Rioters in Los Angeles, California, objecting to deportation efforts of illegal immigrants in the U.S. have plagued the city with violence for three days. This has included assaulting law enforcement, federal agency officials, setting Waymo vehicles on fire, and other criminal acts. 

The destruction and violence have led President Donald Trump to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles “to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the National Guard deployment on his X account and warned that if the violence continues, Marines stationed at Camp Pendelton, California, were on high alert and would also be deployed. 

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It was a decision that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed with and called “common sense.” He spoke about the decision in a segment on Fox News Live on Sunday.

“This is common sense. This is basic law enforcement,” Pompeo said. “What Secretary of Defense is talking about is bringing in folks to provide support so we can do the fundamental duty of the government, which is to protect its law enforcement officers and the people from these violent assaults.”

Pompeo also referenced the summer of 2020 in the U.S., in which rioters devastated cities throughout the country.

“We do all remember the summer of 20 where this got out of hand, where local law enforcement and governors just let the flames burn,” Pompeo said. “This can’t happen this time. And you see President Trump and his team taking the actions that are both appropriate and necessary to protect people.”

The former CIA director then stressed the importance of ensuring that people in the country are here legally. He expressed the need for such people to be allowed to do their jobs without being attacked.

“If we don’t support the folks who are doing the important work of securing our southern border, making sure everyone who is here is here lawfully, and then keeping people and property protected and safe, we’ll end up in a very bad place again,” Pompeo said. “And that is not good for the United States of America.”

“When you let completely unvettable…people who you just… don’t know who they are, when you let them into our country by the hundreds, you get precisely what you’re seeing in Southern California today,” Pompeo added.

Democrat politicians in California, particularly Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom, were heavily critical of the illegal immigrant deportation efforts.

“As mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our society in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place,” Bass said. “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.”

“Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel,” said Newsom. “Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.”