At a Sunday accountability assembly at Precious Blood Church in Westlake, Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman faced questions about immigration enforcement, homelessness and safety near MacArthur Park, along with sidewalk repair and sex trafficking. Hundreds of Angelenos from different faith backgrounds attended the One LA-IAF forum, where organizers asked whether each candidate would continue working with the coalition and gave them one minute to respond. The exchange highlighted the candidates’ commitments on immigration and treatment, as well as residents’ concerns about daily life around the park, just weeks before the November 3 runoff.
Among the most pointed moments, as reported by LAist, came when Noemi Tagorda, a parent of a student at Precious Blood School, addressed Bass directly about public safety, saying MacArthur Park is no longer a place where people can relax. Manuel Olvera, a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church in San Gabriel, shared a story on behalf of a fellow immigrant churchgoer who was too afraid to speak himself — describing how the man and his son lost their jobs amid the current immigration enforcement climate and had lived off savings for months. Olvera said the man's home now felt like a prison.
Candidates Pledge Immigration Support
Raman, who immigrated from India at age 6, committed to hosting an immigration retreat and meeting with One LA-IAF, and said that if elected mayor she would increase immigrant legal defense funding and ensure people facing deportation have resources. Bass likewise committed to working with the organization, telling the crowd her office had partnered with One LA-IAF on an immigration hearing that became an official congressional hearing, and said she hoped for a shift in the House of Representatives in about 25 days. Bass agreed to host a retreat and attend in person, saying she believed One LA-IAF already met regularly with her office.
The exchange over legal defense funding carries real financial weight. The Los Angeles City Council approved $1.5 million for the immigrant legal defense program in the final budget earlier this year, after Bass had proposed cutting those funds in the previous city budget cycle. According to the Los Angeles Times, city officials wrestled with a nearly $1 billion budget deficit last year, and the City Council clawed back $1 million from the program during budget negotiations. Per CalMatters, the city created the Los Angeles Justice Fund in 2017, which is now known as RepresentLA.
Homelessness and Treatment Divide
On homelessness, Bass said she would focus on distinguishing drug dealers from drug users and advocate residential drug treatment if elected to a second term, arguing that people who prey on others should be separated from people with addictions who need treatment. Raman argued that a compassionate response to homelessness can coexist with resident safety, citing a 50% reduction in people living on the street in her council district last year. She also said city needs exceed available resources and committed to further partnership with One LA-IAF.
What city records show
The budget debate described above is one part of how the city has delivered immigrant legal services. A Los Angeles Community Investment for Families Department report says RepresentLA provided removal-defense representation, affirmative legal representation, legal orientation and pro se assistance to 9,899 individuals through February 2025.
On homelessness, a July 24, 2026, Council District 4 press release citing LAHSA said unsheltered homelessness in the district declined by 49% between 2025 and 2026. That figure is for the district and those years; LAHSA says its local dashboard reports raw counts of people and dwellings from the 2024 and 2025 counts, without estimating how many people live in counted dwellings such as RVs and tents.
The MacArthur Park concerns raised at the forum echo an enforcement controversy Bass addressed weeks earlier. Bass had ordered the LAPD to stop issuing anti-camping citations to street vendors around the park, a move that followed debate during mayoral forums over vendor regulation in Westlake. That same park has struggled with upkeep; Hoodline previously reported it was refilled with trash days after a Bass-led cleanup effort earlier this year.
A Coalition Built on Faith and Organizing
One LA-IAF describes itself as a cross-religious platform allowing religious organizations to share stories and seek government attention on community issues, and operates as a network of diverse religious and nonprofit institutions across Los Angeles County. The coalition brings together multi-faith congregations and civic institutions.
The forum also included candidates for Los Angeles County Sheriff, and Tagorda said afterward she was pleased that people of different faiths and parts of the city had come together to participate.
Stakes Rising Heading Into November
The Westlake forum arrives as the race tightens in its final stretch. Bass and Raman advanced to the November 3 runoff after neither secured a majority in the June 2 primary, where Bass took 34% and Raman took 29%, per Ballotpedia. A September UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll cited by the Daily Bruin showed Raman leading Bass by 11 percentage points among likely voters.
The campaign's closing weeks have also featured disputes over housing and vacation-rental regulations. Bass and Raman clashed over housing density at a South LA mayoral forum, a dispute detailed in Hoodline's earlier coverage.
