Harvard students slam latest Trump visa ban
US President Donald Trump's late-night proclamation blocking Harvard's new international students has sparked fear and anger among existing students left in limbo amid his escalating showdown with the university.
Alfred Williamson, a Welsh-Danish physics and government student in his second year, said he was 'clinging on to the hope that
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RNZ News
30 minutes ago
- RNZ News
What's happening in LA? Trump's controversial immigration crackdown explained
By Elissa Steedman for ABC News Police and protesters face off on the streets of LA. Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT US President Donald Trump deployed 2000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles streets on Saturday night. The extraordinary measure is the latest escalation in a tense immigration debate the nation has been grappling with since before the election. Here's a look at what's happening in Los Angeles and what led to the protests. Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT In short, protests are continuing in Los Angeles for a third straight day. You might have heard them being referred to as ICE protests on social media. They began on Friday after immigration agents from ICE made dozens of arrests across the city over alleged immigration violations. On Sunday, 300 national guard troops were also deployed to guard a federal detention centre in downtown Los Angeles where those arrested were being held. Photo: AFP / Frederic J Brown ICE, which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is a law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security. It is responsible for enforcing the country's immigration laws. Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT It is not uncommon for ICE to arrest people it believes are in the US illegally. But this spate of arrests comes as part of the Trump administration's controversial immigration crackdown. Trump has vowed to deport record numbers of illegal immigrants during his second term, and the White House has set ICE a goal to arrest at least 3000 migrants each day. Because of that pressure, people who were legally living in the US have been caught up in ICE raids. One of the more notable cases was the arrest of 238 men accused of being Venezuelan gang members, who were not given a day in court before they were deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador. The arrest raids were also carried out in a public manner, which Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said would "sow terror" in the community. They occurred at a hardware store, where street vendors and day labourers were swept up, a garment factory and a warehouse. "I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said in a statement. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. "We will not stand for this." Photo: ROBYN BECK Securing the border was one of Trump's key election promises. During the presidential campaign, he argued illegal immigrants were responsible for a crime wave and described people who cross illegally into the US as "animals" who are "poisoning the blood" of the nation. While he was able to point to a handful of high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants, there was no data publicly available to verify the claim. Data from Texas, the only state that tracks crimes by immigration status, shows considerably lower felony arrest rates among people in the US illegally, compared to legal immigrants or citizens. But a perceived crime wave is not the only argument in favour of an immigration crackdown. The US is grappling with cost-of-living and housing crises, too, which many citizens say is only worsened by a mass influx of illegal immigrants competing for the same resources. Brenda Lee, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, told Foreign Correspondent last year she would vote for Trump because of his hardline immigration policies. "There's people that are having a hard time, you know, making ends meet," she said. "The rents are so high, we have a housing crisis, we have so many issues. "So it's like, we come first because we pay taxes." Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN Since Trump returned to office this year, ICE agents have been particularly active in California, New York and Illinois, according to analysis published by Axios last week. These states are considered "blue" because they reliably vote in favour of the Democratic Party in presidential elections. California is home to the country's largest immigrant population. About 10.6 million of its residents were born overseas, which makes up 22 per cent of the nation's foreign-born population. According to the Pew Research Center, 1.8 million immigrants in California, or about 17 percent of the total number, were undocumented in 2022. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Los Angeles had been "invaded" by "illegal aliens and criminals". Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN It's a section of the military that can be used as reserves for the army and air force. Each state has its own unit, which answers to the relevant state governor and the president. While the national guard has assisted with crowd control in the past, Trump's call to deploy the California National Guard is considered a rather historic move. That is because he did so without the governor's approval - something no president has done since 1965 when President Lyndon B Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama. California Governor Gavin Newsom has formally requested the Trump administration withdraw the troops, arguing their presence is "inflaming tensions". "Indeed, the decision to deploy the National Guard, without appropriate training or orders, risks seriously escalating the situation," his office wrote to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. - ABC
NZ Herald
4 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Trump jumps at the chance for a standoff in California over immigration
It is the fight President Donald Trump had been waiting for, a showdown with a top political rival in a deep blue state over an issue core to his political agenda. In bypassing the authority of Governor Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, to call in the National Guard to
1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
Protests intensify in LA after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops
Tensions in Los Angeles escalated today as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump's extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting autonomous vehicles on fire as local law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to control the crowd. Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities including a detention centre where some immigrants were taken in recent days. The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents. By midday (local time), hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Protesters directed chants of 'shame' and 'go home' at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields. ADVERTISEMENT After some protesters closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until California Highway Patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon. (Source: Associated Press) The presence of the Guard was 'inflaming tensions" in the city, according to a letter sent to Trump by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday afternoon (local time). He formerly requested Trump remove the guard members, which he called a 'serious breach of state sovereignty'. 'What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration," said Mayor Karen Bass in an afternoon press conference. 'This is about another agenda, this isn't about public safety.' Trump has said the National Guard was necessary because Newsom and other Democrats have failed to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents. Their deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration's mass deportation efforts. ADVERTISEMENT US National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (Source: Associated Press) Deployment follows days of protest The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighbouring Compton. As federal agents set up a staging area near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls. Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement. (Source: Associated Press) The recent protests remain far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops. ADVERTISEMENT The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Trump says there will be 'very strong law and order' (Source: Associated Press) In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States'. He said he had authorised the deployment of 2000 members of the National Guard. Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, today that there were "violent people" in Los Angeles "and they're not gonna get away with it". ADVERTISEMENT Asked if he planned to send US troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: "We're gonna have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country. We're not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden." He didn't elaborate. (Source: Associated Press) Trump also said that California officials who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges. A Wisconsin judge was arrested last month on accusations she helped a man evade immigration authorities. "If officials stay in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges," Trump said. Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor's office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday (local time). There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard's arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a "job well done". But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city. US National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Defence secretary threatens to deploy active-duty Marines 'if violence continues' In a statement Monday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California's politicians and protesters of "defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans' safety". "Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer," McLaughlin added. The troops included members of the California Army National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defence. In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines "if violence continues" in the region. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected "a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism' and 'usurping the powers of the United States Congress". House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president's move, doubling down on Republicans' criticisms of California Democrats. ADVERTISEMENT 'Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in," Johnson said.
