After a weekend of protests, Los Angeles police have declared downtown LA unlawful for assembly. Demonstrators took to the streets after immigration agents made a series of workplace arrests around the city. Protestors burned several cars and stopped traffic on U.S. Highway 101
On Sunday, President Trump deployed National Guard troops against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
鈥淭he reason they鈥檙e there is because we have a crisis of Donald Trump鈥檚 own making,鈥� said California Democratic . 鈥淭he increasingly aggressive and cruel immigration enforcement tactics that they鈥檝e chosen to do, of course, is going to lead to a response in communities like Los Angeles, where you have a lot of passionate people speaking up for fundamental rights and due process.鈥�
4 questions with Sen. Alex Padilla
NPR鈥檚 reporting in LA indicates that troops appear to be protecting government buildings. They have not interacted with protesters, if that鈥檚 all they鈥檙e doing. Do you still take issue with the deployment?
鈥淲ell, I think the magic word in your question is the 鈥榠f.鈥� If that鈥檚 all they鈥檙e doing, because this administration has been anything but transparent and forthcoming with their actions. But when it comes to what鈥檚 happening in Los Angeles specifically, I鈥檝e been hearing from LA County sheriffs and others that there has been no communication as to what is the guard鈥檚 mission while they鈥檙e there. And so that lack of communication coordination leads to the chaos.
鈥淛ust their presence, by the way, not only is it not helpful, it鈥檚 counterproductive.鈥�
LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell said his officers were overwhelmed. Rocks were thrown at them, fireworks thrown at them. Do you think local officials are able to handle the situation without help from federal troops?
鈥淲ell, I think they can unless or until they tell us otherwise. So a reassessment is just that, every day is going to be different. Saturday was different than Friday. Yesterday was different than Saturday. We鈥檒l see how today develops and how the week develops. But I can tell you, Los Angeles is no stranger to marches, to protest, to demonstrations and war. And I do trust local law enforcement leaders to handle the scenario to request the help when they need.
鈥淭hat being said, I do want to condemn the violence that has taken place, the vandalism and destruction of property. It鈥檚 not helpful to the cause. 99% of the protesters out there are peacefully protesting. And I encourage people to continue to peacefully protest and exercise their First Amendment rights.鈥�
Demonstrators also burned vehicles, blocked highways and vandalized federal buildings. Do you think that kind of action gives the president the excuse he needs to call in the guard?
鈥淎gain, I want to distinguish the vast majority of people out there peacefully protesting and those that have been arrested for vandalism or anything else. Those aren鈥檛 the immigrant rights leaders or advocates, the folks that are trying to exploit the situation, which is wrong and harmful and yes, plays right into Donald Trump鈥檚 hands because he wants one of two things. He either wants people to stay silent and cower in a corner while he continues to abuse his powers, or he wants a little bit of an overreact to justify even further escalation on his part. But he鈥檚 the one that escalated in the first place with these tactics and deployment.鈥�
How do you respond to the fact that a majority of Americans, according to polls that we鈥檝e seen, support the president鈥檚 efforts to remove immigrants living here without legal documentation?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 that simple. Are there people who suggest, yes, we should be prioritizing violent criminals, as Donald Trump said over and over again in the campaign. There鈥檚 no disagreement there. But what we鈥檝e seen since the beginning of his second term is far beyond that. Story after story of not just hardworking women and men, but even children being targeted by increasingly theatrical and cruel raids is not only unnecessary, it鈥檚 harmful to our interests.
鈥淭ake a step back and consider this. California is not just the most populous and diverse state in the nation, home to the most immigrants of any state in the nation. It鈥檚 also by far the largest economy of any other state in the nation. That happens not despite the immigrant population, but because of the immigrant population and the contributions not just as workforce, but as consumers and as entrepreneurs. So, yes, if we were going to only focus on the violent, dangerous criminals, by all means. But when you go beyond that and you鈥檙e not just disrupting families and stoking fear in communities, you鈥檙e also going to hurt the economy.鈥�
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