By T N Ashok
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles anti-immigration riots continued unabated for the third day as the city’s mayor Karen Bass clamped curfew on downtown LA and the protests spread to other blue states demonstrating an uneven fight between the democrats and the republicans.
While California Governor Gavin Newsom with a sagging image at home and in the Democratic Party sought to leverage on the most defining moment of his career, Trump went ballistic on reality shows demonstrating to his voters how he can come down heavily on illegal immigrants.
Donald Trump as the president and commander in chief deployed 700 marines to assist the California National guard which he requested under his emergency powers overruling the powers of the state as protesters that included rogue elements torched cars, buses and vandalized public property.
Ever since the ICE – Immigration Customs Enforcement –agents swooped down on workplaces to pull out undocumented workers forcibly in a brutal manner across the country, city residents, mainly latinos took to the streets. In California, both the city’s Mayor Karen Bass and the California Governor Gavin Newsom sought to raise their political profiles on the national scene opposing what they called the blatant misuse of powers by the federal government to override its crime and policing rights and jurisdiction.
They played the all too family card of the liberals : Democracy under threat, Assault on Democracy” while the main theme of ousting illegal immigrants and undocumented workers won nationwide support – but the manner in which it was done with brutality spun out of control leading blue state supporters to voice their anger against an alleged despotic regime.
The nation now stands divided as president Trump’s sails across troubled waters from one crisis to the other weathering global storms from his Tariff Wars, to Public Debt spiralling debate with buddy Elon Musk party ways, mass deportations ousting legally certified citizens raising the nation’s conscience against Trump who seems to have overplayed his card.
Trump loves doing what he does best overruling others and doing everything his way — muzzling his way through against the tide of public opinion or criticism. He is also adept in finding ways to withdraw himself retracting his talons that have hurt people.
Unlike the 1st time, where he had DC bureaucrats to check him in his overreach, this time around, he has packed the cabinet with his acolytyes from TV personalities to billionaires who have no clue or any experience to grapple with matters that rock the nation.
California governor Newsom cornered space on national TV calling the Trump action an assault on democracy as the protests spread to New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Oklahoma, Las Vegas, Nebraska , Baltimore , a dozen cities in all.
As protesters went on the rampage spraying graffiti on the city’s walls the mayor clamped curfew in downtown LA, where the city was most hit, in an attempt to restore peace in a riot torn city. She claimed the protests were restricted to a 20 square mile area of downtown while the rest of the 500 square mile area of the sprawling LA was largely quiet and peaceful.
No insurrection or armed revolt to necessitate deployment of national guard or requisition the special marine force which governor Newsom characterised as an assault on democracy crying foul on national TV to raise his profile — the most prospective democrat to run for 2028 presidential elections.
As immigration raids continued across the country, a curfew went into effect Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the epicentre of protests that spread coast to coast against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants. “If you drive through downtown L.A., the graffiti is everywhere and has caused significant damages,” Mayor Karn Bass said, adding that 29 businesses were looted Monday night alone.
As the anti-immigration riots spread across the nation, activists had also gathered in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere in more than a dozen cities, rebuking the Trump administration’s tough stance against migrants and its aggressive round-up efforts. Democratic leaders in California have condemned the action as contributing to a sense of fear across communities.
US media reported at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast since Monday. Some involved only a few dozen people, while others attracted thousands. The protests took place as federal immigration raids continued nationwide Tuesday, including a “targeted enforcement operation” in Los Angeles, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as a raid at a meat processing facility in Omaha, Nebraska.
ICE posted a photo on X showing a person wearing military fatigues alongside federal agents, one with “DEA” emblazoned on his vest, standing near a handcuffed person, and a military Humvee painted in camouflage parked next to them. The arrest happened in Los Angeles, ICE said. Cellphone video of the scene at Glenn Valley Foods showed agents in green uniforms, camouflage clothing and plainclothes appearing to detain several workers, hands cuffed, in the facility’s lunchroom, where a motto was painted on a wall: “Together we achieve more.”
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized an estimated 700 Marines and more than 2,000 National Guard troops for deployment to Los Angeles, a move California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have sharply criticized as unnecessary interference to escalate political chaos to their advantage.
“This is not an insurrection,” Bass said in an interview Tuesday. Newsom also countered angrily saying “Trump has chosen theatrics over public safety “. He sought to blame Trump for misusing his powers to play to the gallery and win accolades from acolytes who voted him to power on several counts from the failing economy to public safety being compromised due to the unchecked flow of immigrants across the southern border during predecessor Biden’s regime.
The Los Angeles Police Department said that officers under its command, along with partner agencies, have arrested more than 300 people in connection with the protests since Saturday. During that time, seven officers were injured, at least five with minor injuries and two who were hospitalized and released, the department said.
California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Kyle Foster said Tuesday that 67 people who protested on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend, shutting it down for hours, were arrested on suspicion of failure to disperse. That number was included in the LAPD’s account of arrests since Saturday. “All we want is safety,” Trump said Tuesday. The Marines are expected to begin “conducting operations” by Wednesday, a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command said by email Tuesday.
Under federal law, National Guard troops and Marines are generally prohibited from making arrests unless the president declares an insurrection is underway. However, Newsom said Tuesday, the Trump administration has federalized troops and directed members of the National Guard to participate in law enforcement, including arrests, contrary to federal law that would require his approval for such an expansion of duties.
The state filed an emergency request for a temporary restraining order Tuesday that seeks to block the expansion of troops’ authority in Los Angeles. It was added to the state’s lawsuit that seeks to reverse troop deployment in California, arguing it is an unlawful power grab by Trump.
California House Democrats held a news conference to discuss ICE arrests and the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles. Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents the city of Paramount, where a demonstration took place over the weekend, said protests were already under control when National Guard members arrived.
“The sheriff’s department in Paramount got it under control,” Barragán said. “Overnight in Los Angeles, the LAPD got it under control, as well, and cleared out the situation. And then all of a sudden, the National Guard showed up. We know this is intended to create chaos, to escalate the tensions.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi framed the ICE protests in relation to the January .6, 2021, Capitol riot. She said that Trump would not send in the National Guard even when she and other lawmakers “begged” him to but that he activated the guard in California without any prompting.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the National Guard’s role, along with the Marines’, is to protect federal employees and facilities, not aid in protest response. “The anxiety level is higher, probably because they’re here and the uncertainty of why they’re here,” he said. “But they’re not, they’re not with us doing the job that we’re doing.”
“The arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles — absent clear coordination — presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,” he said, urging communication between agencies.
Bass has stressed that the troops are not necessary in Los Angeles. She also criticized comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who called Bass “a train wreck of a mayor,” as well as “border czar” Tom Homan, who said she and Newsom could be arrested if they impede law enforcement. “The White House instigated this by having ICE raids in our city,” Bass said. “They are telling us that they’re going to have raids for the next 30 days.”
In Seattle, about 50 people gathered outside a federal immigration court Tuesday to decry the raids, according to NBC affiliate KING. One of the protesters, Mathieu Chabaud, of Students for a Democratic Society, said: “We’re opposed to ICE in our community.”
In Las Vegas, roughly two dozen people gathered outside the Federal Tower downtown, where ICE has offices, to register their disapproval with the immigration enforcement efforts.
NBC affiliate KSNV reported that organizers of the protest met beforehand with members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to ensure ground rules were clear and arrests could be avoided where possible.
New York police said multiple arrests took place Tuesday amid protests against immigration enforcement; at least nine people were arrested the day before during an intense standoff, NBC New York reported. The event targeted ICE raids and the travel ban Trump imposed on 12 countries worldwide this week, with restrictions on people from seven more countries.
Newsom’s 2028 presidential aspirations hang in the balance as the eyes of the nation are on California’s clash with immigration authorities. Amid immigration raids, peaceful protests, attacks on law enforcement officers and the threat of his own arrest by federal agents, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is immersed in what could be the most consequential political fight of his career.
Newsom is one of the candidates that could run for presidential primaries in 2028, though he has lost the face to be the front runner and former Transport Secretary Pete Buttegeig has emerged as the most favourable choice.
The battle between the president and the governor of the country’s largest state instantly turned Newsom into the face of resistance to President Donald Trump’s expansive interpretation of the authorities of his office and mass-deportation campaign. (IPA Service)
