Violent riots have erupted in Los Angeles in response to federal immigration enforcement — but the left is trying to blame President Donald Trump for the chaos. In reality, these outbreaks of violence were not sparked by enforcement of the law, but by years of Democrats’ open-border policies that invited chaos. Rather than confront the consequences of their own agenda, the left is desperately trying to shift blame on Trump in hopes of avoiding admitting that their policy of mass migration is destabilizing American communities.
On Friday, ICE agents conducted investigations into the Fashion District of Los Angeles, “executing warrants on specific criminal activity,” Fox News reported, citing Border Czar Tom Homan. Ultimately, more than 100 arrests were made, including an arrest of a murderer, the outlet reported. Left-wing activists and illegal aliens responded with violence as city and state leaders stood idly by. In response, Trump authorized the deployment of National Guard troops on Saturday. By Monday, Marines were mobilizing in order to protect federal property and personnel, according to Fox News.
Yet California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of creating the problem, saying in a post on X: “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN on Monday: “I just have to say that if you dial back time and go to Friday, if immigration raids had not happened here, we would not have the disorder that went on last night.”
“Trump and ICE started this fight in LA,” The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur said in a post on X.
But Trump didn’t “start” any fight or cause any “problem[s].”
The real “problem” was imported by Democrats via their open border policies. And, worse for Democrats, is that the public is connecting the dots. These riots have made it unmistakably clear that the crisis goes far beyond isolated, violent illegal aliens. America is dealing with an occupation by foreign nationals who are willing to hurt and cripple American cities and law enforcement if they don’t get their way. When foreign nationals flood our streets, waving their flag while setting ours on fire, it’s not just a protest — it’s a declaration and rejection of American sovereignty.
And much to the left’s dismay, the American people are not shying away from the moment — they’re hardening. The more Americans see their own flag burned while foreign flags are raised on their streets, the more they firmly support Trump’s mass deportation plan and see that mass migration is destabilizing their communities. In fact, CNN’s Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten reported Monday that Trump’s net approval rating specifically on immigration has “gone up like a rocket,” with an increase of 20 points since 2017.
This is why the left is eager to recast these riots as a Trump “problem.” They understand that if Americans are allowed to focus on what actually happened — violent uprisings against lawful immigration enforcement, at the hands of illegal aliens and their sympathizers — then support for Trump’s policies will only grow. And when the conversation is about immigration, the left loses.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2