Harris ripped for 'appalling' LA ICE raids statement placing blame on Trump: 'The country dodged a bullet'
"Los Angeles is my home," Harris posted Sunday as riots had broken out across the city for several days, led by protesters upset with federal agents arresting illegal immigrants in the city, prompting the Trump administration to send in the National Guard.
"And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city," she said. "Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos. In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration's cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division."
Harris added that the Trump administration is not concerned about "public safety" but rather "stoking fear."
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"Protest is a powerful tool — essential in the fight for justice. And as the LAPD, Mayor, and Governor have noted, demonstrations in defense of our immigrant neighbors have been overwhelmingly peaceful," Harris said. "I continue to support the millions of Americans who are standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms."
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Harris' comments were immediately criticized by conservatives online and by Trump officials.
"The country really dodged a bullet in November," Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X.
In another post, Benson added, "Their official position is that they're appalled by what's happening in Los Angeles…because of Trump and ICE, not the violent rioters. In its current form, this party cannot be salvaged."
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"Thank you, America, for employing brain cells and rejecting this woman's quest to become president of the United States," Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich posted on X.
Others, including the conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok, took issue with Harris calling the unrest "mostly peaceful" by responding with pictures of rioters burning cars and attacking law enforcement.
"No surprise[sic] that the most incompetent Vice President in history stands with the illegal alien rioters," GOP Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X.
White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields responded on X by saying, "America's statement" along with a photo showing the gains President Donald Trump made across the country in the November 2024 election.
"No one is interested in your opinion," Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell posted on X.
"President Trump didn't start these riots," California GOP gubernatorial candidate and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco posted on X. "He's not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways. This statement is an embarrassment and does nothing to diffuse the violent riots taking place across the city."
"The Democrats and their 'leaders' own this."
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Steve Hilton, a Fox News contributor also running for California governor as a Republican, posted on X, "In this appalling statement you are siding with violent criminals over California communities; rioters over law enforcement; illegal immigrants over legal immigrants and American citizens."
"You are a pandering machine politician who should never hold public office again."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said, "Everyone already knows that Kamala Harris supports violent criminal illegal aliens -- that's why the American people resoundingly rejected her in November.
"Harris's tenure as Vice President was defined by one humiliating failure after another, including overseeing the invasion of tens of millions of illegal immigrants as Biden's Border Czar, that President Trump is now cleaning up. Harris should stop embarrassing herself by pretending anyone cares about her opinion and slink back into irrelevancy where she belongs."
Fox News Digital reached out to Harris' office for comment but did not receive a reply.
Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the city in an effort to quell some of the unrest, much to the dismay of Democratic officials.
The violent protests erupted as ICE officials carried out plans to remove individuals illegally residing in the left-wing city, which dubbed itself a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants in November 2024 before Trump was sworn back into the Oval Office in January.
ICE raids began Friday, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issuing a statement supporting illegal immigrants in the city and bucking the Trump administration's deportation efforts.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom similarly criticized ICE efforts, branding the immigration raids "chaotic and reckless."
"Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel," a statement from the governor read. "Donald Trump's chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America's economy."
During the riots, ICE officers were targeted with violence that included throwing rocks and other projectiles along with vandalism in the form of graffiti calling for violence against ICE officers.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks shared a photo of one Border Patrol agent's bloody hand, which was injured by a rock flying through the windshield. Federal sources said agents could have been killed by the flying debris and several officers have been reported as injured during the rioting.
ICE agents captured the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal immigrants during Friday operations, including murderers, sex offenders and other violent criminals, the agency said Sunday.
About 45 people were arrested across several locations, including two Home Depot stores, a store in the fashion district and a doughnut shop.
"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?" asked Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
"These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets," she said. "Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer."
Fox News Digital's Taylor Penley, Alex Nitzberg, Emma Colton, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report. Original article source: Harris ripped for 'appalling' LA ICE raids statement placing blame on Trump: 'The country dodged a bullet'
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