Synopsis
Immigration enforcement has been central to the Trump Administration, rooted in long-standing campaign promises. In 2024, when Trump won reelection, the city of Los Angeles declared itself a sanctuary city in response to his immigration policies. The Trump Admin immediately began focusing raids on sanctuary cities across the country to begin deporting undocumented immigrants.
June 6th began the first series of clashes between ICE and protesters when a crowd gathered during an ICE raid happening in the Fashion District in LA. Over the next week that followed, there were a series of protests, with some demonstrating violent and destructive behavior. Determining when something is officially a riot can be abstract, but the protests were declared an “unlawful assembly” five times with two of those occurring during the “No Kings” Protests. Several instances of property damage occurred, particularly to government buildings and Waymo driverless cars. Authorities reported 561 arrests, mostly for curfew or failure to disperse violations and looting. Ten individuals were arrested for more serious offenses like assault on police officers, firearm possession, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder for throwing a Molotov cocktail . The Department of Justice has brought charges against nine people for assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers.
A central conflict during the protests was over accountability: whether local officials lost control or federal escalation caused unnecessary unrest. The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans state that Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass made false claims of having the protests under control and blaming President Trump for the actions of violent rioters. They assert Trump had to send in the National Guard because the situation was out of control. They are investigating the matter and have requested internal communications between Newsom and Bass regarding how they addressed the protests.
Governor Newsom denies underplaying the seriousness and states the protests did not reach a level that was beyond local law enforcement’s ability to handle. He stated the riots are a direct reaction to Trump’s aggressive deportation policy and that involving the military would escalate the issue, lead to more violence, and violate the Constitution. He is suing the government over the matter.
Hundreds of protesters in Los Angeles gather to demand an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement workplace raids on June 8. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
The cost of the unrest is significant, both financially and politically. In the most straightforward way, the cost to cover the law enforcement response, tactical deployments, and clean up is estimated to run LA taxpayers about $34 million. This pales in comparison to the $134 million price tag for federalizing the National Guard and deploying the Marines.
The political outcome is still being determined. During and after the protests, the Trump Administration remained confident in their mission. Trump called the protesters "insurrectionists", Secretary Noem said that LA needed to be liberated from its burdensome leadership, and Vice President JD Vance said LA needed to be liberated from immigrants and called Senator Alex Padilla “Jose”.
Changes did seem to be coming after Trump announced on Truth Social that his aggressive policies were consequential for farmers or hospitality workers, who, in many cases, were very good people. He stated changes were to be expected but since then, Tom Homan, the border czar, has stated that raids on farms and hotels will continue.
Trump has also announced the future focus of immigration enforcement will be on Democrat-run cities.
Ways the media reports the issue:
There are two larger issues compounding here: how to handle immigration and how to effectively protest government policy. The issue of undocumented immigration and illegal border crossings has been a long-standing challenge in the U.S. with no lasting political consensus despite decades of debate. Trump ran on immigration and aggressive enforcement was a central campaign promise but even for his own constituency, there are cold feet when seeing it pan out.
We are a country built on protest but that doesn’t mean we are effective at it. When does protest become rioting? Were there even riots in LA?
Depending on your media diet, you fall on the spectrum anywhere from LA is the seventh circle of hell consumed with homeless, drug-addled undocumented immigrants rioting against the Trump Administration, to locals protesting bravely for their family and neighbors being targeted by a racist, Trump regime. Let's look at both sides.
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Left Perspective |
Right Perspective |
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Framing Bias |
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Left leaning articles focus on ICE’s aggressive tactics, like targeting hospitals or schools. There are also articles that compare these riots with the LA Riots in 1992 to give readers a basis for the level of turmoil that was needed for the governor to request help from the Federal Government. |
Many right wing articles focus on the damage done by the protests and violence directed at law enforcement. Riots are said to be caused by LA’s sanctuary city policies, which attracts undocumented immigrants and increases the need for ICE’s aggressive tactics. |
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Omission Bias |
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Some articles omit, downplay, or bury deep into articles the damage done by protesters or injuries to law enforcement. |
These articles focus mainly on the destruction and outcome of the protests, omitting the perspective of the community subject to those raids. |
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Selection Bias |
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Articles focus on how this impacts the immigrants, often presenting very sympathetic stories to communicate how this impacts immigrants and their communities. |
Limits reporting to events that support the need for National Guard intervention, like a local Chief saying his men were overwhelmed, or that the protests were conducted by paid actors, while not presenting counter information. |
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Language Bias |
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If the left wing articles reference the rioters, they are likely portrayed as fringe elements while law enforcement or the Trump Admin are described in aggressive and adversarial terms. |
Right wing articles will portray law enforcement as victims of a violent crowd and feckless leadership. |
From the perspective of those on the right, sanctuary cities are a problem because it incentivizes illegal immigration and strains local social services. Sanctuary cities are places that limit or refuse to work with federal authorities to enforce immigration law. Since so many undocumented immigrants have moved to these sanctuary cities, and local authorities won’t help with immigration enforcement, Trump has no choice but to send ICE into the places where they know the immigrants will be. The city's policies to protect undocumented immigrants and aggressive policies toward federal law enforcement is what is causing the protests and riots.
As far as the left is concerned, sanctuary cities are a necessity to functional policing after years of failed border policies has allowed local illegal immigrant populations to grow so large. The local government must rely on their citizens to aid in investigations by reporting illegal activity. Undocumented immigrants will limit their interaction with local law enforcement if they have to worry about immigration enforcement. Also, enforcing immigration policy is the jurisdiction of the federal government. Local departments are better served with focusing their resources on policies that better service their citizens. There are also several studies that have shown undocumented immigrants are less likely to participate in criminal activity and are a net positive for the economy since they are largely ineligible for most public benefits they contribute to. Lastly, the protests are due to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement that is targeting immigrants that are employed and integrated into the communities.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officers control the perimeter of a fire that was ignited along Alondra Boulevard on Saturday in Compton. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
My very meandering (I don’t know what to do) take…
In almost every situation, riots or protests that involve property damage are bad (I know, so brave…). But I want these protests to work. And I don’t know how to direct that. There’s a tension gripping the U.S. that’s been brewing long before Trump, though he certainly poured gas on it. It started bubbling on the right with the Tea Party, but now it’s metastasized — this two-headed dog is trying to tug the country right and left.
History shows that with every innovative leap of human communication, chaos ensued. The printing press unseated the Catholic Church. The telegraph accelerated the polarization that led to the Civil War. Radio and TV helped march the world into war. These innovations didn’t just spread information, they exploded control.
When looking at history, the internet most closely mirrors the printing press. It was easily accessible and unregulated, like the internet today. The print press was the tool used by Martin Luther to expose the church’s use of indulgences to profit from salvation. Most people had to rely on clergy trained to read Latin to tell them what the bible said, until it was translated, and the church exposed.
The similarities to today are telling, but also present a completely new problem. Instead of accessing scripture gate-kept behind another language, people can access peer reviewed articles or fringe conspiracy theorists about whatever topic their algorithm provides. Also, because many institutions already had policies to address conflicts, like announcing conflicts of interest or publishing the results of investigations, people could also see the messy side of science and government, maybe for the first time..
Our institutions aren’t hiding the truth. We’re just no longer taught how to recognize it. Shows like Criminal Minds have convinced people that highly trained behavioral analysts travel the country solving murders with hacker sidekicks and personality quirks. I’ve worked in criminal justice for two decades. I have a master’s in forensic psych. I hate that fucking show.
But it's not just crime TV. In medical dramas they always find the cure. Political shows glamorize backroom deals that never happen. Even feel-good sitcoms romanticize industries they don’t understand. And that distortion bleeds into public expectations. We expect god-like expertise from people who are underpaid, understaffed, and painfully human.
So, back to the two headed dog. We have a country that is polarized and digging in their heels until they get the world they want. They don’t consider the nuance of the problem or the consequences of what they want.
How do you get them to listen? Riots? Protests?
Riots and property damage almost never help. Not because it’s morally wrong, but because it doesn’t work. It doesn’t change minds. The anti-ICE protests? The violence made it easier for Trump to call Democrats violent, for moderates to look away, for the press to shift the narrative. Peaceful protests don’t move Trump, but violence only confirms his narrative.
The truth is, we need a form of protest that hurts the people in power but wins over the people on the fence.. And no, I have no idea what that is.
I just know it’s not a riot. Not yet. But keep it in your back pocket.