2,000 Californian National Guard of the United States were sent to the Los Angeles area by President Donald Trump in a presidential memo Monday morning.
The operation had had limited effect in quelling two days of clashes between federal law enforcement officials and residents of local communities, which were already under the control of local police. According to Los Angeles Mayor Busse said, 7 night, only about 120 protesters appeared on the streets.
But it is enough to go down in history books. Legal experts say this is the first time since 1965 that a president has moved a State National Guard of the United States without a request from a governor, further highlighting the bitter conflict between the republican-led federal government and the democratic-dominated local government in California.
Demonstrators face off with police in Los Angeles County, California, on June 7,2010. Xinhua news agency. Photo by Qiu Chen
Illegal immigration: the subject of a long struggle
The conflict, over the arrest of illegal immigrants, has long been the subject of battles between the state and the federal government, especially under Republicans.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown on illegal immigrants in southern California is a direct result of the Donald Trump administration’s mandate to meet its targets. But California, the largest state in the United States, has long relied on immigrants from all walks of life to develop its economy, and has a tradition of protecting them. As a result, the conflict between the state of California and the federal government, which advocates anti-illegal immigration ideas, is deepening.
When Donald Trump first became president, the state had repeatedly clashed with Washington over illegal immigration and had legal disputes. In 2017, the state passed the California Values Act, states that California’s local law enforcement agencies shall not participate in or assist federal law enforcement officials in any action against illegal immigrants. The state 2024 more than $60 million in immigration legal aid, much of it to help them fight lawsuits against federal agencies. Just last week, California’s legislature began considering a series of bills that would further restrict federal agencies from going to schools, hospitals, and shelters to arrest illegal immigrants.
These measures do present a number of obstacles to enforcement by federal agencies. It is nothing new for law enforcement officials in California to impose laws on local communities, especially those where immigrants congregate, and to be slighted and surrounded by residents. This conflict, the federal law enforcement agencies, the size and intensity of the protests also large.
The point at which conflict accumulates
The two-day conflict in Los Angeles was also the flashpoint of a series of clashes between the state and the federal government after Donald Trump’s return to power. Since Trump became president again, the federal government and the state are in constant friction and confrontation over issues ranging from the Los Angeles fire rescue to car emissions standards, comprehensive“Reciprocal tariffs” and visas for foreign students. In an interview on May 3, Governor Newson stressed the geographic and cognitive distance between the state and Washington.
The CNN came a day after it emerged that Donald Trump was instructing government agencies to study how to slash or even end federal funding for the state. In response, Newson said Californians would no longer pay federal taxes if the federal government did so.
Newson’s comments caused a stir on US social media. While there are technical hurdles, the point is that if California had to do it, it would directly destabilise the US. Many American netizens said in their comments that this would probably lead to a new civil war.
So, at this sensitive moment, Donald Trump broke with convention, bypassing Newson by mobilizing California National Guard of the United States and even threatening to use the marines. Donald Trump’s move was both a show of presidential authority and a warning to the state. Newson responded that Donald Trump’s “Misdeeds” were intended to “Provoke violence” for political gain.
Smoke rises from the scene of a confrontation between demonstrators and police in Los Angeles County, California, on June 7,2010. Xinhua news agency. Photo by Qiu Chen
More than 20 Democratic governors on the Democratic Governors Association website issued a joint statement of support for Newson. The statement said Donald Trump’s decision to send a Californian National Guard of the United States to Los Angeles was a “Worrying abuse of power”, “It is ineffective and dangerous for the federal government to move National Guard of the United States within the state without consulting the governor, who is the supreme commander of the State National Guard of the United States.”.
Donald Trump’s apparent effort to Federalise National Guard of the United States is widely seen in the US media and politicians as a fundamental blow to the existing system of governance.
Local politicians from Newson to bath are calling for peaceful protests on the 8th as the state’s resources are limited to counter the presence of federal troops, the streets are calm. But the Donald Trump administration and the state of California represent a political force that is deeply divided over its political agenda and governing philosophy, and the suppression of a temporary lull by the military and police will not solve the problem fundamentally, it will deepen the rift between the two sides.