What’s Behind the ICE Raids in Los Angeles?

What caused this?

When President Trump returned to office in January, he signed eight executive orders outlining his immigration agenda for this term. One of those being Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” This order implemented several aggressive measures: 

  1. Expanding the use of expedited removals

    • Makes it easier to deport people quickly by allowing the government to deport someone without giving them a chance to make their case in court

  2. Authorizing state and local law enforcement to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents

  3. Cracking down on sanctuary cities by threatening federal funding for states

    • Sanctuary cities are cities that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement

    • Examples include Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Boston, and Denver

  4. Increasing the hiring of Border Patrol and ICE agents

  5. Increased prosecutions and penalties for undocumented immigrants

    • Broadened scope and severity of punishments resulting from illegal migration

Why now? 

On June 7, 2025, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum titled “Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions.” This action mobilized 2,000 members of the California National Guard to Los Angeles to support federal immigration enforcement during ongoing ICE raids and to further militarize the streets of the city. Moreover, this action was done all without the approval of California Governor, Gavin Newsom. In response, protests broke out across Los Angeles, particularly in Downtown, Paramount, and Compton. These demonstrations have been largely concentrated in neighborhoods targeted by ICE, with protesters aiming to disrupt and delay enforcement operations. In some cases, clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators have involved the use of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, physical force, and vandalism, resulting in injuries and property damage.

What is wrong with this?

  1. No Approval from the State’s Governor: 

  • Under the Constitution, states have the right to control their own military which includes the National Guard. President Trump bypassed this authority by invoking Title 10, giving him federal control to deploy troops on the grounds of a 'national emergency' in Los Angeles. However, there was no clear and legitimate emergency in Los Angeles. This raises concerns for state rights and the abuse of federal power by President Trump. This action also has worsened relations between the California state government and President Trump’s administration, even leading to Governor Newsom filing a lawsuit against Trump. 

2. Violation of Rights:

  • The US Constitution applies to all individuals within the bounds of the United States, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The 4th Amendment of the Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures of individuals, their homes, and their belongings. The 5th Amendment ensures fair legal treatment by guaranteeing due process. Many of the expedited removals carried out by ICE violate these constitutional protections. People are being profiled and detained without proper cause, often taken into custody without any legal justification. They are then placed in detention centers with inhumane conditions and, in many cases, deported before they can speak to an attorney or present their case in court. This blatantly violates the 5th Amendment as they are not given their Constitutional right to due process. Additionally, ICE continues to violate immigrants' basic human rights. For instance, there have been numerous accounts of ICE agents using extreme and unnecessary force to conduct raids.

Overall, President Trump’s administration’s ongoing actions continue to disregard the law, more importantly the Constitution which they are sworn to protect and defend. While punishing individuals for first-time unauthorized entry into the country, a civil offense similar to a traffic violation, the government continues to carry out actions that break both federal and constitutional law. Immigrants are the backbone of our economy, neighborhoods, and families, contributing over $1.6 trillion to the U.S. economy and paying more than $579 billion in taxes in 2022 alone, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. These recent events continue to cast light on the way in which political agendas have been prioritized over human rights, negligently jeopardizing the country’s economy, safety, and overall wellbeing.