existential threats such as climate change and extreme weather events.
