California transit agency apologizes, promises to change policy after ICE recruitment ad seen on bus
Long Beach Transit has issued an apology — and promised to revamp its policies — after community members discovered recruitment advertisements for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on their buses.
The city’s transportation agency, which serves more than 18 million people in both Southeast Los Angeles County and northwest Orange County each year, according to its website, posted a statement addressing the situation to its Instagram page on Saturday, Dec. 6, after a photo of an ICE recruitment advertisement on an LBT bus gained traction online.
The advertisement, originally uploaded by a rider on the bus on Saturday and reposted on the account of stopice.net, featured an ICE agent with the slogan “Defend the homeland, join ICE today.” Shortly after the photo made its rounds online, Long Beach Transit posted its apology.
“Today, Dec. 6, 2025, Long Beach Transit was made aware of an ICE hiring advertisement on our buses. The advertisement was immediately removed. LBT sincerely apologizes for the oversight,” the statement said. “We work with advertising partners for interior and exterior advertisements. This was purchased as a government hiring advertisement.”
LBT’s statement also said the agency “acknowledges the uncertainty and fear this may have caused.”
That response, though, drew ire from some social media users, including stopice.net — a nationwide mobile alert system meant to inform people about federal immigration operations created by Long Beach resident Sherman Austin — which commented underneath the agency’s statement to Instagram arguing that the ICE advertisement “should never have happened to begin with.”
“The community expects you to prioritize responsible vetting with your ‘advertising partners’ especially in a time like this when (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) is plastering these ridiculous ads everywhere and terrorizing our communities,” stopice.net wrote. “The (Long Beach) Values Act represents a commitment to protect migrant communities, and we hope the city will take this more seriously moving forward.”
This isn’t the first time Long Beach Transit has come under fire for its policies surrounding ICE activity.
In June, an internal memo from the agency’s CEO and president, Kenneth McDonald, instructed LBT employees not to interfere with federal immigration agents should they attempt to enter the agency’s worksites or restricted areas. That memo leaked online — drawing major concerns from residents and community organizations throughout the city.
Shortly after the controversy, Mayor Rex Richardson urged Long Beach Transit to update its policies for employees to better align with the city’s Values Act.
That act, which was originally approved in 2018 and was strengthened by the City Council earlier this year, essentially says that Long Beach does not and will not use city resources to enforce federal immigration law, “but remains fully compliant with all applicable federal laws and does not interfere with lawful federal enforcement activities,” according to the city’s website.
Long Beach Transit released revised guidance to employees in July, and McDonald issued multiple apologies for the “confusion” caused by his initial memo. The updated memo also reaffirmed LBT’s commitment to the Values Act, and helping the community and transit users generally feel safe on the city’s public transportation.
As for the ICE ad, Long Beach Transit once against promised to updated its policies moving forward.
“This is not a reflection of our values,” LBT’s statement said, “and we will update our advertising policies to ensure this never happens again.”