ICE to deploy tactical agents to multiple Democratic-led cities nationwide amid protests
As immigration protests spread throughout the country, sources tell NBC News that ICE is preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five cities run by Democratic leaders, including Chicago and Philadelphia. NBC News' Julia Ainsley and Laura Strickler report more, and former Romney chief strategist Stuart Stevens joins Christina Ruffini for analysis.
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Los Angeles Times
16 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
The gift Trump never meant to give: the spotlight to Democratic adversary Gavin Newsom
SACRAMENTO — President Trump craves attention and will stoop to any depth to grab it — even pour gasoline on a kindling fire in Los Angeles. But this time he unwittingly provided priceless attention for an adversary. Because Trump needlessly deployed National Guard troops and — more ridiculous, a Marine battalion to L.A. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom was granted a prime-time speaking slot on national cable television to respond. 'We honor their service. We honor their bravery,' Newsom said of the troops. 'But we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces. Not in L.A. Not in California. Not anywhere … . 'California may be first — but it clearly won't end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. The moment we've feared has arrived.' I'm not sure the 'democracy is under assault' message has much traction, but keeping armed combat forces off our streets must be a salable pitch. Regardless, governors almost never get national TV time to deliver entire speeches, even as brief as Newsom's. You've practically got to be nominated for president. But the publicity-thirsty sitting president provided the cameras for California's governor. Newsom's strong address probably boosted his stock within the Democrat Party and revived dormant speculation about a 2028 presidential bid. No longer was the Democratic governor playing respectful nice guy and tempering criticism of the Republican president. Now he was standing up to the bully who loves to use California, Newsom and our progressive politics as a punching bag. Trump's red-state supporters love every swipe at this 'left coast' state. Newsom rose to the occasion, using his greatest asset: invaluable communication skills coupled with telegenic looks. He laid out his version of what happened to turn relatively peaceful protests against federal immigration raids into destructive street violence. And it's the correct version by objective accounts. On Saturday, Newsom said, federal immigration agents 'jumped out of an unmarked van' near a Home Depot parking lot and 'began grabbing people. A deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb … . In response, everyday Angelenos' exercised their constitutional right to protest. Police were dispatched to keep the peace and mostly were successful, the governor continued. But then tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades were used — by federal agents, Newsom implied. Then Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops 'illegally and for no reason,' the governor asserted. 'This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation … . Anxiety for families and friends ramped up. Protests started again … . Several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive.' Newsom warned: 'That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Full stop.' And hundreds have been arrested. But he emphasized: 'This situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown. But that's not what Donald Trump wanted … . He chose theatrics over public safety.' In Trump's twisted view, if he hadn't sent in the National Guard, 'Los Angeles would be completely obliterated.' Never mind that the violence was confined to a few downtown blocks, a fraction of a city that spreads over 500 square miles. 'We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free and clean again,' the president promised. Veteran Republican strategist Mike Murphy had it right, telling CNN: 'He's lighting the fire as an arsonist, then claiming to be the fireman.' It reminded me of President Lyndon B. Johnson's manufactured Gulf of Tonkin resolution in 1964 that Congress passed, enabling him to vastly escalate U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Johnson reported a North Vietnamese attack on U.S. destroyers that many experts later concluded never happened. But I think Trump mainly is obsessed with attracting attention. He knows he'll get it by being provocative. Never mind the accuracy of his words or the wisdom of his actions. Sending in the Marines certainly was an eye-opener. So is staging a military parade on his birthday — an abuse of troops for attention, personal glorification and exercise of his own power. He'll say anything provocative without thinking it through: Tariffs one day, suspended the next. He'll boast of sending San Joaquin Valley water to L.A. for fighting fires when it's physically impossible to deliver it. While Trump was playing politics with immigrants and L.A. turmoil, a poll finding was released that should have pleased him. Californians no longer support providing public healthcare for immigrants living here illegally, the independent Public Policy Institute of California reported. Adult state residents were opposed by 58% to 41% in a survey taken before the L.A. trouble erupted. By contrast, a PPIC poll in 2021 found that Californians favored providing state healthcare for undocumented immigrants by 66% to 31%. Polling director Mark Baldassare concluded the public opposition stems mostly from the view that California taxpayers can't afford the costly program — not that they agree with Trump's anti-immigrant demagoguery. In fact, Newson has proposed paring back the state's multibillion-dollar program of providing Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented immigrants because the state budget has been spewing red ink. Given all the rhetoric about the L.A. protests, the statement that particularly impressed me came from freshman Assemblyman Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles), whose downtown district stretches from Koreatown to Chinatown. 'Rocks thrown at officers, CHP cars and Waymo vehicles set on fire, arson on the 101 freeway — have nothing to do with immigration, justice or the values of our communities,' he said in a statement Sunday. 'These are not protesters — they were agitators. Their actions are reckless, dangerous and playing into exactly what Trump wants.' Gonzalez is a liberal former chairman of the L.A. County Democratic Party who stuck to his point: Hoodlums can't be tolerated. And, thanks to Trump, Newsom was able to make a similar point about the president on national TV: His dangerous, self-serving actions can't be tolerated either.
New York Post
21 minutes ago
- New York Post
Federal judge questions constitutionality of Trump sending National Guard to LA riots: ‘President is, of course, limited'
WASHINGTON — A federal judge expressed skepticism Thursday about the constitutionality of President Trump's order to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE riots. Senior San Francisco US District Judge Charles Breyer heard arguments from attorneys for Trump's Justice Department and California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the Democrat had sued the feds over dispatching roughly 4,000 Guard members to protect officers carrying out immigration enforcement operations. 'We're talking about the president exercising his authority, and the president is, of course, limited,' Breyer, the younger brother of liberal former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, said at one point in the hearing. Advertisement 3 AP 'That's the difference between a constitutional government and King George.' Brett Shumate, the head of the DOJ's Civil Division, disputed Breyer's characterization of the president's order throughout the hour-long hearing, arguing that the commander-in-chief had 'delegated' the federalizing of the Guard through California's adjutant general, as legally required. Advertisement Shumate also claimed that Newsom was merely a 'conduit' for that order as it passed through the chain of command from Trump to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the state Guard. 'There's no consultation requirement, pre-approval requirement,' he argued. 'There's one commander-in-chief of the armed forces.' The California attorney general's office countered that allowing Trump's action to stand implied there would be 'no guardrails' for further abuse by the executive branch. 3 Clashes have erupted in LA over the last several days sparked by ICE raids. Barbara Davidson/NYPost Advertisement 3 A demonstrator points his finger towards members of the California National Guard during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles. REUTERS 'The president, by fiat, can federalize the National Guard and deploy it,' an attorney for Newsom said, 'whenever there is disobedience to an order.' While Breyer took issue with the deployment of the National Guard, he appeared more inclined to let stand Trump's order sending around 700 US Marines to the Golden State to assist with the federal immigration crackdown. 'I don't understand how I'm supposed to do anything with the Marines, to tell you the truth,' the judge responded, quibbling with Newsom's legal team over whether their involvement violated the Posse Comitatus Act. Advertisement Breyer did not immediately issue a ruling, but said he hoped to put one out 'very soon.' This is a developing story. Please check back for more information.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Shocked' and 'sickened' Democrats react with fury to video of Padilla's removal
WASHINGTON (AP) — When videos first rocketed around the Internet Thursday afternoon showing security officers forcibly removing Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in California, senators in both parties were already gathered together for a long series of votes. There are strict rules against using cellphones on the Senate floor. But senators immediately shared the video with each other anyway. 'I showed it to as many people as I could,' said Democratic Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware. That included Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who she said seemed 'as shocked as we were.' The videos, which showed officers aggressively pushing Padilla out of Noem's press conference and eventually restraining him on the floor outside the room, shook Senate Democrats to the core. Beaten down politically for months as President Donald Trump has returned to power and ruled Washington with a united Republican Congress, the Democrats' anger exploded as they skipped their traditional Thursday flights home and stayed on the floor to speak out against the incident, calling it the latest and most inflammatory example of what they say is Trump's gradual assault on democracy. The incident came just days after U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a detention center in New Jersey. 'What was really hard for me to see was that a member of this body was driven to his knees and made to kneel before authorities,' said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, his raised voice booming through the Senate chamber walls. 'This is a test. This is a crossroads. This is a day in which the character of this body will be defined.' Washington Sen. Patty Murray said it was the closest she had come to tearing up on the floor in her 32 years in the Senate. Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said she was so angry she was shaking. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine waved around a pocket Constitution and said the administration is trying to make Padilla and others 'afraid to exercise their rights.' Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said what he saw 'sickened my stomach' and demanded immediate answers 'to what the hell went on.' Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation. 'This is what a dictatorship looks like,' said Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen. 'We have to stand up." Pleading for Republicans to speak out against the incident, New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim said that 'this is not a time to put your finger up in the air and figure out which way the wind is blowing, to try to think through what type of reaction might come from the White House if we speak out against this.' Senate Republicans were mostly silent on the situation. Thune said that he would have a response, 'but I want to know the facts, find out exactly what happened.' Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she had seen a clip of the video on the Senate floor and it was 'disturbing,' though she said she didn't know the details of what came before it. 'It looks like he's being manhandled and physically removed, and it's hard to imagine a justification for that,' Collins said. Other Republicans were less sympathetic. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican, raised his voice when asked about the incident and said that Padilla should have been at work in Washington. He said he had not watched the video. 'Was he being disruptive?' asked South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who also had not seen the video. 'He got what he wanted, he's on video.' Padilla was forcibly removed from the press conference after introducing himself and saying he had questions for Secretary Noem amid immigration raids in his state that have led to protests. Video shows a Secret Service agent on Noem's security detail grabbing the California senator by his jacket and shoving him from the room as he yells, 'Hands off!' Later video shows Padilla on his knees and pushed to the ground with several officers on top of him. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Padilla 'chose disrespectful political theater and interrupted a live news conference.' They defended the officers' conduct and claimed erroneously that Padilla did not identify himself and said Secret Service believed him to be an attacker. The Democrats described Padilla, the son of immigrants from Mexico, as a 'kind and gentle person' and said that disrespect is not a crime in the United States. They also invoked the end of Trump's last presidency, when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol and sent them running. 'I have never, ever — other than January 6 — been so outraged at the conduct of an administration,' said Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz.
