This attacks literal aspirations as illogical, but I think Arturo Flores, Mayor of Huntington Park, a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan, had the right point when he declared at a press conference with the mayor of Southern California that immigrants were concluded by community immigration and customs enforcement, like he was “not American or not.”
“The president continues to talk about foreign invasions,” Flores said Thursday. “He continues to try to portray us like the other. He says, ‘No, you’re dealing with Americans.’ ”
An estimated 1.8 million undocumented immigrants in California lived among us for decades when they sent American-born children here to schools, and deducted many rights, except for all citizen liability. Yes, technically, they broke the law. (That’s true of President Trump, a felony, who continues to violate the Constitution every day, as court losses prove.)
But the undocumented Mexicans and Central American immigrants in our area are closely embedded in our lives. They take care of our children, build our homes, dig our trenches, mow trees, clean our homes, hotels, businesses, wash our dishes, choose our crops, sew clothes. Many small businesses, pay mortgages, attend college, and are experiencing a rise in occupations. In 2013, I wrote about Sergio Garcia, the first undocumented immigrant recognized by a California bar. Since then, he has become a US citizen and owns a personal injury law firm.
These Californians are far less likely to break the law than native-born Americans, and the Trump administration, Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses will be dispatched in the Marines, but they are not worthy of the terrorist rule that they were called by the Marines.
“So we started by hearing the administration wanting to chase violent felony gang members, drug dealers,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who organized the mayor’s press conference last week.
And remember, when Congress came together to launch a bipartisan immigration reform bill under President Biden, Trump demanded Republicans kill it because he didn’t want a reasonable policy.
But it seems there’s more going on here than cutting off undocumented immigrants and terrorizing their families. It appears that Trump 2.0 has entered the “Punish California” phase.
“Trump has a hyperfocus on how to hurt and cause disruption in California. He’s really doubled that campaign,” Flores told me. He has a point.
“We are here to free the city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor put in this country,” Noem told reporters at a press conference in the Westwood Federal Building. “We haven’t disappeared.”
So now we’re talking about a change of government? (As a former Harvard Tribal Professor Lawrence told Bruski, the use of military force aimed at banishing democratically elected leaders is “the very definition of a coup.”)
The harmful combination of intentional ignorance and inflammatory rhetoric is almost too ridiculous to ock laughing. In close relation to Trump’s stupid declaration, our city is flapping up by rioters, and without the military patrol our streets, Los Angeles “will be the crime scene we’ve never seen in years,” and “paid rebels” have fostered anti-ice protests.
What we see is the news and in our neighborhoods is to soften the reality that will ease our position for further Trump administration’s invasion of fear, trauma, and threats designed to trigger violent reactions, and further Trump administration’s invasion of further Trump administration into the Blue State, the American bulwark against his dictatorial aspirations.
For weeks, Trump has been hoping to steal federal funding from California for public schools and universities, citing resistance to executive orders on diversity, equity, inclusion programs, immigration, environmental regulations and more.
Still, he appears to have suddenly realized that crippling California’s economy might be a bad politics for him, as he is perhaps the world’s most ignorant head of state. On Thursday, he proposed, in his own confused way, that deporting probably thousands of state farms and hospitality workers could cause pain for his friends, employers. (For example, Central Valley growers and Agribusiness PACs supported Trump overwhelmingly in 2024.)
“Our farmers are so hurt by the fact that they have very good workers. They have been working for them for 20 years,” Trump said. “They’re not citizens, but they turn out you know, and we have to do something about it.”
Like many Californians, I feel helpless in the face of this attack on immigrants.
I thought that the Guatemalan, the father of three young American-born children, had junk carrying thriving business. I met him a few years ago at my local Home Depot and hired him several times to drive away the remains of the family. Once, after I hadn’t been saved in the city, he carried out some worthy sand from a small dune at the edge of my street that became a local dog pee pad.
I called him this week – I have more of what I need to get rid of and I was sure he could use the job. Early on Friday morning he arrived on time with two workers. He said he couldn’t work in two weeks but hoped he could soon return to Home Depot.
“How are your kids?” I asked.
“They’re worried,” he said. “They ask, ‘What would you do if you were deported?’ ”
He tells them not to worry and says things will soon return to normal. After he drove, he said, “Thank you for helping me today. God bless you.”
No, God bless him. To work hard. To be a good dad. And still, contrary to the odds, believe in the American dream.
@rabcarian.bsky.social @rabcarian
