Anti-ICE riots reveal the left has learned nothing. It's just handed Trump a gift

Editor's note: The pursuing file archetypal appeared successful City Journal.

Over the weekend, quality of national enforcement agencies conducting migration raids sparked monolithic protests successful Los Angeles. The city’s mayor, Karen Bass, had denounced the enforcement run connected X past Friday, accusing the Trump medication of sowing panic and defiantly stating, "We volition not basal for this." Also fanning the flames was California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, who claimed that the raids were "tearing families apart" and called the migration arrests "chaotic," "reckless," and "cruel."

Progressive groups’ denunciations of the raids were adjacent harsher. The ACLU called the enforcement program an "oppressive and vile paramilitary operation," portion a spokesperson for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network referred to the arrests arsenic kidnappings.

As connection of the run spread, the protests rapidly devolved into riots. Social media feeds were soon filled with scenes reminiscent of the convulsive unrest of summertime 2020: looting, crowds surrounding burning vehicles, rocks thrown astatine law-enforcement cars, American flags acceptable aflame, and the 101 freeway unopen down.

MAYOR BASS BLAMES TRUMP'S ICE RAIDS FOR STARTING RIOTS WHILE CLAIMING 'THINGS IN LA ARE CALM'

Such unit should person drawn swift and wide condemnation from some near and right. Instead, salient Democrats person mostly remained soundless connected the mayhem, reserving their outrage for President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to reconstruct order—a determination that sparked yet different circular of denunciations from the accustomed suspects.

Even immoderate of the president’s critics who person called for an extremity to the unit look motivated little by the content that spot demolition and assaults connected constabulary are wrong, and much by concerns that specified unrest could bolster enactment for migration enforcement oregon harm Democrats politically. 

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Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Angelinos not to "fall into the trap that extremists are hoping for." The Cato Institute’s Alex Nowrasteh, an open-borders advocate, lamented that "[s]upport for nativism depends connected chaos," and argued that "[s]upport for wide deportations would wither without rioting." But who are the extremists successful this situation? Surely it’s the aggravated radical of rioters mounting cars ablaze and hurling rocks astatine passing constabulary vehicles from road overpasses.

Appalling arsenic the Left’s effect to the riots has been, it is not surprising. The unrest lone reinforces a transportation galore Americans person already made betwixt progressive causes and the unit excessively often carried retired successful their name.

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The chaos successful L.A. follows the deadly and destructive riots that swept cities crossed the federation successful 2020, arsenic good arsenic the much caller demonstrations sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel. Since that date, pro-Palestinian activists person harassed Jewish students connected assemblage and assemblage campuses; unopen down streets and transit hubs; acceptable the Jewish politician of Pennsylvania’s location connected fire; changeable and killed 2 Israeli embassy employees extracurricular the Jewish Museum successful D.C.; and deed aged Jews peacefully marching successful enactment of Israel with Molotov cocktails successful Colorado.

Democrats look a existent governmental problem. It’s not hard to spot however this astir caller occurrence of "fiery, but mostly peaceful" protests could boost enactment for the president’s migration enforcement campaign— particularly fixed that galore of those wreaking havoc successful L.A. are waving the Mexican emblem oregon burning the emblem of the state successful which they request amerciable immigrants beryllium allowed to stay.

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Consider the contrast: connected 1 side, an medication pursuing done connected the president’s committedness to fortify migration enforcement, successful portion to marque cities safer; connected the other, rioters waving overseas flags and mounting streets ablaze. It’s hard to ideate a much unsympathetic representation for the president’s critics.

If the Left wants to shed its estimation for siding with arsonists who artifact metropolis streets, seize field quads, and onslaught police, its leaders could commencement by condemning the lawlessness successful Los Angeles and pledging to enactment with the president to reconstruct order. Their refusal to bash truthful lies astatine the bosom of Donald Trump’s governmental strength—and remains a vivid motion of a acquisition inactive unlearned.