Trump in action after the attack on federal ICE- agents, 2000 guards deployed in Los Angeles
Washington (The Uttam Hindu): President Donald Trump has deployed 2000 national guards in Los Angeles. According to the American media, this decision has been taken after the violent clashes between immigrant communities and American Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles. Trump has lashed out at the Governor of California and the Mayor of Los Angeles blaming them for this situation.
Taking a tough stance on the arson incidents that took place on Friday, Trump wrote on X, “If California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cannot do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem of rioters and looters the way it should be solved!!!” In the X post released by the White House, it was written – ‘Law and Order’.
According to news agency Xinhua, the raid conducted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles on Friday created a stir in the entire city. 44 people were detained during this operation, which caused outrage in the immigrant communities. Widespread protests began against this raid. After this, a situation of confrontation also arose between the police and the protesters at many places.
Some videos posted online showed about a hundred protesters clashing with immigration agents on Friday afternoon, when several employees were detained in handcuffs at a clothing store in the Fashion District. The Service Employees International Union California released a statement saying that union president David Huerta was “injured and detained” during the raid.
Bill Espley, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, said in an X post that Huerta was arrested for “interfering with the work of federal officers” because he “intentionally obstructed their vehicle by blocking it.” Espley also said that federal agents were serving a search warrant in the Fashion District for alleged fraudulent employee documents. He said there was reason to believe that the employer was using fraudulent documents for some of its employees.
In the evening, about 500 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles to protest the raid. Large crowds held banners in the area and chanted “ICE Out of LA”. Videos from the scene showed protesters clashing with policemen, while tear gas and pepper spray were used. Some protesters used hammers to break concrete columns and threw large pieces of broken concrete at officers.
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Jim McDonnell released a statement on Friday, saying the LAPD was not engaged in civil immigration enforcement during the day. However, the LAPD declared the protest an unlawful assembly in the evening and later issued a citywide alert, urging all officers to remain on duty.
“I know these actions cause concern for many Angelenos,” McDonnell said in the statement. I want everyone, including our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in their time of need and know that the LAPD will be there to help you, regardless of someone’s immigration status.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement Friday night saying she was “deeply outraged” by federal immigration enforcement actions in the city.
“These tactics spread terror in our communities and create distrust of the fundamental principles of safety in our city. My office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not tolerate this,” the statement said. Local community organizations held a press conference in the evening condemning the raids. “They were random raids, and they were picking off our community in random raids. They were racially profiling our community,” Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights, said at the conference.