The "City of Angels" was destroyed by gunfire. The Los Angeles conflict ripped open the "fig leaf" of the polarization of US immigration policy

Rubber bullets and tear gas are flying, shrill sirens and loud shouts are intertwined , this is the real scene in the “City of Angels” Los Angeles in recent days . On June 8, the US police and the National Guard and protesters clashed violently in Los Angeles. The city center was “shut down” in an instant, and the level of chaos was even “comparable” to the war-torn areas in the Middle East.

The trigger of the incident can be traced back to June 6. Dissatisfied with the US federal agencies’ raids on illegal immigrants over the past few days, residents of Los Angeles, California, united to block relevant law enforcement officers and create physical conflicts. That night, about 500 protesters gathered in downtown Los Angeles, holding signs and trying to storm a detention center . Since then, the confrontation between police and citizens has initially formed. On June 7, in Paramount, a Latino immigrant community in Los Angeles, fully armed federal law enforcement officers clashed with hundreds of protesters in the local community. Law enforcement officers fired tear gas and stun grenades, and protesters threw rocks and water bottles in retaliation. On the same day, US President Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to deal with local riots , once again pushing tensions to a new level.

On June 8 , the National Guard entered downtown Los Angeles . On the same day, the Los Angeles police announced that the protest had “ended peacefully” without any incidents. But on the 9th, the peaceful situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Not only did 2,000 National Guardsmen advance into Los Angeles at the behest of Trump, but about 700 Marines dispatched by the US military went to support them. This team, which was supposed to deal with terrorist attacks and turmoil wars, “turned the blade inward” and faced domestic demonstrations . Who knows if it was “killing a chicken with a butcher knife”. In addition, military intervention has also become a catalyst for the rise of civilian armed organizations. The far-right organization “Proud Boys” threatened to “protect law enforcement officers”, and immigrant communities also spontaneously formed armed organizations to defend their own interests.

California Governor Newsom refuted the conflict as “human intervention” and called on each governor to firmly reject any action beyond his authority. On June 8, more than 20 Democratic governors jointly expressed their support for Newsom on the Democratic Governors Association website. The California government filed a lawsuit in court on June 9 regarding the Trump administration ‘s move to dispatch the National Guard . It is worth mentioning that a total of 35 Mexican citizens were detained during the raid , and Mexican President Sheinbaum condemned the US government for “overcorrection” and warned it to immediately stop discriminatory activities that treat immigrants as criminals .

California and the United States have had many disagreements over immigration policies. Since taking office, Trump has been unquestionable about the deportation of illegal immigrants. On January 20 , he signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency at the southern border to completely stop illegal immigration, and vowed to deport “millions” of illegal residents , giving federal agencies the right to search and deport illegal immigrants. However, as the largest state in the United States, California has long relied on immigrants to develop its economy, thus forming a tradition of asylum. In 2017, California passed the California Values Act, which clearly stated that local law enforcement agencies in California should not participate in or assist federal law enforcement officers in any actions against illegal immigrants. In 2024, California spent more than $60 million on immigration legal aid .

The “sanctuary” has been reduced to a “war zone”, which reflects the accumulated grievances of immigrants and the inconsistent laws in the United States. It remains to be seen when the dispute will end, and it is also unknown whether the two sides of the game will use new “weapons”. However, there is no doubt that the polarized and chaotic immigration policy will bring more confrontation and disputes to the United States.