Civil rights organizations on Tuesday condemned the Trump administration for deploying thousands of soldiers and marines to Los Angeles after a wave of immigration protests.
The groups collectively urged President Trump to listen to local leaders’ requests to remove federal forces.
“It is not lost on us that no such show of force was deployed in advance of the January 6 insurrection at our nation’s capital despite the clear threat to democracy. The contrast is alarming,” the eight organizations wrote in a Tuesday statement.
“Peaceful protestors in Los Angeles are met with military presence, while violent actors in Washington, D.C. were allowed to breach the heart of our government with little resistance. This inconsistency amplifies questions about how power is used and against whom. Federalization is a far cry from collaboration,” they added.
The NAACP, National Council of Nego Women, National Action Network, National Urban League, Legal Defense Fund, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights authored the joint statement.
Their words come as demonstrations roil the streets, defacing public property and lighting cars on fire in response to 44 arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Residents’ response follows heightened deportation efforts spurred by the Trump administration. Individuals have filed multiple lawsuits against federal leaders arguing they were wrongfully detained, prematurely removed and remain imprisoned in violation of their constitutional rights.
CNN correspondent Jason Carroll was detained during the Los Angeles protests while reporting on air Tuesday, law enforcement officers told him not to come back to the area, according to reports from USA Today.
“We would be remiss to ignore how we got here, and the authoritarian goals of this administration. This is not the America we know. The actions of ICE agents are those of a police state. They endanger our communities,” the civil rights groups said.
“ICE agents are targeting people pursuing day-to-day activities–shopping at the neighborhood store or simply taking care of their families in the privacy of their own homes–for immigration arrests and deportation, at times without Due Process. Civil rights and liberties are constitutionally protected and must be respected,” they added.
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