White House Reacts to California Official Asking Gangs to Take on ICE
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A spokesperson for the White House has launched a scathing attack on a California official who called on gangs to defend their neighborhoods from immigration agents.
Cynthia Gonzalez, the vice mayor of Cudahy, a suburb in southeast Los Angeles County, asked why street gangs had not stepped forward to "help out and organize" against the "biggest gang there is" in a video posted on social media in June.
"Violence and crime perpetrated by illegal gangs are a serious issue that has wreaked havoc on American communities. Gonzalez's comments are despicable and mock the victims of gang violence in the United States," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek.
"Violent crime is not a joke, and urging violent illegal gangs to fight ICE officers at a time when they are facing an 830 percent increase in assaults is even worse. Gonzalez should be ashamed of herself," she added.
Newsweek has contacted Gonzalez for comment via email outside normal office hours.
Cynthia Gonzalez, the vice mayor of Cudahy, California.
Cynthia Gonzalez, the vice mayor of Cudahy, California.
City of Cudahy
Why It Matters
California has become a key battleground state for immigration enforcement, with tensions running high between federal authorities and Democratic lawmakers, as well as their local communities. President Donald Trump has directed ICE agents to ramp up operations in sanctuary states as his administration looks to remove millions of migrants without legal status to fulfill his campaign pledge of widespread mass deportations.
What To Know
At a city council meeting on Tuesday, Gonzalez responded to the incident by saying: "I just want to take some time to address the short, satirical TikTok video I made recently that drew national headlines and public criticism. To be clear, I created this video in my personal time and on my personal page."
"The message was not about violence; It was about regular people … claiming ownership of our streets in a time of great distress and asking others, who I mentioned in my video, in organizing and protesting against the harm and violence being inflicted on our community."
The video has since been removed from her social media profiles.
In the now-deleted TikTok video, Gonzalez said: "18th Street, Florencia, where's the leadership at? Because you guys are all about territory. … You guys tag everything up—claiming hood. And now that your hood's being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain't a peep out of you.
"It's everyone else who's not about the gang life that's out there protesting and speaking up. We're out there fighting our turf, protecting our turf, protecting our people and, like, where you at?
"Don't be trying to claim no block, no nothing. If you're not showing up right now, trying to help out and organize, I don't want to hear a peep out of you once they're gone."
The Los Angeles Police Protective League has called for her resignation following the incident. Gonzalez has not publicly indicated that she is considering stepping back from her position.
What Are People Saying
Cynthia Gonzalez, the vice mayor of Cudahy, California, said at a meeting: "I want to apologize to city staff, members of the council and my community that my video took attention away from the pain our communities are experiencing and brought unnecessary attention to our city."
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, previously told Newsweek: "Vice Mayor Gonzalez's comments are despicable. She called for criminal gangs—including the vicious 18th street gang—to commit violence against our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 500 percent increase in assaults against our brave ICE law enforcement officers. Democrats must stop comparing ICE to the Gestapo and calling for violence against our law enforcement."
The City of Cudahy said in a statement on June 24: "The comments made by the Vice Mayor reflect her personal views and do not represent the views or official position of the City of Cudahy. The City will not be providing further comment."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Magazine
9 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
The Violent Gaza-ification of the West Bank
With all eyes on Gaza and on the fallout from Israel's war on five other fronts—Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq, as well as Iran itself—few have noted the unprecedented uptick in violence in the West Bank. Even the murder earlier in July of Saif Musallet, an American citizen, and the attack on CNN's Jeremy Diamond as he was on his way to visit the family of the slain American—both by violent West Bank settlers—did little to attract attention to what is an increasingly unstable tinderbox, fanned by convergence of troubling factors Although President Donald Trump's early January decision to lift sanctions on settlers sent the wrong message, a series of significant developments on the ground have triggered the dramatic increase in West Bank violence: Israeli extremists seizing what they see as an opportunity; their leaders using government platforms to provide support; the IDF looking the other way; and many Palestinian youth becoming radicalized. Looming over it all is the shadow of two of the most extreme leaders of the annexationist minority in Israel, entrusted, since late 2022, by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with portfolios directly relevant to West Bank policies. One, Itamar Ben Gvir, a self-proclaimed Jewish Supremacist, controls the national police force. Since entering office, he has enacted a 'hands of' policy concerning Jewish settler terrorists, relaxed the prerequisites for owning weapons and, prioritizing West Bank settlers, launched a campaign for Israelis to arm themselves. The other, Bezalel Smotrich, employs his dual position as minister of finance and as a minister in the ministry of defense in the service of his three publicly declared objectives: rapid expansion of Jewish settlements, increase pressure on Palestinians to emigrate, and financially choking the Palestinian Authority to bring about its collapse. A third, Minister of Defense Israel Katz, added fuel to the fire on Nov. 22, 2024, by depriving the Shin Bet (Israel's Internal Security Agency) of a vital instrument in dealing with Jewish detainees: administrative detention. With settlers following legal advice not to cooperate with investigators and as evidence obtained by clandestine means cannot be used in an open court lest it exposes sources, court-supervised administrative detention has long proved essential in fighting terrorism—from extreme settlers or otherwise. Emboldened by their leaders' serving in such powerful positions, extremist settlers—by now organized and armed—have made the most of the situation as the Israeli public and the world at large focuses on Gaza. The result: The number of incidents involving armed settlers assaulting Palestinian villages has increased dramatically over the past three years, doubling during the first half of 2025 as compared to the same period the previous year. An additional factor relates to the IDF. Its manpower stretched to the limit, and the top brass consumed by tending to simultaneous challenges from several fronts, lower-rank commanders of units deployed to the West Bank are often reluctant to confront violent settlers, primarily because of the support they enjoy from senior government circles. Last, but hardly least: With West Bank Palestinians harassed by settlers day and night, Palestinian youth, who are being put at risk, find neither the IDF nor the nearly bankrupt Palestinian Authority protecting their families. Images of the endless suffering of Gazans add to the combustible mix. With no hope for a better future, certainly not independence—which the current Israeli government vehemently opposes—their elders, scarred by the pains of the Second Intifada, have no persuasive argument to dissuade them from repeating what the elders have long concluded was a mistake: armed resistance. Consequently, young West Bank Palestinians are increasingly inclined to join militant groups or form their own, and take to arms. Thus, Israeli extremists and radicalized Palestinians feed on each other, using each other to justify violence, killing innocents, vandalizing property, and risking a major conflagration in the process. 'Terrorism is terrorism, regardless of religion, race, or gender,' declared a recent urgent letter to Israel's Minister of Defense. Sent on behalf of Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS)—Israel's largest group of retired generals and diplomats, of which I am a member, it alerted the Minister to the dire consequences of 'organized Jewish groups…setting the area ablaze.' 'Resources must be mobilized,' we urged, 'so that those guilty of terrorism are apprehended, investigated, and swiftly brought to justice.' Although even the murder of an American citizen did little to change the dynamics, recent settlers' assaults on IDF soldiers deployed to protect them, might have. Even those who shamefully looked the other way when the victims were Palestinians—PM Netanyahu included—suddenly realized that this lawlessness could not be tolerated. 'No civilized country can tolerate violent and anarchic acts of burning a military facility, damaging IDF property and attacking security personnel by citizens of the country,' said Netanyahu. In contrast, opposition leader Yair Lapid described the events as 'Jewish terrorists, gangs of criminals, who feel backed by the (governing) coalition.' Time will tell whether this wakeup call triggers effective measures to end Jewish terrorism, which is as immoral as any other kind of terrorism. It also undermines Israel's security and legitimacy. What is certain, from my vantage point, is this: if it does not spark those measures, this cycle of violence will only lead to the Gaza-ification of the West Bank, with tragic consequences for both peoples and further destabilizing effects well beyond the Israeli-Palestinian arena.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Latino tenants sued their landlord. A lawyer told them they would be "picked up by ICE."
In her entire law career, Sarah McCracken has never seen anything like the email she received on June 25. McCracken, a tenants' rights lawyer at Tobener Ravenscroft, is currently representing a Latino family suing a landlord and real estate agent for illegal eviction after being kicked out of their Baldwin Park home last year. A few weeks after being served, amid a series of ICE raids primarily targeting Latino communities in L.A. County, Rod Fehlman, the lawyer who appeared to be representing the agent at the time, sent McCracken's team a series of emails disputing the lawsuit and urging them to drop the case. He ended the correspondence with this: "It is also interesting to note that your clients are likely to be picked up by ICE and deported prior to trial thanks to all the good work the Trump administration has done in regards to immigration in California." "It's racist," McCracken said. "Not only is it unethical and probably illegal, but it's just a really wild thing to say — especially since my clients are U.S. citizens." The comment arrived as ICE raises tensions between landlords and Latino tenants. According to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, ICE has been pressuring some landlords to report their tenants' immigration status. Bonta's office issued a consumer alert on Tuesday reminding landlords that "it is illegal in California to discriminate against tenants or to harass or retaliate against a tenant by disclosing their immigration status to law enforcement." Fehlman didn't respond to requests for comment, nor did the clients he seemed to be representing: real estate agent David Benavides and brokerage Majesty One Properties, Inc. Fehlman's role in the case is unclear; following requests for comment from The Times, Benavides and the brokerage responded to McCracken's complaint using a different law firm. But according to McCracken, Fehlman serves as the defendants' personal attorney and will likely still take part in the lawsuit in an advisory role. Evicted From 2018 to 2024, Yicenia Morales rented a two-bedroom condo in Baldwin Park, which she shared with her husband, three children and grandson. According to her wrongful eviction lawsuit filed in May, the house had a slew of problems: faulty electricity, leaks in the bathroom, bad ventilation, and a broken heater, air-conditioning unit and garage door. "There was a lot that needed to be fixed, but we accepted it because we were just happy to find a place to live," Morales said. The real problems started in 2024, when her landlord, Celia Ruiz, started asking the family to leave because she wanted to sell the property, which isn't a valid reason for eviction under California law or Baldwin Park's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, the suit said. According to the lawsuit, Ruiz then changed her story, alleging that she wanted to move into the house herself, which would be a valid reason for eviction. According to the suit, Ruiz and her real estate agent, David Benavides of Majesty One Properties, constantly urged Morales and her family to leave. In September, the pressure mounted. Ruiz penned a handwritten note saying she needed the house back, and Benavides began calling them almost every day, the suit said. In November, assuming Ruiz needed to move back in, Morales left. But instead of moving in herself, Ruiz put the property on the market in January and sold it by March. "I really believed she needed the house for herself," Morales said. "I'm just tired of people taking advantage of others." Lawyer tactics Depending on your interpretation of California's Business and Professions Code, Fehlman's comment could be illegal, McCracken said. Section 6103.7 says lawyers can be suspended, disbarred or disciplined if they "report suspected immigration status or threaten to report suspected immigration status of a witness or party to a civil or administrative action." In addition, the State Bar of California bans lawyers from threatening to present criminal, administrative or disciplinary charges to obtain an advantage in a civil dispute. You could argue that Fehlman's email isn't a threat. He never said he'd call ICE himself, only claiming that Morales and her family "are likely to be picked up by ICE and deported." Morales and her entire family are all U.S. citizens. But she said she feels racially profiled because of her last name. "It's not fair for him to take advantage of that," she said. "I was born here. I have a birth certificate. I pay taxes." Just to be safe, Morales sent her birth certificates to McCracken's team. Even though she's a citizen, if Fehlman reports her to ICE, she still doesn't feel safe. Federal agents have arrested U.S. citizens during its recent raids across L.A, and a 2018 investigation by The Times found that ICE has arrested nearly 1,500 U.S. citizens since 2012, detaining some for years at a time. "I was already depressed over the eviction. Now I'm hurt, embarrassed and nervous as well. Will he really call ICE on us?" Morales said. McCracken said Fehlman's message is a byproduct of the current anti-immigrant political environment. Fehlman sent the email on June 25, the end of a jarring month that saw the agency arrest 2,031 people across seven counties in Southern California, 68% of which had no criminal convictions. "People seem to be emboldened to flout the law because they see people at the top doing it," she said. "It's totally unacceptable behavior." An ironic twist, she added, is that Fehlman's own client at the time was also Latino. "I don't know if Benavides was aware that his lawyer is making racially profiling comments, but I don't think he'd want to work with someone like that," McCracken said. The case is still in its early stages. Benavides and Majesty One Properties responded to the complaint on July 17, and McCracken's team hasn't officially served the landlord Ruiz yet because they've been unable to locate her. In the wake of the ICE comment, communication between McCracken and Fehlman halted. McCracken decided Fehlman's rant and possible threat didn't warrant a response, and Fehlman hasn't said anything else in the meantime. Her team is still deciding how they want to proceed in the wake of the comment, which could justify legal action. She called it a dangerous attempt to chill her client's speech and a failed attempt to intimidate her into dropping the case. But he took it way too far. "We're at a point in time where lawyers need to be upholding the rule of law," she said. "Especially in a time like this." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
The Intercept
38 minutes ago
- The Intercept
Feds Criminalize Aiding Protests Against ICE
Speaking on Fox News last week, a top official from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency was expanding its dragnet for arrests. 'I think we all know that criminals tend to hang out with criminals,' ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said. 'And so when we start to build a case, we're going to be going after everyone that's around them. Because these criminals tend to hang out with like-minded people who also happen to be criminals.' The pledge to broaden arrests came as an immigration sweep that sowed fear across the Los Angeles area has been met by a growing protest movement to stop the raids and arrests. 'This appears to be a targeted, political attack on resistance to a military incursion on our communities.' In addition to arresting hundreds of immigrants across Southern California, the government is targeting a mounting number of people who are responding to the raids or helping protests. Some of those targeted have provided supplies to protesters or tried to identify ICE agents conducting raids in masks and plain clothes. The remarks from Sheahan, the ICE official, came three days after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop indiscriminate ICE raids in LA. In the order, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong condemned the administration's use of a person's characteristics — like their appearance, accent, or occupation — as a basis for arrest. 'Roving patrols' operating without reasonable suspicion and denying access to lawyers violated the Fourth and the Fifth Amendments, the judge wrote. 'What the federal government would have this Court believe — in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case — is that none of this is actually happening.' Now, those accused of helping the anti-ICE movement are facing prosecution or investigation. Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted a man after he handed out face shields to people protesting ICE in Los Angeles two days after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard. Alejandro Orellana, 29, pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to aid and abet civil disorders. According to a grand jury indictment, the face shields were 'advertised as designed to protect from chemical splashes and flying debris.' 'Alejandro Orellana's arrest for distributing supplies is an outrageous violation of civil rights and should be a wakeup call to people everywhere,' said California attorney Thomas Harvey. 'This appears to be a targeted, political attack on resistance to a military incursion on our communities,' Harvey said. 'Distributing supplies to protesters is not a crime. It's a critical role to help keep people safe — especially in the face of some of the most violent police repression I've seen since the Ferguson uprising.' In Orellana's case, an agent from the FBI made a claim similar to the one the ICE deputy would later make to Fox News — that it was assigning criminality to people based on assumptions, not on evidence. The agent claimed in an affidavit that wearing such gear like the face shields, designed to protect against law enforcement using pepper spray or tear gas, 'is not common amongst non-violent, peaceful protesters.' Instead, he argued, the face shield was 'the kind of item used by violent agitators to enable them to resist law enforcement and to engage in violence and/or vandalism during a civil disorder.' Read our complete coverage As part of expanding its definitions of criminal activity to include forms of protest responding to ICE, the government ramped up its efforts to investigate people suspected of providing identifying information about ICE agents. On July 11, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released a statement condemning 'anarchists and rioters' in Portland who posted flyers with identifying information about ICE agents and said the department would prosecute 'those who dox ICE agents to the fullest extent of the law.' Last month, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced a bill that would make identifying ICE officers a federal crime. In another case in May, ICE agents raided the home of a family in Irvine, California, on a criminal search warrant. They were investigating the source of flyers that had been posted around LA earlier this year with identifying information about ICE officers. The government suspected the family's son was responsible. Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., issued a statement after the May raid saying he was 'deeply concerned' with news of the raid and had asked federal law enforcement for more information. Min's office did not respond to questions about whether they had yet received any such information. Several of the efforts to further criminalize protest flyers or mutual aid have also been used against pro-Palestine student protesters, Cop City activists in Georgia, and people providing water to migrants. Police charged protesters opposing the construction of the so-called Cop City police training facility with felonies for posting flyers in 2023, The Intercept reported. The activists had posted flyers in a neighborhood where a police officer lived, naming him and alleging that he was connected to the killing earlier that year of Manuel 'Tortuguita' Terán. Police shot Tortuguita 57 times, killing the activist during a multiagency raid on the Atlanta Forest protest encampment. In 2023, prosecutors brought charges under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law against 61 activists for their participation in organizing bail funds for Cop City protesters. Prosecutors dropped charges against three of the activists last year, and others are still awaiting trial. In a slew of other high-profile cases, elected officials have been arrested for aiding migrants being pursued for arrest by ICE agents. Earlier this year, the FBI arrested a judge accused of helping a man use an alternate exit from a courtroom when ICE agents were waiting outside the main door. 'It should be terrifying to every person that the U.S.' In Arizona in 2018, prosecutors famously slapped humanitarian volunteers offering food, shelter, and water to migrants in the desert with federal criminal charges. Border Patrol targeted their faith-based group as a criminal organization. In 2005, activists with the same group faced criminal charges for transporting migrants to receive medical care; the charges were later dismissed. 'It should be terrifying to every person that the U.S., which has long held political prisoners, is ramping up its oppressive tactics,' said Harvey, the California attorney. 'And now, with the new funding, ICE will have more money than any policing force in U.S. history to build a gulag system filled with localized versions of 'Alligator Alcatrazes' to cage immigrants and political dissidents.'
