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Finance & Markets · North America

McDonnell disputes Raman’s ICE claims as he cites lower Los Angeles crime

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell disputed mayoral candidate Nithya Raman’s criticism of his department, including her claims about its cooperation with ICE. McDonnell said Los Angeles crime rates were falling and credited community relationships, while Raman said he had lost the trust of the city’s immigrant community.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 9 entries
5 outlets3 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 4 · R 1
Updat3 graphic: Los Angeles
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Raman said McDonnell had “lost the trust of our immigrant community here in LA.”
  • McDonnell said crime rates are down in LA and attributed the decline to relationships with communities, including immigrants.

The brief

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell disputed Nithya Raman’s criticism of his department, including her claims about its relationship with Los Angeles’s immigrant community and its cooperation with ICE. In comments to The California Post, McDonnell also pointed to falling crime rates in the city.

The remarks followed an interview in which Raman criticized the chief as she campaigns for mayor. Raman said McDonnell had “lost the trust of our immigrant community here in LA.” She has said she would remove him if elected. McDonnell, in turn, rejected claims that the LAPD had cooperated with ICE operations in Los Angeles.

The account does not provide further detail about the alleged cooperation or McDonnell’s rebuttal. On public safety, McDonnell said crime rates in Los Angeles were down. He credited relationships across community sectors, including with immigrants.

Raman’s interview criticism also covered the cost of staffing the LAPD, alongside the department’s ties with immigrants and its handling of ICE operations.

Raman argued the city’s staffing picture had worsened, saying it was “paying half a billion dollars more for 1,500 fewer officers than we were before.” That is her characterization of staffing and costs; McDonnell’s comments, as reported, focused on falling crime rates and community relationships.

The account does not provide figures for crime trends or a separate breakdown of staffing costs. The disagreement comes as Raman has made McDonnell’s future part of her campaign discussion. In the interview, she did not identify a candidate to replace him or say whether a new chief would be selected before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

She had previously said she could keep McDonnell until 2030, then later told The Post she expected him to leave sooner. The competing remarks put the chief’s standing, the department’s staffing costs and its relationship with immigrant communities into the mayoral debate.

McDonnell presented community ties and lower crime as evidence in defense of his department, while Raman challenged his record and said she would replace him if elected. The account gives no resolution to the dispute over ICE cooperation or a decision on who might succeed McDonnell.

Why it matters

  • Raman’s stated concern centers on Los Angeles’s immigrant community: she said McDonnell had lost its trust, while McDonnell cited relationships with immigrants as part of his account of community ties.
  • The staffing dispute involves a specific cost and headcount claim: Raman said the city paid half a billion dollars more for 1,500 fewer officers.
  • McDonnell’s defense rests partly on his claim that Los Angeles crime rates were down; the account provides no crime figures to quantify that claim.

What to watch next

  • Whether Raman identifies a potential successor for McDonnell; she declined to name one in the interview.
  • Whether Raman clarifies if she would appoint a new chief before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
  • Whether Raman’s stated plan to remove McDonnell if elected changes, given her earlier comments about keeping him until 2030 and later expectation that he would leave sooner.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 4 Center · 1 Right
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 40% · Europe 20% · Other 40%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
4 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (4 of 5 rated sources); comparatively few Left-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. In 1979, LAPD Chief Daryl Gates issued Special Order 40, which barred officers from initiating police action solely to determine someone’s immigration status.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. California’s Senate Bill 54 took effect, restricting state and local law-enforcement assistance to federal immigration enforcement.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Nithya Raman, elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, represented the city’s 4th District.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. The Los Angeles City Council confirmed Jim McDonnell as LAPD chief.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Jim McDonnell was sworn in as LAPD chief.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Jim McDonnell became Los Angeles police chief on November 14, 2024, after Mayor Karen Bass selected him to lead the department.
    Background · from our historical context
  8. On November 19, 2024, the Los Angeles City Council approved a sanctuary-city ordinance limiting city resources and personnel from being used for federal immigration enforcement, subject to legal exceptions.
    Background · from our historical context
  9. Karen Bass, Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt placed first, second and third in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, respectively.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Jim McDonnell became Los Angeles police chief on November 14, 2024, after Mayor Karen Bass selected him to lead the department. Before that appointment, he had served as Los Angeles County sheriff from 2014 to 2022 and as Long Beach police chief. Nithya Raman, elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, represented the city’s 4th District.

In 1979, LAPD Chief Daryl Gates issued Special Order 40, which barred officers from initiating police action solely to determine someone’s immigration status.

Original sources

5 articles from 5 outlets

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