An Excuse to Deliberately Stoke Violence and Force Confrontations Around Immigration

America’s Voice Reacts to Trump Deployment of National Guard

Access online version of this press release HERE

Washington, DC —Yesterday, the Trump White House bypassed Gov. Newsom (D-CA) in order to call up and deploy the California National Guard in the latest in a series of escalations against immigration protesters in Los Angeles.

The following is a statement from Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice

“Let’s be clear: The Trump White House is trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration. President Trump and Stephen Miller want to escalate and inflame in order to create chaos and have the excuse to target and scapegoat even more immigrants and unleash violence in American communities. Even the LAPD said that the immigration protests were peaceful.

So why bypass democratic norms and escalate the situation? Because it’s designed to distract focus away from Trump’s self-inflicted economic turmoil and the reality that the administration’s big ugly bill will devastate American families, while giving tax breaks to the ultra wealthy. Because when the going gets tough, Trump and Miller always, always return to immigration. They will use these protests as a pretext to go after any immigrant they can – including hard working people and long-residing community members who are trying to get right by our immigration laws – and to justify the $151.3 billion in immigration provisions in the big ugly bill in Congress that would further turbocharge mass deportations. And because, once again, immigration is being used as the ‘tip of the spear’ and as an excuse to seize executive powers and undermine American democracy. It’s an ongoing assault that puts every American’s rights at risk.

The American people are recoiling from watching the Trump agenda in action – on immigration and in general. We want common sense solutions, not chaos and destruction. What Trump and Miller are unleashing on our communities goes against everything we stand for as a democracy and a nation made stronger by immigrants.”