He ruled federal immigration crackdowns on Monday after President Trump vowed to step up deportation in Los Angeles and other democratic cities.
In a true social post, Trump said “we must expand our efforts to detain, detain, detain and detain illegal foreigners from America’s biggest cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.” He then cited without proof of claims that people here illegally boost voter turnout.
It was unclear how the order would spread with the threat to suspend arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels last week.
According to multiple news outlets, Senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer Tatum King sent an email on Thursday saying, “Please keep all working sites enforcement surveys/operations (including aquaculture and meat-stuffed plants), restaurants and operating hotels.”
He added that he is investigating the investigation that “it’s fine for human trafficking, money laundering and drug smuggling to these industries.”
The Trump administration has not made any changes and it was clear that immigration lawsuits continued throughout the weekend.
Tensions across the city were evident when immigration agents launched a campaign in Los Angeles on June 6th to find and capture fraudulent workers at employment sites, churches, schools and more.
Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and a leading architect of Trump’s immigration policy, said the ice officer would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, starting from 650 a day in the first five months of Trump’s second term.
But democratic lawmakers like California Sen. Adam Schiff will put Trump’s base at the expense of the economy while warning that the plan will “burn tensions, divide families, and cause more confusion.”
“Trump’s extreme policies are torn apart and bad for America,” Schiff wrote in X’s statement.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif), who was temporarily handcuffed while trying to ask questions at a Homeland Security press conference last week, reiterated that Trump’s actions were going too far.
“He has failed to present meaningful solutions for the millions of law-abiding long-term residents who have served our economy and communities here. They deserve better,” he wrote in a statement.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Monday that Trump’s plans to expand deportation efforts are “illegal and divided and face everything in Los Angeles.”
The protests at the city’s civic center led to violent clashes between residents, immigrant advocates and local and federal law enforcement agencies, but buildings and businesses in the area were damaged and destroyed. The downtown curfew reduced destruction, but brought economic activity in the area – still struggling from the pandemic – has become a crawl.
Rumors swirl around town about ice checkpoints, ice raids and warnings for immigrants.
The ongoing immigration sweep continues a series of critical confrontations between the federal government and state officials as the troops deployed by the president exist in Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is set to control California’s bid to halt Trump’s deployment of National Guard forces in Los Angeles. Experts say the legal battle could amount to a test case for the power the White House has long wanted to behave.
San Francisco U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer wrote Thursday that Trump was steaming state leaders when he deployed California troops to the federal government against protesters.
“His actions were illegal. Both are beyond the scope of his statutory authority and violate the 10th amendment to the US Constitution,” Breyer wrote.
During Saturday’s protests organized under the theme of “No Kings,” the intention was to oppose the Trump administration – tens of thousands of participants took them to the streets of Los Angeles, California and other major cities in other parts of the country.
By the end of the night, officers had arrested 35 people on suspicion of breaching the curfew. One suspected of failing to break up, one suspected of delaying resistance, obstruction or delay, and one suspected of resisting arrest, officials said.
Since immigration protests began on June 6th, Los Angeles police have arrested 575 people.
There were no arrests on Sunday, which were very quiet downtown in the afternoon compared to the previous week. Still, about 200 activists were there and were determined to continue their anti-ice and anti-Trump protests.
“Ice from Los Angeles! Whose street is it? Ours!” The group marched between City Hall and the Metropolitan Detention Center, chanting in a chorus of supportive squeals from drivers.
“It was modest today, but it’s good to see a lot of people trying to keep up the momentum,” said Christopher Lee, 39, of Venice.
Sunday was Lee’s first protest since the surge in migrant attacks that rocked the area and sparked more than a week of protests. He said that he might have come out for the massive “king” on Saturday, but he knew that fewer people would come on Sunday, so he chose to wait.
Shawn Patterson didn’t appear on Saturday as well, so he and his friends decided to camp in front of City Hall on Sunday.
“When this all goes on, I can’t live sitting in Los Angeles,” said Patterson, 23, of Hollywood. “We slowly come closer, it feels like we are slowly approaching.
Just before 8pm there were only three people left on the stairs to the city hall.
Brian Sagathum was happy to be able to return home without tear gas stab wounds on Sunday after being shed several tears during Saturday night’s action.
He stood calmly in front of the quiet city hall and raised the Mexican flag representing his mother’s birthplace.
“My parents are both immigrants,” said the 25-year-old. “They grew up here and work hard… there are no criminals, there are no such things, and I feel that what Trump is doing is wrong.”
Sagastume was born in the US, so he feels safe to come out and protest. I want to do that for people who can’t. Still, the sweep weighs heavily on his family.
“My mother is like being at home, not out of the house,” he said. “She’s scared to go outside right now.”
Staff authors Sonja Sharp, Andrea Castillo and Howard Blume contributed to this report.
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