Latest news with #immigrationRaids
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Extremists': Trump offical's South Park rage
One of the Trump officials targeted by South Park in its ongoing brutal take-down of the White House has hit back saying the creators are 'petty' and 'lazy'. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has blasted the 'liberals and extremists' and accused them of 'making fun of women'. In its new season South Park, created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, has gone to town on the Trump administration. In multiple episodes it has portrayed the US president as having tiny genitalia and being the whiny boyfriend of an exasperated Satan. South Park has also now focused on Ms Noem who has spent a lot of time in her role donning a flak jacket and blue police cap as she joins officers on immigration raids. The raids have been lauded by Trump supporters as rounding up illegal immigrants but criticised by other for being cruel and sweeping up law abiding US residents. In episode two of the new season, in her flak jacket and cap, she raids at Dora the Explorer concert hauling away Dora and arrest anyone vaguely Hispanic. She also continually shoots dogs – in a reference to the time the real Ms Noem shot her family's dog in a gravel pit after she grew tired of its behaviour. Her face also droops and falls off in an unkind nod top her plastic surgery and Botox. Speaking to podcaster Glenn Beck on Thursday, US time, Ms Noem criticised the episode but admitted she hadn't seen the episode in question. 'It never ends. But it's so lazy to constantly make fun of women for how they look. 'Only the liberals and the extremists do that. 'If they wanted to criticise my job, go ahead and do that, but clearly they can't,' she added. 'They just pick something petty like that.' Yes, the show did poke fun at her plastic surgery. But her portrayal was mostly about how she dies her job. Rather than just letting South Park, a show which has famously skewered just about everyone, slide, the Trump administration has been pushing back on its new series. Which, of course, has just made it seem like the White House is thin skinned and has keep the show in the headline and likely rating. 'This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,' a White House spokesman raged after the first episode featuring Mr Trump. After last week's second episode, which also featured JD Vance, the vice president tweeted an image of himself from the show and tweeted 'Well, I've finally mead it'. The South Park account retweeted the image with the caption 'Wait, so we ARE relevant'' and then added the hashtag 'eat a bag of d****s'.
Al Jazeera
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Pentagon withdraws 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles, roughly half the federal troops deployed to the city, the Pentagon said. President Donald Trump ordered some 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines into Los Angeles in early June to help enforce federal immigration raids amid widespread protests. According to Department of Homeland Security figures, cited by NBC Los Angeles, the raids have led to the arrest of 2,792 undocumented immigrants. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on Tuesday confirmed the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen 'from the federal protection mission'. He claimed the move was because 'the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding'. Mayor Karen Bass described the withdrawal as a 'retreat', crediting the success of peaceful protests and legal actions. 'This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong,' Bass said. 'We organised peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court. All of this led to today's retreat,' the Democratic mayor said. She referred to a lawsuit the city joined that led to an order from a federal judge barring immigration officers from detaining people based solely on their race or for speaking Spanish. Federal troops deployed to Los Angeles are authorised to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves. Responding to the withdrawal of some of the troops, California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said that 'thousands of members are still federalised in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state'. 'End this theatre and send everyone home,' he added in a post on social media. Despite legal challenges, a US appeals court has let Trump retain control of California's National Guard, the first to be deployed by a US president against the wishes of a state governor since 1965. Newsom's office said in late June that California National Guard firefighting crews were 'operating at just 40 percent capacity due to Trump's illegal Guard deployment', as fires were 'popping up across the state' months after devastating fires tore through Los Angeles. Originally a part of the Mexican empire, Los Angeles continues to have a large population of people with Central and South American origins. The Californian capital is also one of several so-called 'sanctuary' cities in the US, offering protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of undocumented people living there. Trump has promised to deport millions of people in the country without documentation and has executed raids at work sites, including farms that were largely exempted from enforcement during his first term. The administration has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country challenging its tactics. Trump has also increasingly turned to the military in his immigration crackdown. In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles, thousands of active-duty troops have been deployed to the border with Mexico, and the Pentagon has created military zones in the border area. The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events such as civil disorder. A recent poll showed support for immigration in the US has increased since last year, while backing for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants has gone down.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US marines detain civilian in first known instance since Trump deployed troops to LA
US marines deployed to Los Angeles on Friday temporarily detained a civilian, the US military confirmed, in the first known detention by active-duty troops deployed there by Donald Trump. Marines took charge of the Wilshire federal building earlier on Friday in a rare domestic use of US troops after days of protests over immigration raids. Reuters images showed marines apprehending a civilian, restraining his hands with zip ties and then handing him over to civilians from the Department of Homeland Security. Asked about the incident, the US military's northern command spokesperson said active-duty forces 'may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances'. 'Any temporary detention ends immediately when the individual(s) can be safely transferred to the custody of appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel,' a spokesperson said. Related: Los Angeles police fire teargas to disperse crowds at Trump protest About 200 US marines arrived in LA on Friday morning. This followed Trump's extraordinary decision to deploy national guard troops to LA last weekend, over the objections of the governor of California, Gavin Newsom. The marines were to take over protecting a federal building, US Army Maj Gen Scott Sherman, who commands the taskforce of marines and national guardsmen, said. The streets had been mostly calm overnight going into Friday morning, marking the seventh day of protests across various areas and the third day of an overnight curfew in a small part of the huge downtown area. The civilian who was detained spoke to reporters after he was released, identifying himself as Marcos Leao, 27, an army veteran who was on his way to the Department of Veterans Affairs when he crossed a taped-off area and was asked to stop. Leao, who gained his US citizenship through military service, said he was treated 'very fairly'. 'They're just doing their job,' said Leao, who is of Angolan and Portuguese descent. Sporadic demonstrations have also taken place in cities including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Austin on several days in the last week against Trump's pushing of his mass deportation agenda, undertaken by targeting undocumented communities in the US interior. And millions more are expected to turn out to protest on Saturday at roughly 2,000 sites nationwide in a demonstration dubbed 'No Kings' against what critics see as Trump taking actions on the brink of authoritarianism. The mass protests are timed to coincide with the US president's controversial military parade in Washington DC to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the formation of the US army, and coincidentally his 79th birthday. The protests in Los Angeles and subsequent deployment of California's national guard by Trump, over the furious objections of Newsom, is a move that had not happened in the US in at least half a century, sparking a legal battle between the president and Newsom. Late on Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the federal deployment of troops by the president to aid in civilian US law enforcement in LA should be blocked. The administration swiftly appealed and a higher court paused the restraining order until Tuesday, when it will hear the case. Judge Charles Breyer's ruling in Newsom v Trump stated that Trump had unlawfully bypassed congressionally mandated procedures. Newsom in an interview with the New York Times podcast on Thursday called Trump a 'stone cold liar' for claiming he had discussed a federal deployment with the governor by telephone. Democrats and advocacy groups view Trump's deployment as an abuse of power aimed at suppressing free speech and supporting aggressive anti-immigration policies. Trump's use of the troops follows earlier, unfulfilled threats during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in his first administration, when he considered, but ultimately declined, to deploy federal troops and has since expressed regret about not cracking down more forcefully. The president has defended his decision to send troops to LA claiming without any evidence that the city would have been 'obliterated' and 'burned to the ground' had he not initiated the deployment. In Washington, Saturday's parade is billed as a patriotic celebration, while critics argue it is more about Trump's personal brand and ego than promoting national unity. Organizers of 'No Kings' protests have avoided planning a demonstration in the nation's capital, in an attempt to draw attention away from tanks, armored vehicles, troops and aircraft on display. 'The flag doesn't belong to President Trump. It belongs to us,' read a statement from the No Kings protest movement. The parade will culminate on Saturday evening with a procession of 6,600 soldiers, dozens of tanks, and a live broadcast message from an astronaut in space. Inspired by a Bastille Day parade Trump witnessed in France in 2017, but with strong echoes of the kind of regular displays under authoritarian regimes such as Russia, North Korea and China, the event is expected to cost up to $45m, sources told NBC News. Meanwhile, some members of the national guard troops deployed to Los Angeles and some of their family members have expressed discomfort with their mission, feeling it drags them into a politically charged domestic power struggle. 'The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn't the kind of national security we signed up for,' said Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative, which advocates for military families. 'Families are scared not just for their loved ones' safety, although that's a big concern, but also for what their service is being used to justify.' Chris Purdy of the Chamberlain Network echoed those concerns: 'Morale is not great, is the quote I keep hearing,' he said, citing multiple national guard members who contacted his organization. Related: Millions across US turn out for 'No Kings' protests against Donald Trump Amid the ongoing legal and political fallout, arrests have continued, although sporadic incidents of early looting have subsided. Jose Manuel Mojica, a 30-year-old father of four, was charged with assaulting a federal officer during a protest in Paramount, a community in southern Los Angeles county. And on Thursday, Alex Padilla, a Democratic US senator for California and vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration polices, was forcibly removed and handcuffed as he attempted to ask a question at a press conference held by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, in Los Angeles. In video taken of the incident that has since gone viral on social media, Padilla is seen being restrained and removed from the room by Secret Service and FBI agents. He warned that if this was how he was dealt with it spoke ill for ordinary civilians being summarily arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). Most Republican national lawmakers criticized Padilla, although some Republican senators condemned his treatment, while Democrats overwhelmingly applauded his challenge to the administration and were appalled at his removal. Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles contributed reporting
South China Morning Post
11-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Viewed from China, Trump's crackdown on LA unrest seems a risky ‘political gamble'
Chinese analysts have been closely monitoring the Los Angeles unrest , which they said had been exploited by US President Donald Trump for political theatre, jeopardising public safety and stability. One high-profile commentator also predicted that Trump's heavy-handed tactics could escalate into a constitutional crisis. The remarks followed days of protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids, which led to a curfew in some downtown areas of the city aimed at cracking down on vandalism. The comments also came after a breakthrough in US-China trade talks on Tuesday, when the two countries agreed on a framework pending approval from their leaders. The Los Angeles demonstrations have prompted Trump to mobilise thousands of National Guard troops and the US Marines The protests, held in response to a sweeping operation to arrest and deport unauthorised immigrants, have spread to other US cities, including San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and New York. Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Beijing's Renmin University, said the deployment of troops by Trump made his 'despotic nature' much clearer to Americans and added nothing to his domestic prestige.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Authorities search for more victims after driver hits protesters in downtown L.A. rampage
Authorities are searching for more victims after a man drove into crowds during anti-ICE protests in downtown Los Angeles. On June 8, the male driver in a silver Honda Odyssey minivan was seen driving erratically near Alameda Street and Bauchet Street around 9:20 p.m. The area was filled with people who were protesting the immigration raids taking place across the Southland. Sky5 footage captured the man striking several pedestrians while driving menacingly towards the crowds. He was seen driving the wrong way at times, while side-swiping nearby vehicles and ignoring street lights. He drove at high speeds throughout downtown as angry pedestrians ran after him and threw items at his van, including an object that smashed the rear windshield. He eventually parked in a commercial area near South Savannah and East 1st streets before getting out of his vehicle. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies quickly arrived and took him into custody. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a loaded firearm. His identity was not released. Detectives are searching for more victims who were injured during the rampage. The suspect's vehicle is a 2010 silver Honda Odyssey minivan with California license plate 8XSZ585. Anyone with information can call the East Los Angeles Station watch commander at 323-264-4151. Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
