Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) said Sunday that the deployment of the National Guard to the Los Angeles area is “going to escalate the situation.”
“It’s a concern,” Barragán told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “I mean, it’s going to escalate the situation. People are going to protest because they’re angry about the situation, and we have to just reiterate to people to do it peacefully.”
Trump deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen to the Los Angeles area on Saturday amid protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said previously the action was due to “violent mobs” recently attacking “Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations.”
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” Leavitt said.
The president blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Karen Bass (D) for the unrest that started due to ICE raids.
“This is really just an escalation of the president coming into California,” Barragán said Sunday. “We haven’t asked for the help. We don’t need the help.”
Newsom has called the federal response “inflammatory” and said the deployment of soldiers “will erode public trust.”
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