British photographer hit by non-lethal bullets during LA protests
Nick Stern was documenting a stand-off between anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) protesters and police outside a Home Depot in Paramount, a city in LA county and a location known as a hiring spot for day labourers, when a 14mm 'sponge bullet' tore into his thigh.
He told the PA news agency: 'My initial concern was, were they firing live rounds?
'Some of the protesters came and helped me, and they ended up carrying me, and I noticed that there was blood pouring down my leg.'
He was treated by a medic who urged him to go to hospital. At one point, Mr Stern says he passed out from the pain.
He is now recovering at Long Beach Memorial Medical Centre following emergency surgery.
Mr Stern, who emigrated to the US in 2007, said he typically makes himself 'as visible as possible' while working in hostile situations.
'That way you're less likely to get hit because they know you're media,' he said.
It is the second incident of its kind for Mr Stern, who said he sustained 'substantial' bruising after being hit by another live round during the George Floyd protests in 2020.
'The communities in LA are very tight and very close-knit,' Mr Stern said.
'So an outside organisation like Ice coming in and removing – whatever you want to call it, removing, kidnapping, abducting people from the community – is not going to go down well at all.'
It comes after US President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to California to quell the protests, which began on Friday in downtown LA before spreading.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was 'essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States'.
The decision drew sharp criticism from Democratic politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the move 'purposefully inflammatory'.
Demonstrators have been protesting the Trump administration's immigration raids, which last month aimed to detain as many as 3,000 people per day.
Despite his injury, Mr Stern says he is eager to return to work.
'I intend, as soon as I am well enough, to get back out there,' he said.
'This is too important and it needs documenting.'
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Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
LA police make ‘mass arrests' as protesters break curfew
Los Angeles police are making 'mass arrests' after hundreds of protesters defied an emergency curfew in the city's downtown area. An 8pm curfew was put in place after Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, said the city had reached a 'tipping point' on the fifth day of immigration protests. It came as anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations spread to cities across the US including Seattle, Chicago and New York, where more than 80 protesters were arrested. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the state would deploy its National Guard to 'maintain order' after police used chemical irritants to disperse several hundred demonstrators in Austin. Riots first erupted in Los Angeles last Friday after ICE officers carried out a string of raids at Home Depot parking lots and local businesses. The demonstrations have at times descended into violence, with protesters throwing Molotov cocktails, rocks and fireworks at police, who had shot rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowds. The protests have become a political touchstone, with President Donald Trump making the unprecedented move to send 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, accused Mr Trump of drawing a 'military dragnet' across the city and called him a 'deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president'. Mr Trump and his 'border czar' Tom Homan threatened to arrest him if he got in the way. Mr Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents, as some guardsmen were seen standing in protection around agents as they carried out arrests. On Tuesday Ms Bass declared a curfew from 8pm Tuesday to 6am Wednesday after 23 businesses were looted on Monday night. The curfew covers a 1 square-mile section of downtown which includes the area where protests have occurred since Friday. On Tuesday night, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers quickly began arresting protesters who ignored the curfew. But hundreds of protesters defied the restrictions and marched through the downtown area for several hours as a police helicopter circled above. A procession of cars joined the on-foot protesters, driving slowly with the Mexican flag hanging from their windows. They honked their horns and did donuts to rapturous cheers from the crowd. Residents came out onto their balconies to shout in support as the protesters passed their homes, with one woman coming outside waving the stars and stripes. Masked demonstrators sprayed graffiti on walls as they moved with the crowd, while others threw fireworks. A police presence was largely absent throughout for the first hour of the March, but at around 10pm dozens of police cars zoomed through the streets and officers began piling out in preparation to arrest those who had defied the curfew. Jacob Garcia, 23, who attended the protest on Tuesday, said people are still demonstrating because 'there's a lot to fight for.' Mr Garcia's father and step-father were both previously deported back to Mexico after living in the US for several years. 'I've never seen so many people get so scared living here in my lifetime... I've never seen my friends and family be so worried,' he said. John Parker, 46, walked up to the police and waved a large flag with his six-year-old son shortly after the curfew came into effect. 'I'll keep having my voice heard,' he told The Telegraph. 'They want to arrest me, and that's what they will do. I need to have my voice heard,' he added. Another protest is planned for 5pm on Wednesday in Los Angeles's downtown area.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
In Michigan, two Democrats are generating 2028 buzz
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NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Democratic governors seek to roll back state-funded health care for undocumented immigrants
A trio of states with Democratic governors viewed as potential 2028 presidential candidates have taken steps in recent weeks to freeze or cut government-funded health care coverage for undocumented immigrants. Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota have largely attributed the proposals to budget shortfalls stemming from original plans to expand health care to immigrants without legal status. But the moves also occur against the backdrop of broader debate within the Democratic Party over how to handle immigration, an issue that dragged it down in the last election and that President Donald Trump and the GOP have continued to try to capitalize on. The plans, which would scale back health care coverage for undocumented immigrants in the three Democratic-led states just years after it was expanded, have angered progressives and immigrant advocacy groups, who warn the party risks alienating its base — particularly as protests against Trump's deportation plans break out around the country. The latest development came in Minnesota on Tuesday, after both chambers of the Legislature passed a bill to end state-funded health care for undocumented adults. The bipartisan effort advanced through the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate as part of attempts to balance the state budget. It now goes to Walz, who has said he'll sign it. The bill would end undocumented adults' eligibility for MinnesotaCare — the state-funded health insurance program for low-income residents — effectively reversing one of the signature policy wins Walz secured during a landmark legislative session in 2023, when Democrats were in full control of state government. Undocumented children would remain eligible to enroll in the program under the legislation. In California, Newsom unveiled a budget plan last month that would cut back on health care benefits for undocumented immigrants — a stark reversal from his promises of universal health care for all the state's residents, regardless of their immigration status. Newsom's plan in his 2025-26 budget has called for freezing enrollment for undocumented adults to receive the full scope of the state's Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. 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Similarly, the program in Illinois was more expensive than expected when it was created in 2021. Pritzker's latest budget, which the Democratic-led Legislature passed last month, proposed eliminating it by July 1. While the moves would help those states recalibrate their budgets, a sweeping Trump-backed domestic policy bill moving through Congress proposes slashing Medicaid funding for states that provide health care coverage to undocumented immigrants. Trump also signed an executive order this year targeting undocumented immigrants' access to government assistance programs. In response to questions from NBC News, Newsom spokesperson Elana Ross reiterated his statement in his initial announcement of the changes last month that 'instead of rolling back the program — meaning cutting people off for basic care — we're capping it.' Pritzker's office said in an email that 'this year, passing a balanced budget required the difficult decision that reflects the reality of Trump and Republicans tanking our national economy and attempting to strip away healthcare.' A Walz spokesperson didn't respond to questions about Minnesota's plan, which was the result of a compromise after Republican lawmakers had pushed to end the entire MinnesotaCare program. 'No one got everything they wanted,' Walz said last month after he reached a tentative deal with Republicans on the budget, which was finalized in a special session this week. 'There were very difficult conversations about issues that were very dear to each of these caucuses. But at the end of the day, we were able to come to this agreement.' Blowback from the left Immigrant advocacy groups have panned the moves, saying they risk further imperiling the broader health care system, and blasted Democrats for succumbing to Trump's attacks. 'We urge state leaders to build on their progress, rather than placing the health of their residents at risk,' said Tanya Broder, the senior counsel for health and economic justice policy at the National Immigration Law Center. 'Particularly as extremist politicians scapegoat and target immigrants, we are counting on state officials to do the right thing and hold the line. 'As states increasingly have recognized, a community's health and well-being depend on ensuring that everyone has access to health care. Immigrants pay billions of dollars in federal, state and local taxes, yet many are excluded from critical health care programs,' she added. 'Terminating state coverage for immigrants will compromise our collective health, as well as the health care infrastructure that serves all of us.' Some progressives questioned whether the moves were part of a broader strategy by the three governors to move to the right on the broader issue of immigration, which polling has shown still remains one of Trump's strongest issues. They said they could face a backlash from their base by departing from positions on supporting immigrant communities and expanding health care. 'It really feeds into the conservative narrative that undocumented immigrants are a drain on our communities,' said Jennifer Driver, a senior director at the State Innovation Exchange, a progressive legislative policy group. 'This assumption that by moving more to the middle or to the right that you're going to recruit some people back — I think it's a miscalculation. 'The frustration that you're seeing in the Democratic base is due to this kind of this waffling, this kind of idea that 'OK, yes, we are progressive — but only in some moments,'' Driver added. Other strategists suggested it remained too early to gauge whether a broader shift was in play as governors and other lawmakers positioned themselves for potential 2028 White House bids, and they emphasized that the threats blue states face from Trump are serious. 'The Trump administration is squeezing the hell out of states,' said Jeff Blodgett, a Minnesota-based Democratic strategist who was a campaign manager for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone and the state director for both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. 'There's just a lot of concern about current and future budgets given what the federal government is doing to states.'
