ICE is enforcing the law. Trump is right to send National Guard
President Donald Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to restore peace in Los Angeles after protesters set fires, defaced buildings, slashed vehicle tires and hurled pieces of concrete at local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
A Department of Homeland Security news release on June 7 noted that ICE agents - and their families - have endured a surge in threats and harassment.
I've watched this violence, aimed at law enforcement officers who are attempting to uphold our nation's immigration laws, with growing anger.
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If California is one version of America and the rest of the country is another version, I know which America I choose. It's the same one a majority of Americans also have chosen. Polls have consistently shown that voters side with Trump and other Republicans on immigration and border security, not the lawlessness and chaos that Democrats and their progressive allies promote.
And to answer the question I'll inevitably get: Yes, I voted for this, and I'd vote for this again.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced Trump's decision to send in the National Guard as "inflammatory." That's not a good look for a governor with national ambitions.
Newsom's staff hasn't helped him either. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on X a photo of demonstrators posing in front of a fire while one person waved a Mexican flag. Hegseth wrote: "Another 'mostly peaceful protest' brought to you by @GavinNewsom. DEPORT."
Newsom's press office responded: "Are you going to send in the Marines the next time the Philadelphia Eagles win, too?"
Comparing violent protests against federal officers enforcing the law to a Super Bowl celebration that went too far is tone death, even for the governor of California.
It's important to note that ICE agents aren't arresting just anyone. The Department of Homeland Security reported that the arrests in Los Angeles included people accused of drug trafficking, assault, cruelty to children, domestic violence, robbery and the smuggling of illegal immigrants.
Our nation's immigration laws must be enforced
The fact that the protests broke out because the demonstrators didn't want illegal immigrants with criminal records to be arrested or deported is sad and pathetic.
America is a melting pot, and our arms should be open to people who want to come to this land to live a better life. But we must follow a legal process for immigrants to enter and stay in the United States.
But progressive states like California and Democratic leaders like Newsom and former President Joe Biden have ignored our immigration laws. They sent a clear message to people all over the world that the border was open, and millions took advantage of that fact to enter our country illegally.
Now, it is Trump who must enforce the law and restore order, whether Gavin Newsom and the violent protesters in the streets of Los Angeles like it or not.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter
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The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Glendale terminates ‘divisive' Ice detainee holding contract amid California protests
The California city of Glendale has terminated a contract to house federal immigration detainees, with local officials saying the arrangement had become increasingly 'divisive' within the community. The decision by the Los Angeles county municipality to sever ties with US immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) comes after three days of protests in other parts of the LA area. That included Sunday near the Metropolitan Detention Center, about nine miles from Glendale, where cars were set alight as anti-Ice protesters clashed with law enforcement, including the National Guard. Glendale city officials described the move to cancel the contract, which has been in place since 2007, as a local decision that 'is not politically driven' but is 'rooted in what this city stands for – public safety, local accountability, and trust'. 'The city recognizes that public perception of the Ice contract – no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good – has become divisive,' it said. But the decision also reflects political tension among city and state leadership as well as federal government actions to enforce US immigration laws at the heart of the unrest. Glendale's city leadership said its police department does not and will not enforce federal immigration law, in accordance with a California state statute which prohibits the use of local law enforcement resources for immigration enforcement. 'We remain in full compliance' with California state law, the city said in a statement. 'The Glendale police department has not engaged in immigration enforcement nor will it do so moving forward.' But they acknowledged that ending the agreement with Ice could make it more difficult for families to visit detained relatives and for people held under immigration laws to access legal counsel in other jurisdictions. Glendale is the third largest city within LA county, with a population of about 210,000. It regards itself as 'a progressive community that offers the best in urban-suburban living and is an optimal location for successful businesses large and small'. Glendale's chamber of commerce calls it the 'Jewel City'. In Glendale's statement on Sunday, it said it 'is consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the nation'. 'That is no accident,' the statement said. 'We cannot allow that trust to be undermined.' According to NBC, 82 people were detained by Ice and housed in the Glendale city jail since January. A city spokesperson told the outlet those detainees spent between six and 12 hours in the jail facility, but they were not fingerprinted or booked. Glendale says the jail only provided a bed, food, water, and medical care to Ice detainees and did not house minors. But under California law, state and local law enforcement are prohibited from allowing federal immigration authorities to use space in their facility. Civil liberties groups have opposed the arrangement. 'Ultimately and effectively, this Glendale contract with Ice is helping the Trump administration carry out its mass deportation agenda that is racist and has abused countless people's constitutional, civil and human rights,' said Andres Kwon, with the American Civil Liberties Union, to NBC. The decision came as protests intensified after the Trump administration deployed national guard troops in Los Angeles on Sunday against the wishes of Gavin Newsom, who has requested that they be removed. 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' the California governor said in a social media post. 'This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed.' Trump said he had directed his administration to 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles'. LA police later declared an unlawful assembly, and police chief Jim McDonnell said officers were 'overwhelmed' by the remaining protesters that included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble. The anti-Ice protests also spread to northern California. In San Francisco, 60 people were arrested Sunday night as protesters shattered windows and vandalized buildings, according to the city's mayor, Daniel Lurie, and police. In a statement late Sunday night, Lurie said local officials supported peaceful protest but would not tolerate 'violent and destructive behavior'.
Belfast Telegraph
30 minutes ago
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Former H block boss suspects collusion in jail slaying of loyalist killer Billy Wright
McKee was at his desk as governor of the Maze Prison on December 27, 1997, the day the INLA claimed their biggest scalp of the Troubles. It was the final weeks and months of negotiations that would lead to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and Wright was seen as one of the remaining obstacles to a settlement. Vehemently opposed to the peace process, he stayed at the head of his LVF sectarian killing machine despite being behind bars, orchestrating and ordering attacks with the help of his trusted second in command, Mark 'Swinger' Fulton. So when Christopher 'Crip' McWilliams, John Kenneway and John 'Sonny' Glennon intercepted Wright as he made his way from his cell in the Maze to a visit from his girlfriend, they removed one of the biggest obstacles to peace. Armed with a pistol smuggled into what was supposed to be the most secure prison in Europe, the trio climbed over the prison roof and shot him inside the prison transport van. In October 1998 they were convicted of murder and possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. They were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and 20 years on the firearms offence. Within two years they were free men, under the terms of the peace accord. It was a day that was to leave a permanent scar on the mind and soul of McKee. As the man in charge, he found himself thrust into the spotlight. He was to discover he may have been an unwitting pawn in a bigger game, played out by MI5 in collusion with the INLA. Collusion Inside The Maze is the title of McKee's newly published book, a novel that teases out the conspiracy theories that still surround the death of one of the most notorious and dangerous killers in the history of the conflict. 'It's a 'what if' book,' McKee told the Sunday World. 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