For several days now, protestors have turned out in the face of an immigration enforcement onslaught that has caused significant distress in Los Angeles. While most have remained peaceful, crowd control tactics and President Trump’s takeover of the National Guard and deployment of U.S. Marines have significantly escalated the situation. The President and some Republicans in Congress have now called for the arrest of the Governor of California, and the Governor is promising legal action. We asked Felicia Escobar-Carrillo to help us analyze this unnecessary situation given her extensive experience as former Chief of Staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and her years of service during the Obama Administration as a Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy and Senior Policy Director in the White House Domestic Policy Council. Felicia has also previously worked in support of local communities in Los Angeles.
In this special edition, we talk through the legal realities of these deployments, which West Wing fans may remember. We cover the hypocrisy, too, given that the President’s takeover of the National Guard actually limits their ability — if they follow the law — to conduct law enforcement activity. We also look at how the Department of Defense has supported border security efforts since 2006, but contrast that with what we’re seeing today — and how today’s actions in California may also affect red states going forward.
The tensions in Los Angeles follow reporting we covered last week that the Trump White House is pressuring ICE to arrest everyone they can, to NOT focus on criminals, and that they’ve threatened the ICE workforce with firing what they called low performers. We discuss the strains that the Administration is putting on the workforce, and how other parts of DHS and of federal law enforcement are being pulled from important duties to help with interior enforcement.
We also look at the other side and consider the dynamics that are undermining the DHS workforce, particularly since Trump fired 17 inspectors general across the federal government. And while the protests have been mostly peaceful — according to local and state officials — we call out those who have thrown rocks at federal law enforcement, burned vehicles, or damaged other property. Protests must remain peaceful, and those who adopt violent tactics only play into the Administration’s goals — it’s exactly what Donald Trump wants.
Finally, we discuss the cultural dynamics behind those waving Mexican flags. Even as some of us will happily wave the Irish flag on St. Patrick’s Day, or the Puerto Rican flag during their pride parade — the use of foreign flags in the context of the Trump Administration claiming an insurrection may be giving Donald Trump exactly the picture he wants.
The American people, including many Latinos, voted for enforcement focused on criminals. But Donald Trump told us what he was going to do all along, and we’re seeing it play out in Los Angeles.
Thank you for listening! Please subscribe and share.
-Luis.
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