Hundreds gather in Houston and San Antonio to protest immigration crackdowns in workplaces, courthouses
Crowds of hundreds gathered Sunday in Houston and San Antonio in protest of federal authorities' redoubled efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
The protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas occurred after days of unrest in California, where demonstrators protesting immigration crackdowns in that state clashed with authorities. President Donald Trump responded by dispatching National Guard Troops to quell demonstrations in Los Angeles and vowing to 'have troops everywhere' should protests turn violent.
Gov. Greg Abbott praised Trump's response, writing on social media that 'an organized assault has been waged against federal law enforcement officials.'
'It's time to put an end to it, and allow fed officials to fully enforce the laws of the United States,' Abbott wrote Sunday.
The protests in Texas appeared to be peaceful. Images posted on social media and local news coverage showed people gathering, sharing snacks and marching down two of the state's largest cities.
Across the country, demonstrators have repeatedly hit the streets since Trump returned to office with a promise to deport undocumented immigrants en masse.
However, the latest protests followed what appears to be a new strategy from the Trump administration to target workplaces as pressure mounts on federal law enforcement to further escalate their efforts and deliver on the president's campaign trail promises.
In recent weeks, federal immigration authorities have also arrested people at courthouses and while conducting wellness checks on children who arrived in the country alone.
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Homeland Security seeks weapons, drones for LA immigration crackdown
WASHINGTON —The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon for help in transporting weapons from Fort Benning in Georgia and another site in Wyoming to Los Angeles, where its immigration crackdown has become increasingly militarized. The request came Monday after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered thousands of National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the objection of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump and Hegseth said the troops are needed to restore order, protect federal buildings and law enforcement officials arresting and deporting migrants in the United States illegally. The request from Homeland Security, confirmed by a Defense official, also seeks 'drone surveillance support,' direction to troops on detaining or arresting 'lawbreakers,' and graduates from an organization like the Marines' School of Advanced Warfighting School for setting up a joint operation center. It's unclear what type of weapons Homeland Security officials are seeking for their immigration crackdown in California. Also unclear: who would use them and who they would be used against. Pentagon officials are reviewing the request, according to the official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its request. On Wednesday, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, asked Hegseth if he would authorize drones and the use of 'military forces to detain or arrest American citizens.' Reed is a member of the Senate Defense Approprations subcommittee and the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. Hegseth did not answer directly, saying, 'Senator, every authorization we've provided, the National Guard, and the Marines in Los Angeles is under the authority of the president of the United States. Is lawful and constitutional.' Active-duty troops are generally barred by federal law from participating in law enforcement operations, based on century's old tradition separating the military from domestic policing. There is an exception under the Insurrection Act that allows the president to use the military to put down an internal rebellion. National Guard troops have fewer restrictions. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are carrying out a directive from Trump to find immigrants living in the United States without legal status. Protests have sprung up against the sweeps the agency is carrying out in various neighborhoods. News that Homeland Security officials want ammunition, drones and combat expertise follows another request it made of the Pentagon. That one seeks for the first time more than 20,000 National Guard troops for their 'support of interior immigration enforcement operations.' That could put Guardsmen far from the southern border -- where they have supported enforcement operations for years -- and thrust them into center of the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration in American cities. "DHS requested 20,000 National Guard members to help carry out the president's mandate from the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens," DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "The Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to get criminal illegal aliens including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and other violent criminals out of our country. The safety of American citizens comes first.' More: Trump wants 20,000 troops to hunt, transport immigrants. Cost estimate: $3.6 billion It's not a given that these requests will be granted in part or in full. Pentagon officials review the proposals and decide what the military can spare without compromising its mission. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Homeland Security seeks weapons, drones for LA immigration crackdown
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16 minutes ago
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Some Los Angeles families are skipping school graduation because they are afraid of ICE
At Palms Middle School in Los Angeles, the aggressive immigration crackdown that is dominating the city loomed over a joyous middle school commencement ceremony on June 10. A doleful Principal Arturo Enriquez told Angeleno families that parents and community members were stationed outside of the campus "ready to call me" if United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials showed up. "We are a melting pot of beautiful, incredible people," Enriquez said to the crowd before wiping a tear from his eye. "This incredible community, all of these students, all of these parents, guardians, friends and family, it is because of you that these young people are here ready to go on to that next step – to that high school life, to represent each of us as an incredible member of society." Some families too afraid to attend the graduation out of fear of increased presence of immigration enforcement officials across the city didn't hear the principal's message. They and many other Angeleno immigrants who live in the sanctuary city are foregoing the chance to witness their young loved ones receive diplomas or advance to the next grade at upcoming school graduation ceremonies out of fear of getting deported. "I've spoken with parents who've told me that their daughter would be the first in their family to graduate high school and they're not going to be there to witness it, because they have a fear of the place of graduation being targeted,' said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, which covers the majority of the city and some surrounding areas of Los Angeles and serves more than a half of a million public school students, during a June 9 news conference. More than one-third of Angelenos are immigrants. ICE detained a Los Angeles fourth grader from Torrance Elementary School and his father in Texas on May 29. They are expected to be deported to Honduras. The young child's deportation has left a wound. 'When something like this happens, it shakes all of us in the community," Torrance Elementary PTA volunteer Ria Villanueva told The Los Angeles Times. Homeland security agents attemped to enter two Los Angeles schools in early April, but they were denied entry. Arrests of young people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are happening nationwide in other targeted American communities, such as Milford, Massachusetts, where an 11th grader's arrest and detention by ICE has heightened anxiety among the area's immigrants, and in New York City, where educations officials say ICE have recently arrested and detained two students. 'President Trump is keeping his promise to deport illegal aliens and the law enforcement officers conducting operations do so efficiently and professionally," said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, in response to a question from USA TODAY about the Trump administration's enforcement on immigration at and around schools. "Individuals, like the violent rioters in LA, who try to obstruct or deter operations put law enforcement officers and law abiding citizens at risk.' The Trump administration's increased immigration enforcement and related protests around LA Unified schools over the last several weeks have put parents, students and school officials on especially high alert. After law enforcement officers deployed flash-bang grenades against protesters near a Los Angeles Unified elementary school campus, the school community went into lockdown on June 6. The tensions have left the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the nation, at the center of the national battle on immigration deportations and family separations. Ahead of future graduation ceremonies in the district, Carvalho said he said he has directed Los Angeles Unified school police to stand at the front lines and "intervene and interfere with any federal agency who may want to take action during these joyous times that we call graduation." The Los Angeles families' anxieties come after a series of Trump administration-led anti-immigrant actions in the city, making it a national battleground for President Donald Trump's long-promised crackdown on illegal immigration. President Donald Trump and his administration have deployed thousands of National Guard members to the nation's second-largest city since June 8. The National Guard entered Los Angeles after citizens who were angry about immigration raids in the city, including one at a Home Depot, launched largely peaceful demonstrations against the administration's enforcement of illegal immigration. How did the LA protests begin? A look at the immigration raids that sparked outrage Chaos and violence have since erupted across Los Angeles, resulting in the detainment of some immigrants, destruction of city property and fear and hiding among immigrant families and children of immigrants who attend school across the region. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vehemently objected against the immigration raids and deployment of federal guards, even filing a lawsuit against Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth alleging they deployed "members of the California National Guard, without lawful authority, and in violation of the Constitution." "Instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders – a strategy both parties have long supported – this administration is pushing mass deportations - indiscriminately targeting hardworking, immigrant families regardless of their roots or risk, " Newsom, a Democrat, said in a video posted on Instagram. There's no sign that the immigration raids will end. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on X on June 9 that they will deploy about 700 active duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles "to restore order." Trump has also threatened to arrest Newsom for challenging the federal government. 700 Marines Heading to LA; Newsom calls move 'deranged fantasy' of Trump A third-grade elementary school teacher in the district, who asked to remain anonymous because she is worried that her school and her students will be targeted by immigration enforcement officials if she is identified, said she has felt deep fear and constant anxiety in her students about them or their families being detained by ICE officials. She said many kids in her classroom whose parents are undocumented immigrants, some of whom are newcomers from Guatemala, are worried about being deported or separated from their families. Their fears have intensified since immigration raids have occurred close to the school. Attendance was unusually low and many school bus stops were eerily quiet during the last two days of school in her classroom on June 9 and 10, she said. "I try to pretend everything's normal when everything's falling apart outside of the school," she said. Her six-year-old son, who attends the same school where she teaches, found about about the immigration raids through friends and told her, 'Mom, I'm glad you have papers so they can't take you.' Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Carvlaho said in a statement on June 6 that he is "dismayed" by the recent immigration enforcement activity occurring near district schools. "These actions are causing unnecessary fear, confusion, and trauma for our students and families – many of whom are simply trying to get to and from school and work, and to live with dignity," Carvalho said. The presence of federal immigration activity near school campuses threatens prevents schools from being a "safe haven" where students "can learn, grow, and thrive without fear of being separated from their loved ones," he said. California State Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond called Trump's military deployment and mass immigration raids "unnecessary," "a betrayal of our American values" and "an assault on all Californians" in a statement on June 9. Thurmond said about half of California kids have at least one immigrant parent. "Innocent children should never be in handcuffs, and families should never be torn apart by our government. Our children deserve to be protected and cared for, not terrified at school or ripped from their families," Thurmond said. "Let's be clear: When the President targets our immigrant families, he harms California's children." California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Thurmond have called on Trump to end the mass immigration raids and pull back National Guard troops from Los Angeles for the safety of Los Angeles families. 'My message to President Trump is very clear: keep your hands off California's kids," Thurmond said on June 9. "The President's unchecked, unnecessary deployment of our nation's military to the city of Los Angeles is deeply dangerous for our children, for our families, and for our country." The officials' sentiments haven't calmed the widespread fear among many of the city's vast immigrant communities. Britt Vaughan, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified school district, said that parents and community members have been anxiously calleing into schools to report federal immigration activity in their communities. Enriquez, from Palms Middle School, told students and their families at the commencement ceremony to use the momentum of graduation as an opportunity to stand up to what he called "injustice" against their community. "Be empowered. Injustices exist in the world," he said. "Speak up. Stand up against any injustice anywhere." Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@ Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fearing ICE, some LA families skip school graduations
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders National Guard to immigration protests
Texas is following President Donald Trump's lead, and will deploy the National Guard in preparation for planned protests in the state as demonstrations against immigration raids spread throughout the country in solidarity with Los Angeles. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican and ally of Trump, said the evening of June 10 he would send the Guard members to locations across the state to "ensure peace & order." "Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest," he said in a post to X. "@TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order." Immigration and Customs Enforcement is carrying out a directive from Trump to find immigrants living in the United States without legal status. Protests have sprung up against the sweeps the agency is carrying out in various neighborhoods. In Los Angeles, where protests continued for the last five days, Trump sent National Guard members and U.S. Marines despite the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparking a showdown between the federal government and state authorities. Abbott's decision comes after protesters in Austin clashed with police on June 9. Police fired less-lethal munitions and detained several people accused of throwing rocks at officers and graffitiing a federal building, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference. One person was arrested in Dallas after police declared a demonstration unlawful and a firework exploded near police, according to CBS News Texas. Demonstrators in Austin earlier this week began marching peacefully, but police intervened and made eight arrests after some of the protesters graffitied state and federal buildings and others threw "very large rocks" at officers, Davis said. Officers used pepper balls – projectiles that contain a chemical akin to pepper spray – and tear gas to quell the crowd, she said. Two of the people arrested face criminal mischief charges for spray painting the buildings, she said. Other charges include harassment of a public servant and failure to obey a lawful order to disperse. Those arrested ranged in age from 21 to 37. "Don't mess with Texas law enforcement," Abbott said on social media in response to the arrests. Davis said four officers were injured in the scuffle and were treated and released from hospitals. Three were injured by rocks thrown by protesters and one sustained a shoulder injury during an arrest, during which a protester also spit in his eye, Davis said. "These were very large rocks, these were no small pebbles," she said. Davis said officers are preparing for additional demonstrations in Austin, including on June 14. Demonstrations against ICE raids and in solidarity with Los Angeles protesters have sprung up in major cities all around the United States in recent days. Local news outlets and police have reported protests in San Francisco, New York, Washington, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and more. The protests have remained largely peaceful but in some cases turned into clashes with police and led to arrests. In New York City, 86 people were taken into custody on June 10 as hundreds rallied near the city's main immigration court, the New York Police Department said. The day before, more than 30 were arrested ABC 7 reported. Among those were about two dozen arrested from the lobby of Trump Tower, the outlet reported. Some of the nationwide protests were launched by union members in response to the arrest of David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California (SEIU), in Los Angeles on June 6. More than 200 union members and supporters in Boston gathered outside City Hall on June 9, NPR affiliate WBUR reported. In Washington, D.C., hundreds gathered outside the Department of Justice and FBI buildings and marched through the city protesting both ICE raids and Huerta's arrest, according to WUSA9. While the anti-ICE protests continue, "No Kings Day" protests are planned nationwide on June 14, the day Trump will hold a military parade in Washington, D.C., and also celebrate his 79th birthday. Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greg Abbott orders National Guard to Texas immigration protests
