Protesters in Los Angeles are rioting over the apprehension of illegal migrants convicted of murder, sexual battery, cruelty to children and many other heinous crimes, according to the Trump administration.
Large-scale riots have swept the City of Los Angeles in reaction to targeted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations that sought out illegal migrants with criminal histories. Over objections from California Democrats Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to begin restoring order. (RELATED: ‘A Bad Day To Be An Illegal Alien’: Border Enforcement Wins Rack Up Under Trump Admin)
In response to the widespread rioting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a snapshot of the individuals apprehended during ICE’s LA operation, identifying a slate of illegal migrants connected to violent and serious crimes.
Deportation officers arrested Cuong Chan Phan, a 49-year old Vietnamese national who was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, according to the agency. Rolando Veneracion-Enriquez, a 55-year-old man from the Philippines also arrested by ICE agents, was previously convicted of burglary and sexual penetration with a foreign object with force and assault with intent to commit rape.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: Anti-deportation demonstrators block the 101 freeway while protesting the Trump administration’s deportations on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Lionel Sanchez-Laguna, a 55-year-old Mexican national, was previously convicted of willful cruelty to a child, driving under the influence, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and numerous other crimes, according to ICE. Armando Ordaz, a 44-year-old also from Mexico, was convicted of sexual battery, receiving known or stolen property and petty theft.
The Trump administration publicly rebuked Newsom and Bass for their apparent reluctance to cooperate with federal partners to quell the violent riots.
“Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a prepared statement. “These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets.”
“Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer,” McLaughlin said.
Numerous other illegal migrants convicted of serious crimes were taken out of LA communities, thanks to the recent ICE operation.
Jordan Mauricio Meza-Esquibel, a 32-year-old Honduran national, was arrested for domestic violence and the distribution of heroin and cocaine, according to the agency. Jesus Alan Hernandez-Morales, a 26-year-old Mexican national, was convicted of transporting an illegal migrant in New Mexico, and Peruvian national Jose Cristobal Hernandez-Buitron was previously convicted of robbery.
Despite the agency’s focus on illegal migrants with serious criminal histories, anti-ICE protests in LA — a city which has official policies restricting cooperation between ICE agents and local law enforcement — began taking over the city earlier in June and quickly escalated into full-scale riots. On Friday night, more than 1,000 rioters surrounded a federal building, assaulted ICE agents, slashed tires, and defaced government property, according to an ICE statement.
The agency said it took two hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to finally respond to the mayhem.
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