It’s no secret that anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests have taken over the streets of Los Angeles, but residents are seemingly more upset that Mayor Karen Bass has set a curfew against them and not the National Guard troops sent in by President Donald Trump.
In an announcement, Bass implemented a curfew between the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the downtown area ranging from the 5 Freeway to the 110 Freeway and from the 10 Freeway to where the 110 Freeway and the 5 Freeway combine.
Bass said the curfew will stop violent rooting and vandalism from taking place. “I wanted to let the city know that I have declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting,” the mayor said during the June 10 press conference, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the curfew does not apply to people living within the curfew’s targeted area, people experiencing homelessness, media, public safety, and emergency personnel
Bass has received grief about the decision as it limits peaceful protestors.
One user on X said Bass made a “bad choice” and claims it only encourages law enforcement to harm residents. “The Mayor of LA instituting a curfew tonight is a bad choice, one that many Dem Mayors made in 2020. That included Richmond VA Mayor Levar Stoney, who then gave cops even more encouragement to brutalize city residents,” @brerva wrote.
“I’ll never forget the enablers of police brutality.”
Another user called for protests to transition from downtown LA to where ICE arrests are happening in areas like Huntington Park and East Los Angeles. “GO PROTEST WHERE THE RAIDS ARE HAPPENING!!! DO NOT LET THE DTLA CURFEW MINIMIZE YOU!!!,” @stacy_stace7 said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has supported the protestors while blaming Trump for “destroying democracy.” He claims the Trump administration is tying together undocumented immigrants with violent ways and “hard-working immigrant families” for mass deportations.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting President inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk,” he said. “…What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to be complicit in this moment; do not give in to him.”
Newsom’s constant feud with Trump has given him the label of being a “badass” while Trump has called for the Democratic governor to be arrested in the name of immigration. In response to what is occurring in the City of Angels, protests have taken place in a number of metro cities across the U.S., including Chicago, where a car drove through protestors in the street, according to Fox News.
As protests in San Antonio began, Republican governor and Trump loyalist Greg Abbott threatened to deploy members of the National Guard.
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