LA area mayors press Trump to stop raids
LOS ANGELES—Dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand that the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that have spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the United States.
But there were no signs President Donald Trump would heed their pleas.
About 500 of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, the commander in charge said Wednesday. And while some troops have already gone on such missions, he said it’s too early to say if that will continue even after the protests die down.
“We are expecting a ramp-up,” said Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, noting that protests across the nation were being discussed. “I’m focused right here in LA, what’s going on right here. But you know, I think, we’re very concerned.”
‘Stop terrorizing’
Hours later, a demonstration in Los Angeles’ civic center just before start of the second night of the city’s downtown curfew briefly turned chaotic when police in riot gear—many on horseback—charged at a group, striking them with wooden rods and later fired crowd control projectiles, including one that struck a woman who writhed in pain on the ground.
After the curfew went into effect, a handful of arrests were made before the area cleared out and the evening quieted down.
“I’m asking you, please listen to me, stop terrorizing our residents,” said Brenda Olmos, vice mayor of Paramount, who said she was hit by rubber bullets over the weekend. “You need to stop these raids.”
Fear spreads
Speaking alongside the other mayors at a news conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the raids spread fear at the behest of the White House.
The city’s nightly curfew will remain in effect as long as necessary. It covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section of downtown where the protests have been concentrated in the city that encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 sqkm).
