Migration Incarnation: Protests in California deepen rift in Trump's team

The brutal suppression of migrant rallies in California may lead to a drop in support for Donald Trump, as well as give Democrats a reason to criticize the Republican's policy, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. Protests have been going on in Los Angeles for more than three days. About 6,000 people took to the streets the day before: demonstrators with Mexican flags set cars on fire, threw stones at the streets and threw Molotov cocktails. In response, Trump ordered the deployment of about 2,000 National Guard personnel to Los Angeles, bypassing the California authorities, which has already attracted criticism. Why, in fact, the protests began and how they will turn out for the White House — in the Izvestia article.

The reason for the protests in California

For three days, protests have continued in the United States due to mass detentions of migrants: rallies began in Los Angeles, and soon spread to San Francisco. According to police, about 6,000 people took part in Sunday's riots in Los Angeles. On June 8 alone, about 60 people were detained in San Francisco, 10 in Los Angeles, and there are police casualties. Protesters are setting fires, throwing stones at police cars, and using Molotov cocktails. In Los Angeles, according to the American press, law enforcement officers used tear gas and pepper spray against protesters.

In response to the riots, Donald Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard personnel to be sent to California, and for the first time in several decades, the president makes such a decision without prior request from the state authorities and without their consent. He also banned the use of masks and called on police to arrest anyone who wears them. In addition, the Northern Command has put 500 Marines on alert, who will head to the conflict zone if necessary.

The reason for the mass protests was the arrests of illegal migrants amid Trump's deportation policy. Last week, 118 foreigners were detained in Los Angeles, including five gang members and several criminals, according to the US Immigration and Customs Service. According to her, the criminal records of the detainees include cases of cruelty against children, domestic violence, drug trafficking, assaults, theft and human trafficking.

Most of those who came to the rally carried the Mexican flag in their hands. California is the state with the largest number of Latinos (more than 15 million), with a predominance of Mexicans. According to some reports, Los Angeles has the largest concentration of ethnic representatives of the region. For example, in one municipality with a population of 51,000, 8 out of 10 residents are of Latin American origin. At the same time, it is precisely at the expense of migrants that the normal life of the city is largely maintained, since they perform low-skilled jobs that Native Americans do not do.

Against the background of the protests, the head of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, came out to defend her citizens, saying that without Mexicans Los Angeles would not be the way it is now. The president condemned Trump's raids, and also called on compatriots to mobilize against the background of the approval by the House of Representatives of a bill to impose a 3.5% tax on money transfers abroad.

How will the situation affect Trump's reputation

According to the latest data from The Economist, approval of Donald Trump's figure hovers around the 45% mark, 50% are not satisfied with the current president, 5% have not decided on their opinion. At the same time, during the same period of his stay in the White House, Barack Obama's approval rating was higher by 8%, and Joe Biden's by 3%. The brutal methods of dispersing mass protests will certainly have an even greater impact on the Republican's rating, said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

— This is exactly what the Democrats are waiting for, because any suppression of protests will be used by them in the context of an internal political struggle. Trump will definitely be called a "bloody despot", "tyrant", "fascist", "racist". And here Trump is at a crossroads: on the one hand, it is necessary to show sufficient rigidity (in particular, to send the National Guard), but not excessive, because it can lead to criticism, the expert notes.

By the way, Kamala Harris, a former vice president and his final opponent in the election, who lives in Los Angeles, was among the first to condemn Trump's actions in the Democratic Party. According to her, the deployment of the National Guard to combat unrest contributes to escalation and provokes chaos.

"This is part of a brutal, deliberate program by the administration of [US President Donald] Trump's plan to spread panic and division," she wrote on her Facebook page. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also called the introduction of the National Guard a provocation: "I believe that these raids, and now the deployment of federal troops in Los Angeles, are a deliberate attempt to sow chaos," the politician said.

Trump's anti-immigration policy is getting tougher. The other day, the US president signed a decree banning citizens of 12 Asian, African and Latin American countries from entering the country and restrictions on representatives of seven more countries.

Citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be banned from entry. Visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be suspended from issuing tourist and student visas, but work and family permits will remain available to them. Trump's aggressive policy, including the recent entry ban, is leading to discord within the president's coalition, according to American political analyst Peter Kuznik. A striking proof was the quarrel between Donald Trump and Elon Musk that thundered at the end of last week.

— Musk knew that Trump's anti—immigration policies, tariff increases, increased deficits and the fight against environmental pollution were bad for America, but he remained silent while they were being implemented. Obviously, much of what Trump brings to life is unprofitable for Musk and his supporters from the business environment. Migration, low tariffs and state subsidies are beneficial for them. The Trump coalition is already showing signs of disintegration," says Kuznik.

At the same time, there are many Americans who support the decisive actions of the head of state.

— President Trump has a serious responsibility to fulfill the promise made by the 77 million Americans who voted for his election to save our country. Just as no house can survive without doors, no country can survive without borders. And President Trump is doing what is necessary throughout our country," Ravi Batra, chairman of the National Council for South Asian Affairs (USA), tells Izvestia.

At this stage, it is still difficult to talk about the effectiveness of Trump's anti-immigration policy, explains Konstantin Blokhin. Little time has passed, but nevertheless, the Republican cannot avoid dealing with these issues, since "restoring order" was one of his main promises during the election campaign.