The deployment of the National Guard by President Donald Trump to quell the unrest, against the explicit objections of both Bass and Newsom, is an inevitable clash between California’s reckless sanctuary policies and a federal government finally willing to enforce immigration law. This standoff, now spilling into chaos, was entirely avoidable had California’s leaders prioritized public safety over political posturing.
For years, California’s sanctuary policies have shielded illegal aliens, including those with criminal records, from federal authorities. These policies, championed by Bass and Newsom, have created a haven for lawlessness, undermining ICE’s ability to detain and deport individuals who pose a threat to public safety.
Bass, one of the ten worst sanctuary mayors in America, has revealed her true colors in this crisis. When her city was engulfed in wildfires in January, she was busy attending junkets in Africa and shifting blame away from herself. Now, she is present and advocating loudly for the criminals who are destroying her city while she defies federal law.
The Trump Administration’s Operation Guardian Angel, a targeted initiative to apprehend illegal aliens with criminal convictions, has broken through the obstruction caused by sanctuary policies. By prioritizing the removal of dangerous individuals—gang members, drug traffickers, and violent offenders—the operation directly challenges California’s refusal to cooperate with federal authorities. Yet, instead of supporting these efforts to protect communities, Bass and Newsom have doubled down, condemning ICE operations and stoking public unrest.
The riots in Los Angeles, sparked by opposition to these ICE enforcement operations, are a direct consequence of this defiance. Protesters, emboldened by Bass’s and Newsom’s rhetoric, have taken to the streets, clashing with law enforcement and setting fires across the city.
Bass’s declaration on social media that “we will not stand for this” and Newsom’s provocative challenge to the Trump Administration—“Come after me. Arrest me”—are not acts of leadership but of reckless agitation. The results are images from Los Angeles that are abhorrent to most Americans: protesters waving foreign flags, burning police cars, and spitting on the American flag. This is having the opposite effect of winning hearts and minds to the sanctuary position throughout the land.
By conflating illegal aliens with legal immigrants, sanctuary politicians like Bass deliberately muddy the waters, sowing confusion and fear. The mayor’s rhetoric, echoed by Newsom, misrepresents ICE’s efforts as an attack on all immigrants, a cynical tactic designed to inflame tensions and rally political support.
Unlike his predecessors, President Trump has shown an unwavering commitment to enforcing federal immigration law, refusing to tolerate the open defiance of sanctuary jurisdictions. His administration’s activation of the National Guard to restore order in Los Angeles, despite Newsom’s objections, is a necessary antidote to the a la carte approach to compliance with federal law prevalent in sanctuary cities.
The cost of this standoff is evident in the streets of Los Angeles. Businesses are looted, communities are terrorized, and law enforcement is stretched to the breaking point. Bass and Newsom’s insistence on protecting illegal aliens, even those with criminal records, has eroded trust in governance and emboldened lawlessness. Their refusal to acknowledge the distinction between legal and illegal immigration fuels a narrative that paints ICE as the villain, when in reality, the agency is working to remove those who threaten the safety of American citizens.
California’s sanctuary policies are a failed experiment, one that has invited chaos and division. By prioritizing the protection of illegal aliens over the safety of residents, Bass and Newsom have set the stage for the violence now engulfing Los Angeles. Their defiance of federal law, coupled with their inflammatory rhetoric, has turned a manageable situation into a full-blown crisis.
The infatuation of California politicians with sanctuary policies has not created a utopia of compassion, but a battleground of civil unrest. The refusal to distinguish between legal immigrants and criminal aliens has eroded the rule of law and invited the very chaos now unfolding. Bass and Newsom have invited the Third World, so it should come as no surprise that California has now become the Third World.
Brian Lonergan is director of communications at the Immigration Reform Law Institute in Washington, D.C, and host of IRLI’s “No Border, No Country” podcast.
Breitbart News
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