LA Protests Enter the Fifth Day as Trump and Newsom Target Each Other

What began as a protest of not more than a hundred to two hundred people in a Los Angeles neighbourhood over the weekend, chanting against the presence of ICE ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and demanding an end to immigration raids, has ballooned into larger demonstrations and is now spreading to New York and Chicago.

As the protests enter the fifth night, fear haunts the city. The administration has ordered a curfew between 8 pm to 6 am. Arrests are being made. Much of this is because of over reach of the ICE teams. No place is sacrosanct, raids at work places, schools, hospitals, homes. shelters and street corners. There has been no attempt to follow due process and access to family members and lawyers of those picked up. The National Guard troops and marines accompany the ICE  teams.  The protests in LA, initially began over these irregularities.

The situation has taken a political turn with US President Donald Trump out to show up the Democratic Governor of California, Gavin Newsom as 바카라�incompetent바카라� and responsible for ruining 바카라�the wonderful state of California.바카라�  Trump won the elections on the promise to rid the country from illegal migrants and is bent on ensuring that ICE does its job, with little care for due process. 

Trump said if the National Guard was not sent quickly Los Angeles would be burning to the ground. 바카라�Los Angeles was under siege until we got there.바카라�바카라� He dubbed the protestors as 바카라�insurrectionist바카라�바카라� and 바카라�paid agitators.바카라�바카라� Governor Newsom has filed an emergency motion blocking National Guard troops and the marines from assisting immigration raids.

The Governor blames Trump for inflaming the situation: 바카라�This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began,바카라� Newsom said in a video address.

The American Constitution And Military Deployments

While jabs at opponents are part of today바카라�s political narrative, the issue now has become a fight between the state and federal authorities and Trump바카라�s attempts to deploy the military to control the situation. Ordering active duty US Marines against civilians is rare in the US. The 700 marines are on stand-by and have not yet been deployed in the city. Newsom slammed the move, posting on X that US Marines "shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfil the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."

Again, Trump sent out National Guards troops without co ordinating with the Governor. Usually, they are sent by federal authorities at the request of the state. Here there was no request. Getting the National Guard without permission is rare. The first time was in 1965, when Lyndon Johnson ordered the Alabama State National Guard to protect civil rights protestors. Critics are worried about Trump바카라�s attempts to use the federal troops바카라�Army, Navy or Airforce to enforce domestic laws. There is a law called the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, that bars the military from deployment against American civilians.

But like other laws there are exceptions for certain circumstances. The Insurrection Act, authorises the federal government to deploy the military to suppress insurrection or conspiracies and violent attempts to undermine constitutional right or federal laws. 

After Trump refused to accept the results of the 2020 elections, many of his ardent advisers and supporters urged him to invoke the Insurrection Act to declare the election results null and void. However better sense prevailed and Trump stopped short of doing so, while maintaining that the elections were rigged against him.

During his election campaign this time, Trump said he would make use of the Insurrection Act to subdue unrest and violent agitations. Democrats are asking why the Insurrection Act was not invoked when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, in a blatant display of anger against the election results of 2020.

Trump targets California

Since assuming office on January 20, Trump has often criticised the Blue state, naming it as the hub of sanctuary cities, and promised to defund the state if California continued to protect 바카라�murderers and rapists바카라�바카라� from bordering states. 

Experts worry, that Trump바카라�s actions in the recent crisis is to gather as much federal power over states governed by Democrats that have resisted Trump바카라�s deportation agenda. They agree with Newson that Trump hopes to inflame the tension in Los Angeles that will allow him to call up even more troops or broaden their mission.

Trump has challenged California바카라�s approach to the environment, health care, education, and LGBTQ rights, in federal court바카라� there are four pending lawsuits titled 바카라�State of California v. Trump,바카라� according to reports in the US newspapers. 

However, it is also a fact that Trump supporters are delighted with the action taken against illegal migrants. How this all ends up is unclear, but the President has given the Democratic Party that appeared rudderless since Kamala Harris바카라�s election defeat, to mobilise themselves against Trump바카라�s authoritarian instincts. Newsom has said that 바카라�democracy is under assault before our eyes.바카라�바카라�