Dems walk back pro-cop, law and order rhetoric from J6 era in the face of spiraling immigration riots
Elected Democrats from coast to coast championed law and order and embraced law enforcement in the wake of the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, but have seemingly walked back such rhetoric in the face of federal law enforcement officials carrying out immigration raids in Los Angeles that have spiraled into riots. Democrats have increasingly condemned the immigration raids that began Friday in Los Angeles, claiming they were “illegal” and revealed alleged evidence of President Donald Trump’s “authoritarianism,” while attempting to characterize the riots as a result of the administration’s alleged overreach. “Inciting and provoking violence; Creating mass chaos; Militarizing cities; Arresting opponents,” Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X Sunday. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a President.” CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ “Deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids is a chaotic escalation,” Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass posted to X Sunday. “The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real – it’s felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk. This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protesters to remain peaceful. I’ve been in touch this morning with immigrant rights leaders as well as local law enforcement officials. Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home.” Federal law enforcement officials converged on the city Friday, with both Newsom and Bass issuing statements shortly thereafter denouncing the raids, which are part of Trump’s campaign vow to remove the millions of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under the Biden administration. ‘LUNATIC’ DEMOCRAT RIPPED FOR ‘DEMONIC’ VIDEO MESSAGE DEMANDING ICE AGENTS ‘GET THE F— OUT’ AMID CA CHAOS Newsom, Bass and other local elected Democrats quickly sounded off that they did not support the raids, while offering words of support to illegal immigrants who reside in Los Angeles. “As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place,” Bass, for example, said Friday. “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.” Protests against the raids soon devolved into violence over the weekend, as rioters targeted federal officials with rocks and other projectiles, set cars on fire, looted stores and took over 101 Freeway Sunday. Trump said Saturday that he was authorizing the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members to Southern California to help quell the violence as it spiraled, bypassing the governor who typically activates the National Guard during state emergencies. The White House has defended calling in the National Guard to restore law and order, after Democrats reportedly failed to control the increasingly violent protests and the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly in the city. Dozens of violent protesters have been arrested since Friday, according to local police. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC “Gavin Newsom did nothing as violent riots erupted in Los Angeles for days,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted to X Monday. “Federal law enforcement officers were attacked by violent radicals and illegal criminals waving foreign flags because Governor Newsom was too weak to protect the city. The Los Angeles Police Chief has even said the riots were getting out of hand. President Trump has stepped in to maintain law and order and protect federal buildings.” As the riots raged, a handful of elected Democrats, as well as Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have condemned the raids and federal officials cracking down on the protests, which stand in stark contrast to messages they issued in the 2021 era after Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 following the 2020 election. Democrats have long argued the Jan. 6 protest was a violent insurrection that trampled on the U.S. Constitution and threatened democracy when an estimated 2,000 people breached the Capitol building that day. CALIFORNIA LT. GOVERNOR SAYS LOS ANGELES RIOTS ARE ‘GENERATED BY DONALD TRUMP’ “ICE get the f— out of LA so that order can be restored,” Democratic California Rep. Norma Torres posted in a video on TikTok Friday of the raids, which received widespread backlash among conservative critics. But when addressing the Jan. 6 protest, Torres invoked the Constitution, celebrated law enforcement and disavowed the “chaos” seen at the Capitol in 2021. “The American people deserve leaders who will uphold the Constitution and protect our democracy from those who seek to destroy it,” Torres said in a statement in January criticizing Trump’s pardons of the vast majority of those charged in connection to the protest at the Capitol. “I call on my colleagues, regardless of party affiliation, to condemn this reckless abuse of power and to recommit ourselves to the principles of justice and accountability.” “I remember the sound of the mob banging on doors, the bravery of law enforcement officers who risked their lives to protect us, and the sense of betrayal as our sacred democratic institutions were desecrated,” she added. When asked about the disparity in comments, Torres said she has “always supported our local law enforcement – whether it be in Los Angeles or Washington, D.C.,” adding that the ICE raids is “entirely different.’ “LAPD is trained to handle this situation and have the resources to do so,” Torres told Fox News Digital on Monday. “What ICE is doing in California is entirely different – we’re witnessing ICE ignore federal law, people going missing, families being separated, and even American citizens being mistakenly detained. I do not support violent conduct, but I believe the Los Angeles Police Department can restore calm, and prosecute any violent offenders as needed. Bringing in the National Guard will only escalate tensions by introducing a weaponized military presence into the city.”
Trump says ‘disrespect’ toward National Guard in LA ‘will not be tolerated’: ‘If they spit, we will hit’
President Donald Trump said National Guard officers are authorized to hit back if “insurrectionists” spit in their faces, warning that “such disrespect will not be tolerated.” The president, on Monday, blasted the “catastrophic” riots across Los Angeles in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The president posted to his Truth Social a “statement from the President of the United States concerning the catastrophic Gavin Newscum inspired Riots going on in Los Angeles.” LIVE UPDATES: ANTI-ICE PROTEST DECLARED ‘UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY,’ NEWSOM DARES HOMAN TO ARREST HIM “The Insurrectionists have a tendency to spit in the face of the National Guardsmen/women, and others,” Trump posted. “These Patriots are told to accept this, it’s just the way life runs. But not in the Trump Administration.” “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT, and I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” the president said. He added: “Such disrespect will not be tolerated.”
Trump admin sanctions El Chapo’s children, violent fentanyl-trafficking cartel arm Los Chapitos
The Trump administration is sanctioning El Chapo’s children and Los Chapitos – a fentanyl trafficking faction of the violent Sinaloa cartel, Fox News Digital has learned. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Los Chapitos, which controls laboratories responsible for introducing fentanyl in counterfeit pills manufactured by the Sinaloa cartel and trafficked to the United States. Gunmen linked to the Sinaloa cartel were involved in the Oct. 18, 2024, killing of U.S. Marine veteran Nicholas Quets in Sonora, Mexico. FLASHBACK: FAMILY OF MARINE VETERAN MURDERED IN MEXICO BACKS TRUMP, VANCE AFTER SILENCE FROM BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN Additionally, the Treasury Department designated the two sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera: Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar. “Los Chapitos is a powerful, hyperviolent faction of the Sinaloa cartel at the forefront of fentanyl trafficking in the United States,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday. “At the Department of the Treasury, we are executing on President Trump’s mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels and take on violent leaders like ‘El Chapo’s’ children.” TRUMP, VANCE MEET WITH FAMILY OF MARINE VETERAN KILLED OFF MEXICAN HIGHWAY BY SUSPECTED CARTEL MEMBERS Bessent added that the Treasury Department is “maximizing all available tools to stop the fentanyl crisis and help save lives.” The Treasury Department on Monday also sanctioned a regional network of Los Chapitos associates and businesses based in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, that allegedly engages in drug tracking, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering. The Treasury Department coordinated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to take the action Monday. Nicholas Douglas Quets, a 31-year-old Marine veteran who worked for Pima County, Arizona, on water reclamation projects, was shot and killed along the Caborca-Altar Highway in northern Mexico on Oct. 18, 2024. Quets’ father, Doug, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army and another 20 years in federal law enforcement, expressed his family’s “deep and enduring gratitude to President Trump and his entire Cabinet for unwaveringly using every instrument of national power in the pursuit of justice for our beloved Nicholas.” “Nicholas Quets was an innocent American and proud U.S. Marine veteran whose bright future was stolen on October 18, 2024, when he was ambushed just south of the U.S. border by a heavily armed cell of the Sinaloa cartel,” Quets said in a statement. “Cowards in cartel insignia – more than two dozen strong – pursued Nicholas and fatally shot him in the back, through the heart, during a failed carjacking, only after confirming his status as an American.” Quets added: “This was not just murder – it was a deliberate act of terror against a known American citizen.” Quets said the Treasury Department’s designation of the Sinaloa cartel as a foreign terrorist organization was a “vital first step in honoring Nicholas’ memory and protecting other Americans from suffering similar tragedies.” “Secretary Bessent’s decisive action to target the Sinaloa cartel’s financial networks strikes at the heart of this transnational threat,” Quets said. “Disrupting their ability to move money, launder profits and bribe officials is essential to dismantling this criminal empire.”
California to sue Trump, Hegseth over National Guard deployment amid anti-ICE riots
California will sue the Trump administration over its decision to activate National Guard Soliders in Los Angeles County over the weekend, the state’s Democratic leaders announced on Monday. California Attorney General Rob Bonta claimed in a statement that President Donald Trump abused his authority by invoking Title 10, a law that allows the president to mobilize the National Guard if an invasion or rebellion is underway. “President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles – over the objections of the Governor and local law enforcement – is unnecessary and counterproductive.” Bonta said. Bonta added that there was “no invasion” and “no rebellion” in California. “The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends,” Bonta said. The California attorney general’s office said a copy of the complaint against the administration would be available soon. This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
LA immigration riots ‘preventable’ if Sacramento Dems had acted, GOP says: ‘Failed policies caused chaos’
The ongoing Los Angeles riots could have been stopped in Sacramento and not have reached the point of federal intervention if Democrats had passed a Republican effort to improve coordination between state, local and federal law enforcement in terms of immigration, GOP leaders said. “Federal authorities doing the vital work of immigration enforcement have been met with obstruction and violence on the streets in Los Angeles,” California Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Make no mistake: These agitators and failed California policies caused this chaos. It will not be tolerated and many of them have already found out,” Gallagher said. In that regard, Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, said his caucus had a fix for the issues that led to the immigration raids that sparked the rioting. MAXINE WATERS TAUNTS ARMED AGENTS AFTER FEDS SLAM DOOR IN HER FACE “California Republicans had a solution in our Senate Bill 554, but the sanctuary city crowd brought this on themselves by prohibiting state and local law enforcement from cooperating with the feds to identify violent illegal immigrants in prisons and jails,” Jones said. SB 554 would have adjusted existing California law under the California Values Act, which generally prohibits state law enforcement from investigating, detaining or questioning suspects for immigration-related purposes. Instead, the bill, which Jones said Democrats had tanked, would have allowed for improved communication with federal immigration and law enforcement agencies. AK NATIVES SOUND OFF ON BIDEN ENERGY BANS AS TRUMP OFFICIALS TOUR TUNDRA “Now the feds have to run broader raids, like what we’re seeing in LA, which sweep up way more people,” Jones said. “This whole thing was easily preventable.” Just north of Jones’ hometown, he said the ICE raids that occurred leading up to the unrest were characterized by an increase in “collateral arrests,” a term used to describe illegal immigrants not specifically targeted by the feds in any particular operation who are also detained. That has happened, he said, because state and local authorities hadn’t handed over some of the targeted suspects in the first place. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared to blame President Donald Trump for the unrest, saying it is “exactly what [he] wanted.” “He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard.” Fox News Digital reached out to California Senate President Pro-Tempore Mike McGuire, R-Healdsburg, for response to Republicans’ comments.
DHS fires back at Democrats for ‘beyond the pale’ rhetoric as ICE agents face wave of violent threats
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is continuing to call on Democrats to tone down the rhetoric against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as riots not only persisted in Los Angeles Sunday night, but agents continue to face threats of doxxing and violence. The department has taken issue with not only California leaders but also House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Saturday statement. “The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.” ACTING ICE DIRECTOR CALLS MAYOR WU’S NEO-NAZI COMPARISON ‘DISGUSTING’ AMID INCREASE IN AGENT ASSAULTS “Make no mistake, Democrat politicians like Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Wu of Boston, Tim Walz, and Mayor Bass of Los Angeles are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE,” McLaughlin stated. “From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end.” The department says there’s been a 413% increase in assaults against ICE agents, which comes as the riots in Los Angeles are centered against the presence of the agency in the city. Wu and Jeffries recently faced criticism for their comments on ICE agents masking while conducting sweeps to conceal their identity for safety reasons. “Every single ICE agent who is engaged in this aggressive overreach and are trying to hide their identities from the American people will be unsuccessful in doing that,” Jeffries said on Capitol Hill. “This is America. This is not the Soviet Union,” he added, saying identification is needed to comply with the law and have proper “transparency.” “We’re not behind the Iron Curtain. This is not the 1930s. And every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will of course be identified.” Wu was slammed for comments where she drew a tie between ICE and neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club-131 for the masking decision, which DHS called “sickening,” according to the Boston Herald. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC “I don’t know of any police department that routinely wears masks,” Wu said. “We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, also controversially drew a comparison to the Nazis in May. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “I’m gonna start with the flashing red light — Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets,” Walz claimed at a University of Minnesota law school commencement speech. “They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared.” In California, the anti-ICE riots triggered an order from President Donald Trump to deploy to the National Guard, which Newsom is expected to take legal action against. Newsom repeatedly has said that the Trump administration has instigated the situation “to manufacture chaos and violence,” and has said that those who are committing “violent acts” will face legal repercussions and are playing into the president’s hands. ICE OFFICIAL PUTS POLITICIANS ON BLAST, DEMANDING THEY ‘STOP PUTTING MY PEOPLE IN DANGER’ “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel,” Newsom stated Friday. “Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on residents not to “engage in violence and chaos” and to not “give the administration what they want,” Sunday in an X post, but faced scrutiny for Friday comments saying that “these tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.” When Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office about DHS’ comments, they sent a link to a post in which Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons credited Newsom for complying with ICE detainers for those already behind bars. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Wu, Bass, Walz and Jeffries and did not receive replies.
Trump to urge newly naturalized US citizens to defend American way of life in video
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will tell immigrants at their naturalization ceremony that American culture is “yours to preserve,” according to a new video obtained by Fox News Digital. “Today you receive the greatest gift ever granted by human hands: you become a citizen of the United States of America,” Trump says in the video, which will now be played at every naturalization ceremony nationwide. “I welcome you into our national family. No matter where you come from, you now share a home and a heritage with some of the most exceptional heroes, legends and patriots to ever walk the face of the Earth,” he continues. “You have it like nobody’s had it before. With this sacred honor comes the highest responsibility. As you know, the American way of life is unique in all the world. And as Americans, we must fiercely guard it and defend it.” DHS ENDING PARTICIPATION IN NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES IN SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS The president emphasizes traditional values, calling on new citizens to uphold what he describes as the pillars of American society. “In this country, we believe in hard work, a merit system and equality of opportunity. We believe in self-government and the fair, equal and impartial rule of law. And we cherish our liberty and our God-given rights to free speech, the free exercise of religion and the right to keep and bear arms,” he says. “This special American culture is now yours to preserve. Your freedoms are now yours to protect.” The message comes at a time when legal pathways to permanent residence in the U.S. are narrowing, making naturalization more important than ever for those already eligible. DHS OPEN TO DUCK DYNASTY PRODUCER’S PITCH FOR IMMIGRANT-BASED REALITY SHOW: ‘HAPPY TO REVIEW’ In 2024, over 800,000 people became naturalized U.S. citizens – a significant figure as the administration has taken increasingly hardline stances on illegal immigration. Trump’s policies have centered on enhanced border enforcement, increased deportations and stricter scrutiny on asylum claims, signaling a return to many of the immigration approaches from his first term. Over the weekend, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles prompted protests that devolved into violence and the mobilization of the National Guard. The new video marks a symbolic shift from the Biden administration in how the White House views naturalized citizens – not just as legal newcomers, but as cultural stewards. Trump and his followers have long advocated for legal immigrants to assimilate to American culture. At the start of his administration, President Joe Biden recorded a video thanking immigrants for coming to America. “I want to thank you for choosing us and believing that America is worthy of your aspirations,” Biden said in an April 2021 clip. “You all have one thing in common: Courage. The courage it takes to sacrifice and make this journey. The courage to leave your homes, your lives, your loved ones, and come to a nation that is more than just a place but rather an idea,” he says.
Trump gives blunt response to Newsom daring Homan to arrest him: ‘I would’
President Donald Trump suggested he would be willing to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom if his administration obstructs ICE operations amid riots in Los Angeles on Monday. Trump made the statement in a brief exchange with reporters after disembarking from Marine One outside the White House. Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump whether he though Border Czar Tom Homan should take up Newsom on his dare to come arrest him. “He’s daring Tom Homan to come and arrest him. Should he do it?” Doocy asked. “I would do it I were Tom,” Trump responded. “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity. But I do think it would be a great thing. He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom. He’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent. Everybody knows.” NATIONAL GUARD TO BE DEPLOYED IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY AS ANTI-ICE PROTESTS RAGE: BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN Trump went on to state his belief that many of the rioters and protesters in Los Angeles are professional agitators rather than real protesters. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC “The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators. They’re insurrectionists. They’re bad people. They should be in jail,” Trump said. Newsom swiftly responded to Trump’s comments in a post on social media. “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,” Newsom wrote. “This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.” Homan told “Fox & Friends” earlier on Monday that he had told an NBC reporter that “no one’s above the law,” but there was no discussion about arresting Newsom at that time. “What we discussed was for those protesters that crossed the line… you can protest, you get your First Amendment rights… But when you cross that line, you put hands on an ICE officer, or you destroy property, or I’d say that you impede law enforcement, or you’re knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien… that’s a crime, and the Trump administration is not going to tolerate it,” he said. “Then the reporter asked me, well, could Governor Newsom or Mayor Bass be arrested? I said, ‘Well, no one’s above the law. If they cross the line and commit a crime, absolutely they can,’ so there was no discussion about arresting Newsom.” Homan lambasted the blue state’s response to riots against the Trump administration’s immigration raids that rocked Los Angeles over the weekend, with some protesters throwing projectiles at law enforcement and torching American flags and cars. Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the city in an effort to quell some of the unrest, much to the dismay of Democratic officials. Fox News’ Taylor Penley and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Abrego Garcia return to US prompts new questions for other immigrants deported by Trump
The Trump administration on Friday announced it had returned Kilmar Abrego Garcia – a Salvadoran migrant and alleged MS-13 member – to the U.S., months after he was deported to El Salvador in what officials later acknowledged was an administrative error. It is unclear whether Abrego Garcia’s return signals a shift in policy or is merely a one-off. The administration paired the announcement with news of a new federal indictment charging him with crimes related to transporting undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Still, the case has sparked fresh questions about the administration’s willingness to comply with other court orders requiring the return of deported migrants – whether individuals or entire classes – or mandating that certain individuals remain in U.S. custody long enough to challenge their removals to so-called “third countries.” It also undercut the Trump administration’s assertion earlier this year that it is powerless to order El Salvador to return a prisoner or facilitate the return of migrants sent to El Salvador – something judges have attempted somewhat unsuccessfully to square in various court proceedings this year. Here is what to know about those cases so far. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT Daniel Lozano-Camargo, previously referred to in court documents as “Cristian,” is a 20-year-old Venezuelan immigrant deported in March under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime law invoked by Trump to quickly remove hundreds of immigrants and send them to El Salvador to be detained in the country’s maximum-security CECOT prison. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled in April that his deportation violated a settlement agreement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stuck last year with a group of young asylum seekers, including Lozano-Camargo, who had entered the country as an unaccompanied child and later sought asylum. Under that agreement, DHS agreed not to deport the immigrants until their asylum cases were fully adjudicated in court, which she said had not happened in Lozano-Camargo’s case prior to his removal. Gallagher, a Trump appointee, ruled that his deportation was a breach of contract. In ordering his return to the U.S., she stressed that her ruling had nothing to do with the strength of his asylum request in question – a nod to the two apparent low-level drug offenses he had racked up prior to his removal – but simply his ability to have his asylum request adjudicated in court under the agreement with DHS. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld that decision late last month, clearing the way for Gallagher to set a formal timeline for the government to comply with facilitating the return. DHS officials told the court last week in a status update that Lozano-Camargo remains held at CECOT. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE The Trump administration returned a mistakenly deported Guatemalan native to U.S. soil last week, marking the first known instance of the Trump administration complying with a judge’s orders to return an individual removed from the U.S. based on erroneous information. The immigrant, referred to in court documents only as “O.C.G.,” was deported to Mexico in March without due process and despite his stated fears of persecution in the country, according to U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who ordered his return. Murphy noted that O.C.G. had previously been held for ransom and raped in Mexico but was not afforded the chance to assert those fears prior to his removal – a right afforded to him by U.S. and international law. ICE officials told the court earlier this month that they were working to secure his return. Last week, attorneys for O.C.G. told Fox News he had been returned to the U.S. on Wednesday via commercial flight. Unlike the individuals deported to CECOT, however, O.C.G. had not been detained in Mexico after he was deported, which could have eased some of the hurdles for the administration in returning him. Murphy ordered the Trump administration to keep in U.S. custody a group of six immigrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice until they have the opportunity to conduct so-called “reasonable fear interviews,” or a chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture, should they be released into South Sudanese custody. Currently, all six individuals remain detained at a U.S. military base in Djibouti – the only U.S. military base currently operational in all of Africa – and where ICE officials tasked with keeping them in custody cited recent health risks, including from malaria exposure, searing heat, nearby burn pits as well as the “imminent danger” of rocket attacks from terrorist groups in Yemen. In response, Murphy reiterated earlier this month that the individuals need not remain in South Sudan and that the U.S. is free to move them to another location, including back to the U.S., to more safely carry out these proceedings. It is unclear whether the government has plans to relocate the group. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? U.S. District Judge James Boasberg last week ordered the Trump administration to provide all non-citizens deported from the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador to be afforded the opportunity to seek habeas relief in court and challenge their alleged gang status – the latest in a heated fight centered on Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport certain migrants. Boasberg reiterated in the 69-page ruling that due process includes providing migrants deported to CECOT prior notice of removal, as well as so-called habeas protections, or the right to challenge their removals in court. He gave the Trump administration until Wednesday to submit to the court plans for how it will go about providing the habeas relief to plaintiffs held at CECOT. “Defendants plainly deprived these individuals of their right to seek habeas relief before their summary removal from the United States — a right that need not itself be vindicated
House Dems try to blame Trump for Los Angeles violence despite months of anti-ICE rhetoric
Democratic lawmakers are laying blame for the violent scenes in Los Angeles at President Donald Trump’s feet, accusing the Republican White House of “baiting” rioters in California this weekend. Activists have taken to the streets of Los Angeles to protest Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across the city, with many demonstrations growing violent as protesters were seen throwing rocks at law enforcement and cars being set ablaze. Trump allies have fired back, accusing those Democratic lawmakers of hypocrisy – citing weeks of anti-ICE displays and rhetoric coming from liberals. “For weeks now, the Left has been spewing anti-ICE rhetoric, leading to riots in LA. Trump is calling for law and order. The Left is defending chaos because it fits their narrative,” Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital. “Why won’t they denounce these riots? Because it’s not politically convenient for them.” NY TIMES SAYS ‘REAL EMERGENCY’ IS TRUMP SENDING TROOPS TO LOS ANGELES Crank’s own home state of Colorado saw ICE crack down this year on a hotbed of reported gang activity by Tren de Aragua. But in Los Angeles, ICE raids on suspected illegal immigrants spurred residents to take to the streets. Images of masked protesters waving Mexican flags against the backdrop of burning cars and graffitied streets have captured national attention. Trump ordered the National Guard to provide backup to ICE agents despite objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “The Trump administration is baiting unrest instead of working to bring our nation together. We must not give them what they want and will meet this cruelty with non-violence to ensure the protections and safety of immigrant communities,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., wrote on X on Monday. That Trump officials were fomenting the violence appeared to quickly become Democrats’ main talking point. “Trump wanted this violent confrontation to pit people against one another and distract Americans from the ongoing meltdown in the White House, the increase in prices due to Trump’s tariffs and our Nation’s declining reputation among our long-standing allies around the world,” Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., wrote on X. Newsom himself posted on the site shortly before midnight on the West Coast, “Let’s get this straight: 1) Local law enforcement didn’t need help. 2) Trump sent troops anyway – to manufacture chaos and violence. 3) Trump succeeded. 4) Now things are destabilized and we need to send in more law enforcement just to clean up Trump’s mess.” Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said of Democrats’ rhetoric: “Democrats just can’t quit illegal aliens – even [if] they are terrorists and traffickers.” “Americans are seeing this with their own eyes and they know who needs to be held accountable.” The violence comes after weeks of Democrats criticizing ICE operations across the country, accusing the Trump administration of indiscriminately rounding people up without properly vetting their legal status or criminal histories. Three House Democrats and progressive Newark Mayor Ras Baraka clashed with ICE agents at Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey last month, after leading a protest at the facility. ICE BREAKS ARREST RECORD TWO DAYS IN A ROW UNDER TRUMP’S NEW IMMIGRATION DIRECTIVES Others, like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., are appearing at anti-ICE rallies across the country. Jayapal is among the Democratic figures headlining a “Rally for An End to ICE Raids Targeting Immigrant Workers” in Washington, D.C., on Monday. She posted on Sunday, “I urge every person using their right to protest to continue to do so peacefully, even as the Trump Administration escalates violence.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who called federal immigration actions “hateful and divisive” at a protest in January, is also expected to attend the D.C. event, according to the Washington Post.