What's happening in Los Angeles? The competing narratives of Donald Trump's America

Australia Broadcast Center

a day ago

Depending on your politics, you could see this as either a wannabe dictator illegally trying to quash civil liberties, or local and state-level politicians trying to stymie the policy agenda of a legitimately elected president.
In some ways, what we've been seeing in downtown Los Angeles feels like an almost inevitable outcome of the re-election of Donald Trump.
One of his leading campaign promises was the largest deportation of undocumented migrants in the country's history.
During the campaign, he continuously blasted the Biden administration for allowing an "invasion" to take place on its watch, and promised to use the full force of the presidency to both end illegal migration and send back those already in the country.
But in an immigration-friendly city where a third of people were born abroad, Trump is facing fierce resistance from both members of the public and elected officials.
LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom have become two of the most high-profile Democratic opponents of Trump's migrant crackdown, accusing the president of overstepping his powers — particularly in sending in the military.
There's history at play here too. Trump has long enjoyed ridiculing them both, even derisively nicknaming the governor "Newscum".
Trump has further ratcheted up the political conflict by appearing to give tacit support to the idea that the governor could be arrested for opposing the raids.
As is often the case, it's difficult to know if he's being serious or not — but even the suggestion that a sitting governor could be targeted for arrest by the federal government is highly concerning for those who think the US is at risk of a full-blown constitutional crisis.
There are two competing narratives at work right now. Supporters of Trump say his administration has lawfully deployed federal resources — particularly members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — to raid locations and apprehend illegal migrants.
They accuse people of unlawfully trying to interfere with the work of the government, in part through acts of violence and intimidation. So the federal government has now deployed large numbers of National Guard members and even US Marines to help protect them.
Trump says there are professional agitators involved and that he's not "messing around".
In the Democratic version of events, concerned citizens in Los Angeles were exercising their constitutional right to protest against unwarranted and cruel raids that were stoking fear within the migrant community.
The governor, who is also seen as a frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate in the next presidential election, accuses Trump of concocting a crisis by deploying federal resources to raise tensions.
He claims that local and state authorities had the mostly peaceful situation under control and there was no need to throw fuel on the fire — except to make a political point and elicit a rise from the protesters.
While the mayor says the violence, looting and vandalism are unacceptable, she denies there is widespread chaos in Los Angeles and says it's mostly isolated to a few blocks.
She also blames Trump for the situation and says calm will return when the raids stop.
Polls suggest the majority of Americans support Trump's increasing efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.
But opinions differ about where it's appropriate to do it — and exactly who should be deported.
According to polling by the Pew Research Center in February and March, 66 per cent believe it's appropriate to arrest undocumented migrants at protests, and 54 per cent believe it's OK to do it at their workplaces. Only 33 per cent think ICE agents should do it at places of worship.
And while a clear majority believe violent criminals should be deported, it's less clear-cut when it comes to those who've been in America for an extended period or have family in the country.
Views also differ widely across the country.
While immigration clearly falls under the remit of the federal government, the states command powerful resources — including police — which can either be used to help or hinder the federal government in its immigration policies.
California is a sanctuary state, meaning it doesn't allow its employees to help enforce immigration activities. Republicans claim sanctuary cities and states hamper their ability to enforce migration laws.
You now have a situation in Los Angeles where some 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 marines, under the control of the federal government, are being deployed against the wishes of local and state governments.
It's a dangerous situation, and there seems little space for compromise between the opposing sides.