On Friday, June 6, a launch against undocumented immigrants was again enforced by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids of the greater Los Angeles area, specifically beginning in Paramount, Calif., and DTLA’s Fashion District. As a part of President Donald Trump’s promise of enforcing mass deportation efforts for immigrants, who he has often referred to as being “illegal aliens” and other disparaging terms, mass deportation efforts have sparked what some may deem a witch hunt from federal officials towards all Latino/a and/or Latinx people, regardless of their immigration status. LatinX is a gender-neutral term used to describe people who are Latino but identify outside of the binary gender system.
It has led to what is now six days of protests, predominantly in parts of Los Angeles such as Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Compton, and Long Beach.
“ICE is coming in, and they are taking families apart. They are basically kidnapping hardworking people by going to their jobs. It’s our duty to stand up for them and fight back,” said Janet Vasquez, a protestor who attended the David Huerta Rally on the fourth day of protests.
Protestor walking and throwing up peace sign in front of former Los Angeles Times building with vandalism. Photo courtesy of Kaleef Starks
After the protests began on Friday and continued throughout the week, the federal government responded by sending out 1,000 National Guard troops, overriding Gov. Newsom and Mayor Bass’ decision to not do so, as they have spoken in support of peaceful protests only.
Currently, over 2,000 CA National Guard troops, 700 Marines, and LAPD have been sent by local, state, and federal officials. An 8:00pm curfew has been implemented by Mayor Bass only for downtown Los Angeles, as of Tuesday. As of Wednesday at least 400 people have been arrested due to the ongoing protests. A report, according to ABC7, showed online videos of ICE agents chasing farm workers through fields in Oxnard, Calif. during a raid in Ventura County on Tuesday morning.
Since the first day that President Trump took office for his second term of presidency, the mass deportation of immigrants has been one of his major areas of focus. In response to the ICE agents showing their presence at places such as Home Depot and various local elementary schools in the greater Los Angeles area to deport adults and children, it has caused a myriad of responses from protestors fighting for their rights and public figures aiding in support of protestors calling out Trump’s decision to call the National Guard.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump spoke about the anti-ICE protests and his relationship with Gavin Newsom, referring to him as “totally incompetent,” according to Fox’s LiveNOW.
“It can only go right by having the military; it deescalates. These people are agitators and troublemakers. I believe many of them are being paid… These are insurrectionists…”. On his Truth Social account, he also said, “The great people of Los Angeles are very lucky I made the decision to go in and help!!!”
Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass has held several press conferences showing her support of peaceful protests, speaking out against Trump’s decision to overstep Newsom’s request to not call in the National Guard, and also focusing on establishing an 8:00 pm curfew in downtown Los Angeles in order to protect the federal building and retailers from looters. She also insisted that people traveling in the DTLA area should avoid it if they do not work or live there, in order to stop potential looters and further disruption outside of peaceful protesting.
Former Los Angeles Times building with vandalism. Downtown Los Angeles, June 9. Photo courtesy of Kaleef Starks.
Our Weekly reached out to the Office of Mayor Bass for direct comment but did not hear back. She said the following on her X account: “LA has a proud history of peaceful protest for immigrant rights. We must continue that legacy—don’t fall into the Trump Administration’s trap. Protest peacefully. Looting and vandalism will not be tolerated.”
She also added, “Trump didn’t inherit a crisis—he created one. To those stoking alongside him—LA will hold you accountable.”
A protester, Janeth Vasquez, attended all days of the protests and on the fourth day, the David Huerta Rally at Grand Park. She spoke to Our Weekly to discuss her purpose for protesting and said that she grew up as an undocumented person but eventually obtained her citizenship.
Vasquez shared that it is her civic duty as an American citizen to advocate for all immigrants and support those who are being targeted for detainment, as multiple systems in the US, such as education, healthcare, and the immigration processes, are broken. “Yesterday at the protest we were trying to get to the Detention Center, and the police didn’t even let us get close. They started shooting tear gas… people talk about violence like, ‘Look at what they have done to the buildings; they’ve tagged it up!’ she said. “But that is not violence; the real violence is families being torn apart by this regime, by Trump, and all of the others who support this.”
Vasquez also said that people of color and working-class people have always faced oppression. She then said that the police are not there to protect protestors and spoke in opposition to Trump supporters’ commentary towards protestors. “We have built this place. LA and the world cannot run without us and our people working.
We want them to hear us loud and clear. They can’t just use us and throw us away like we are trash and as if we don’t matter. Our kids, families, and communities matter.”
Another protestor, who prefers to be anonymous, said the following to Our Weekly moments after the David Huerta Rally ended as they were walking along the street holding a sign that said ‘F*** ICE.’
“Immigration officers coming into California and taking people who are not criminals in any way… Targeting people that they assume are here illegally in a violent, aggressive way is awful.” They continued, “No matter how legal or illegal their activity is in California, it’s immoral at the end of the day. It’s a responsibility for everyone in California, especially in LA, to stand up for their neighbors and get out in the streets peacefully.”
Protestors after the David Huerta Rally in Grand Park, Downtown Los Angeles, June 9. Photo courtesy of Kaleef Starks
Our Weekly then spoke to Donald Morgan, a South L.A. native who fully supports the federal government’s mass deportation efforts. Currently unemployed and attempting to complete his CDL license in truck driving school, Morgan said that “immigrants being hard workers who do cheap labor is the very reason that Newscum (Newsom) has them picking his grapes for his wine” in regard to his difficulty with finding a job as a construction worker, as he said that migrants “only hire their own” and block him from employment opportunities.
Morgan also said he stands with Donald Trump and the crackdown on immigration, as migrants have taken resources from people like him, making it even harder for American citizens and immigrants who have properly obtained their documentation and received approval for their American citizenship. “If they are here illegally, that is considered a crime. Based on that, they shouldn’t be committing a crime. I don’t care if they have been for 24 years or have the best job in the world; you have had time to submit your application, and you knew what the consequences were,” said Morgan.
Award-winning civil rights attorney Areva Martin exclusively spoke to Our Weekly to share her commentary on the LA protests and ICE raids. “The agenda of the president as it relates to immigration is being used as a way to exact retribution on who he considers his political enemies. The raids are used as a way for him to engage in this conduct.”
She continued, “The White House Press Secretary has used inflammatory terms such as ‘illegal criminal aliens’… it is so galling because how do we know anyone is illegal? There haven’t been any hearings held or due process afforded, so how can you determine if anyone in a raid who is detained or arrested is an illegal migrant?”
Martin is referring to a statement that was released by the White House Press Secretary on June 7 detailing Trump’s false narrative of referring to protestors as “violent mobs” that “have attacked ICE officers and federal law enforcement agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California,” as the reason behind his decision to send out National Guard troops.
She went on to discuss how at the time of the statement’s released on Saturday, the National Guard had not arrived in Los Angeles yet, that Donald Trump was waiting for an opportunity to have a showdown with his political rivals in California, fanned a situation that Mayor Bass had under control, and that the Trump administration does not deal with facts but instead deals in false narratives and rhetoric such as “Democratic cities and states are in total disarray and only Donald Trump can come in and save them.”
Former Los Angeles Times building, fourth day of anti-ICE protests in Downtown Los Angeles, June 9. Photo courtesy of Kaleef Starks
Martin also pointed out that Trump has had an ongoing fight with Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, even pointing back to a verbal sparring that occurred between the two during a press conference about the Palisades Fire. She emphasized that “he creates chaos and then tries to make himself the savior in the situation” and that mass media news outlets have done a poor job in accurately reflecting protestors—urging the public not to buy into false narratives about the language of this being caused by a violent mob but an example of people exercising their 1st amendment rights.
Martin urges everyone, including migrants, to know their rights in case they are accosted by those who pose as law enforcement, that law enforcement officers cannot enter a person’s home without a signed search warrant signed by a judge, and that an administrative warrant signed by the Department of Homeland Security is not a sufficient form of documentation to enter a person’s home.
“We haven’t seen the National Guard nationalized in this way since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, when he called in the guards to protect civil rights demonstrators in Alabama. This is a city that has dealt with civil unrest, protests after George Floyd’s murder, and all kinds of protests. We have never needed the U.S. president to intervene and usurp the authority of our state and city elected officials.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta have stated that they will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration after President Donald Trump called for the arrest of Newsom, a sitting governor. The lawsuit comes by way of what Newsom suggests is a ploy to incite chaos. Newsom last deployed over 8,000 national guard troops at the height of the George Floyd movement in Los Angeles five years ago, in June of 2020. In this case, Trump’s call for national guard troops is an illegal act as he bypassed the governor. In 1992 President Bush called the California Guard into Los Angeles in response to the Rodney King Riots, which occured due to community members protesting after four police officers were acquitted for charges of excessive force for beating King, which was seen on video.
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic. Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach. This is beyond incompetence—this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Attorney Rob Bonta said the following: “President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles—over the objections of the governor and local law enforcement—is unnecessary and counterproductive. It’s also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation’s wars,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law—and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”