Nithya Raman
Role at the time: Los Angeles City Councilmember and candidate for mayor, in a campaign video
Response to this claim
Los Angeles was the gold standard in noncooperation with immigration enforcement in the era of Police Chief Daryl Gates.
“Now, instead of answering those questions and ensuring that we can rebuild trust with our law enforcement, Mayor Bass is trying to twist my words. It is completely unacceptable. Let me be very clear. Daryl Gates was a racist, abhorrent, militaristic police chief.”
Raman's campaign posted this short video on October 15, 2026, while Bass was holding her news conference. Raman speaks to the camera about the debate exchange and LAPD cooperation with ICE.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is Raman's own statement in the October 13, 2026 debate that Los Angeles used to be the gold standard in noncooperation with immigration enforcement in the Daryl Gates era. Raman rejects Bass's reading of the remark as praise for Gates, says she was describing the city's past limits on cooperation with immigration authorities, and condemns Gates himself, so we labeled it Challenged characterization. The closest competing label is Defended or excused, because she keeps her point about immigration policy; it loses because her response disputes how her words were described rather than defending Gates's record.