Los Angeles – The vice mayor of a small city in southern California is under fire after it seems to call the street gangs that will organize in front of immigration sweeps by federal agents in Los Angeles and its surroundings.
In a video publication on social networks that has since been eliminated, Cynthia González, Vicealcalde de Cudahy, referred to two known street gangs and questioned why gang members did not protect or talk about immigration raids. She said that common citizens are the ones in the streets that protest the presence of federal agents.
“You labe everything, claiming Hood, and now that your bell is being invaded by the biggest gang there, there is no pye of you,” Gonzalez said.
She referred to “18th Street” and “Florence”, two infamous street gangs, and seemed to be talking directly with its members. She said that US immigration and compliance agents are “running in their streets.”
“We are there fighting our grass, protecting our grass, protecting our people and, like, where are you?” She said.
The National Security Department called González “despicable” and said the comments will contribute to growing assaults against Federal ICE agents.
“Ask for criminal gangs, including the vicious gang of 18th Street, to commit violence against our brave application of the United States Immigration and Customs Compliance Law,” said the department in an X post that included González’s video. “Secretary Noem has been clear: if it assails a federal officer, he will be prosecuted to the maximum extension of the law.”
Los Angeles Times reported that the Union of the Police, formally known as the Los Angeles Police Protection League, requested the resignation of the vice mayor and the possible prosecution.
“What Mrs. González urged and mocked these specific gangs to do in her position on social networks places police officers and other professionals of the law at greater risk. Her actions are deplorable and potentially illegal. He should give up and should be processed if what she asked for the law to break,” the union said.
González did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The video occurs when the administration of President Donald Trump has aggressively intensified immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area in recent weeks. ICE agents have been seen, as well as the border patrol, arresting and stopping people in their workplaces, and Trump has deployed the National Guard and the Marines to protect federal buildings and guard officers who make arrests.
The comments seem to break with the main officials of California, including the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, who have urged residents to peacefully exercise their rights of the first amendment.
A spokesman for the United States prosecutor for the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles County, declined to comment when asked if González was under investigation.
According to his biography on the city’s website, González grew up in the nearby Huntington Park, daughter of immigrant parents. She has two daughters.
He received a degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He later obtained two master’s degrees in Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also obtained a doctorate in educational leadership, said the website.
González has worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher and school director in the Los Angeles area and is currently a director of support and innovation of pilot schools, said the biography.
He says that González “is passionate about creating healthy and safe communities that allow students and families to carry healthy and significant lives.”
The school district said in a statement sent by email: “As of June 1, 2025, Cynthia Gonzales has had an absence permission. We are aware of the situation and we are investigating it according to the district policy. However, due to the confidentiality of personnel affairs, we cannot comment on this.”
The city of Cudahy said in a statement on Tuesday that it was aware of the video.
“The comments made by the Vicealcalde reflect their personal views and do not represent the opinions or the official position of the city of Cudahy,” reads the statement. “The city will not provide more comments.”
According to County records, González was chosen in 2022 with 880 votes. The municipal elections in California are not partisan: party labels do not appear on the ballot.
Cudahy is a suburb of Los Angeles that houses 22,000 residents, about 10 miles (16.09 kilometers) south of the center of Los Angeles. According to US census data, 97% of residents are Hispanics or Latinos.
