LA City Council asks for more details on how the Trump administration will police the Olympics

The Los Angeles City Council is asking the private nonprofit organizing the 2028 Olympics to provide more information on the role the federal government will play in policing the Games.

The council unanimously passed a motion Tuesday requesting that LA28 produce a detailed report on the federal Olympics task force on security that President Donald Trump announced last year.

"We all have increasing concerns about their involvement and their influence around what policing will look like," Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said of the federal government, citing the ICE agents that have descended on the streets of Los Angeles and other U.S. cities since summer.

The federal government is overseeing security planning for the Olympic Games. The agency leading that effort is the Secret Service, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. That set-up is not atypical, but it has sparked criticism from immigrants rights advocates and community members concerned that the Games may bring more federal agents to the streets of L.A.

LA28 also caught flak when it quietly added a number of Trump allies to its board of directors last year. The new additions mean Trump allies have nearly the same representation on the board as the city's six appointees.

The motion passed Tuesday asks LA28 to report to the council how the federal security task force will affect the city's planning for the Olympics. It also directs LA28 to "include guidance on what guardrails the City can enact to ensure that the City's most vulnerable communities are protected."

In a statement, LA28 did not say how it would respond to the council’s request, or respond to the concerns raised by Councilmember Rodriguez.

A spokesperson said in an email that the White House task force “plays an important role in facilitating coordination across federal departments and agencies,” but did not offer more details on what that coordination entails.

It appears that the City Council can do little to enforce its motion.

The city's contract with the Olympics organizers requires LA28 to update the city on engagement with federal authorities that "relates materially to the City," and to periodically update the city on the event's national security designation. But the council's request for more information on the federal task force doesn't fit neatly into any category spelled out in that agreement.

Gabriel Avalos, a spokesperson for Rodriguez, acknowledged via text that the City Council could not compel the private Olympics organizers to respond to the motion, and that the council's request was just that: a request.

"Now the ball is simply in their court," Avalos added.