Latest news with #anti-ImmigrationandCustomsEnforcement
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Homan: If Democrats ‘don't like what ICE is doing, then change the law‘
President Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, called on Democrats to tone down the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rhetoric, saying they should pass legislation to address their concerns, rather than target the law enforcement officers. In an interview on Tuesday on the 'Cats & Cosby Show' with John Catsimatidis & Rita Cosby, Homan expressed concern about the rise in violence against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and suggested that 'nuts on the left' were, at least partially, responsible. 'I've seen this film before, and I said, with this rhetoric, comparing ICE to Nazis and racists and terrorist groups, I said, the nuts on the left, it's going to embolden them to do something stupid, and we've seen it,' Homan said. 'So, I don't think it's over, unless Democrats, you know, shut the hell up and stop attacking ICE.' 'They need to remember ICE is enforcing the laws that they wrote,' Homan continued. 'If they don't like what ICE is doing, then change the law.' The interview comes a day after a man opened fire at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, on Monday. Federal agents returned fire and shot the man. A few days earlier, a police officer was shot outside an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. 'I said over two months ago, if this rhetoric continues, that someone's going to lose their life,' Homan said in the interview, 'either a protester who is turning criminal or violent or it's going to be an officer.'
Indian Express
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
The shared history of California & Mexico, why anti-ICE protestors were waving Mexican flags
Amid the Trump administration's sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, which critics say specifically targets Hispanics, cities across the United States have witnessed massive anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests this month. These protests began on June 6 in Los Angeles after military-style ICE raids resulted in the detention of 44 people, mostly of Mexican heritage. California, especially the city of Los Angeles, has been the epicentre of these protests. This is in no small part due to almost 40% of Californians being Hispanic, and more than 30% tracing their ancestry to Mexico, with whom the state shares a border as well as deep historic, cultural, and economic ties. Here's a brief history. The Spanish colonisation of the New World began in the late 15th century and continued till the end of the 19th century. At its peak, Spanish territory in the Americas touched Alaska in the north and extended to Tierra del Fuego in the southern tip of South America. The southern tip of the Baja peninsula (today the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur) was spotted by Conquistadors in the 16th century. They erroneously likened their 'discovery' to the mythical island of Californias mentioned in the Spanish novel Las Sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandián) written in 1510 by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Upon venturing inward, the conquistadors realised that the region was not an island as previously imagined. The peninsular region came to be called Baja California, while the territories to its north, which today make up the American state of California, were called Alta California. Another two centuries would pass before the Spanish colonial project, driven by the edict 'gold, God and glory', would claim the Californias for the empire. There are a few different reasons for this. * One, Spaniards were kept busy elsewhere. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was formally established in 1535 with its capital in Mexico City, and would swell to include territories ranging from the Philippines to the Caribbean and northern parts of South America. * Two, the discovery of gold and silver deposits in Mexico, central America and South America, as well as the lack of (known) deposits in California, discouraged conquistadors from making the difficult, often deadly journey. Spanish interest in the region picked up when Russia looked to settle in the Californias in the mid-18th century. While Jesuit missionaries had been proselytising in the region for decades at that point, King Charles of Spain formally ordered the colonisation of California in 1761. Junípero Serra, regarded today as the patron saint of California, would go on to establish 21 missions which 'developed' the region. The Californian economy would be defined by agriculture and livestock-rearing. But colonisation was also devastating for Native Americans, who had been inhabiting the region for many millennia. 'Mission Indians' were forcefully converted to Catholicism and forced to work as farm labour. Demographer Sherburne F Cook estimates that the population of indigenous Californians fell from 310,000 in 1769 to only 25,000 in 1910. (The Population of the California Indians 1769-1970, Sherburne F. Cook, 1976) The Spanish empire saw a steep decline in the 19th century. As Napoleon Bonaparte pummelled Spain in Europe, the Bourbon monarchy struggled to suppress revolutionary tendencies across its colonies. Growing resentment over Spanish rule, stemming from rampant economic exploitation and social inequalities, set the stage for the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. Mexico would formally secede from Spain in 1821. But the new republic was far from politically stable, and witnessed 40 different governments before 1848. The undivided Californias province had been split into two — Alta California and Baja California — in 1804. While the new Mexican republic retained this division, the territories immediately witnessed a host of changes. For one, all restrictions on trade with foreigners were eased, allowing the Californian settlers or 'Californios', to trade in commodities, finished goods and luxuries. Trade with Anglo-Americans helped initiate the economic detachment of Alta California from central Mexico, as ships transported Californian hides and tallow in exchange for English and American manufactured goods. The Mexican government struggled to assert control over these territories, which grew closer to the US economically. Foreigners in the Californian territories were also given land-holding rights after converting to Catholicism, spurring immigration by hordes of US citizens between the 1820s and the 1840s. As American interest in the Californias surged, the US and Mexico signed the Treaty of Limits in 1828, recognising the borders between the two nations according to the 1819 Adams-Onis Treaty between Spain and the US (in which the Spanish Crown ceded Florida to the US). This treaty was further amended in 1836 when the Republic of Texas became independent from Mexico. The concept of 'Manifest Destiny', a belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable, drove the United States' westward expansion in the 19th century. And it was this belief, along with ever-growing Anglo-Saxon connections to erstwhile Spanish territories in the American West, that set the stage for the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. In 1845, Texas became the 28th state of the US, prompting Mexico to sever all ties with Washington. But US President James K Polk wanted more territory, including Alta California and present-day New Mexico. When his offer to purchase these territories was rebuffed, he moved US troops into Texas and Mexican territory, and claimed all land between Nueces and the Rio Grande rivers in January 1846. Mexico retaliated in April, causing 16 casualties among the American troops, triggering a wave of nationalism in the US, and a declaration of war by the Congress. The 16-month-long war saw the US military leverage strategy, brutality and luck, eventually capturing Mexico City. When the war ended in 1848, the US acquired present-day California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming from Mexico for only $15 million. That said, even before the war had completely ended, the discovery of gold in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in Sierra Nevada, California, had set off what was known as the California Gold Rush. More than 300,000 people moved to California over the next four years, hoping to, quite literally, strike gold. California was officially given statehood by the US in 1850. Seeing the Mexican flag waved during anti-ICE protests was an affront for many, a rejection of the United States and American identity. But ask the protestors and they will tell you a different story. 'It's about refusing to be erased,' Mexican journalist Enrique Acevedo wrote for The Washington Post. '…Mexican identity isn't foreign [in Los Angeles]. It's foundational. This was Mexico once and remains part of the memory, culture, street names, food and families who never crossed a border because the border crossed them. In that context, the Mexican flag isn't necessarily a symbol of separation or rejection. Sometimes, it's a claim: We are both. We are Mexican and American, not divided but layered…,' he wrote.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-ICE riot funding investigated after ‘numerous high budget requests' for paid agitators were reported
An investigation is underway into who is funding anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots disrupting Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities after a major company revealed it had received requests for help. Crowds on Demand, a California-based company that specializes in providing on-demand crowds for protests, told Fox News Digital it received "numerous high budget requests" to get involved with the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and other cities but declined to participate. A company spokesperson said it declined to get involved in what is happening in Los Angeles because it did "not want to get close to any form of illegal activity, including violence, vandalism or blocking off roads without a permit." "We receive inquiries regarding practically every major social cause imaginable, and the anti-ICE demonstrations are no exception," the company said. "The fact that we receive requests does not mean we take them, in many cases, because the budget does not match the ambition." Senator Launches Investigation Into Democratic Org Over Potential Support For La Rioters The company added it only takes on "impactful commonsense causes both for liberals and conservatives, but always represent(s) the commonsense position." Read On The Fox News App "Even organizing peaceful demonstrators around this issue (anti-ICE) could put those demonstrators at risk due to the presence of violent agitators and the difficulty for law enforcement in distinguishing between peaceful and violent activists," the company said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said anyone found to be abusing the law will be held accountable. "We're not here to negotiate with criminals. Break the law, attack our agents — you will be arrested, prosecuted, and held accountable. No exceptions," the agency vowed in a statement on X. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, shared that the committee is sending letters to multiple organizations believed to be behind the funding. One of the organizations called into questioning by Hawley and Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, an advocacy group believed to be at the center of the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. "Who is funding the LA riots? This violence isn't spontaneous. As chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism, I'm launching an investigation to find out," Hawley posted in a statement on X. Fbi Will Investigate 'Any Evidence Of A Criminal Conspiracy' In La Riots Hawley's letter noted that "credible reporting" has indicated the organization has provided "logistical support and financial resources to individuals engaged in these disruptive actions," referring to the Los Angeles riots. "Let me be clear: bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct. Accordingly, you must immediately cease and desist any further involvement in the organization, funding or promotion of these unlawful activities," Hawley wrote. Kiley also questioned who was behind the funding for the rioters and suggested that California Gov. Gavin Newsom's motive may be a conflict of interest. "The 'nonprofit' behind the LA riots donated almost $500,000 to support Newsom's campaign. It then received $34 million in state funding. I'm sure this is all a coincidence," Kiley wrote in a post on X. Kiley also shared with Fox News Digital that CHIRLA has reportedly also sponsored a campaign to abolish ICE in the past. Crowds On Demand Has Received Over 100 'Lucrative' Anti-israel Requests Since Oct 7 "The NGO known as CHIRLA was centrally involved in the LA riots. The organization, which has previously sponsored a campaign to abolish ICE, alerted the rioters to where ICE operations were occurring in real time. The agitators would then show up and disrupt ICE activities, including through the use of violence," Kiley said. "This group is a major campaign contributor to Gavin Newsom and has received $34 million in state funding. An investigation is absolutely appropriate and necessary." IRS records obtained by Fox News show CHIRLA has received $34 million in government grants, including three from former President Joe Biden's administration for $750,000. The Million Voter Project, which received a portion of these funds and opposed Newsom's recall, has also supported anti-ICE protests, according to records. It is not clear whether either group funded any protest activity, and there is no evidence that they supported rioting. "It is absolutely absurd that either myself or the governor would be supportive in any way, shape or form to the vandalism and the violence that has taken place in our city," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN in an interview Tuesday. "I have been abundantly clear that what is happening on our streets is unacceptable. Looting is criminal behavior. People will be arrested and prosecuted. I don't believe anybody who vandalizes the city supports immigrants." Bass' office told Fox News Digital she also set a curfew in downtown Los Angeles to "curb bad actors who do not support the immigrant community." "Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted," Bass vowed. Fox News Digital reached out to CHIRLA and Newsom's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. Original article source: Anti-ICE riot funding investigated after 'numerous high budget requests' for paid agitators were reported
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amid Trump-Newsom fight, funding threat sends chill through California schools
Immigration protests in Los Angeles and President Trump's military response are dominating the news cycle, but it's Trump's threat to decimate California's federal funding that has education experts worried. Golden State schools would be particularly harmed by such a move, advocates say, and in many places, state and local leaders could struggle to make up the difference. Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have raged at each other this week over protests against the former's immigration crackdown, with the president floating Newsom's arrest and the governor seeking an emergency judicial intervention to stymie Trump's deployment of the National Guard, which was denied. But Trump's funding threat came before the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) clashes in Los Angeles, originally spurred by a transgender high schooler qualifying for the state track and field championship. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' he said in a post on Truth Social late last month. 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.' Then, on Friday, reports emerged that the administration was advancing plans for sweeping cuts, with the White House criticizing California on issues including immigration and energy. California K-12 schools received $8 billion from the federal government for the 2024-2025 school year, making up to 6 percent of the state's K-12 funding, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. State lawmakers, currently plotting out the next fiscal year, may have to make sudden pivots. 'I think [because] we're in the middle of state budget negotiations right now that these conversations are very much live, but we know California is ready and willing to push back and to keep the promise of access to an education, access to a college degree, for millions of Americans and for Californians here,' said Joshua Hagen, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Campaign for College Opportunity. While no money has yet been frozen, Trump has previously targeted both states and schools with federal funding cuts in order to try to get them to bow to his demands. And the president, who has embraced the Los Angeles fight over immigration, could use it to justify action he was already eyeing. 'This administration has threatened cuts to education and crucial social programs that the entire country's working class communities rely upon. Now, he has the working of people of California in his cross hairs at the same time that he's unlawfully sending the National Guard and now the Marines here to California to increase the terror his administration is inflicting upon our immigrant communities,' said Randa Wahbe, president of the Community College Association, an affiliate of the California Teachers Association. The potential cuts would be 'destabilizing to our faculty, to our students, to our staff, to our communities. Our students need more resources and opportunities, not fewer. Our communities need more investment, not less,' Wahbe said. 'So these threats and attacks are not only cruel, but they're also dehumanizing.' She pointed out that although California has the largest higher education system in the country, almost 70 percent of faculty are parttime, creating an already difficult situation with the budget as she argues these employees are not paid enough. And California students, like those nationwide, are still struggling with learning loss and other test score-related problems. The 2025 Education Recovery Scorecard in February found the average U.S. student last year remained nearly half a grade level behind in math and reading compared to pre-pandemic levels. 'Our country has been decreasing in terms of overall education performance compared to the rest of the world,' said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice. 'At a time where our country is already losing ground to other countries on education, which is a huge problem for us, competitive and long term, we absolutely should be investing in education, not cutting.' If Trump administration follows through with the cuts, there is no foolproof plan to make up the gap. Conversations are ongoing in the state legislature, and schools have some reserves, but those would only last for so long. 'I know our community colleges have district reserves that they will need to tap into to help sustain necessary services. The amount of reserves in each district varies. So that's not a long-term solution,' said Wahbe. Kindra Britt, the director of communications for California County Superintendents, pointed out that students from immigration communities could be squeezed from two different directions, facing ICE arrests among their family and friends while their schools see budget cuts. 'In the onslaught of threats that we've been receiving since he came into office, it's always been where it's going to hit vulnerable students the most,' Britt said. 'Now, obviously, this huge focus on immigrants, hitting low-income communities, English learners, things like that. It's just a massive distraction and a time suck, if I'm being honest,' she added. 'We're exhausted and our job is focused on providing services to students. This is an exciting time of year. It's graduation, and it's just getting clouded in the continuous and exhausting distraction from the federal level.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Amid Trump-Newsom fight, funding threat sends chill through California schools
Immigration protests in Los Angeles and President Trump's military response are dominating the news cycle, but it's Trump's threat to decimate California's federal funding that has education experts worried. Golden State schools would be particularly harmed by such a move, advocates say, and in many places, state and local leaders could struggle to make up the difference. Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have raged at each other this week over protests against the former's immigration crackdown, with the president floating Newsom's arrest and the governor seeking an emergency judicial intervention to stymie Trump's deployment of the National Guard, which was denied. But Trump's funding threat came before the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) clashes in Los Angeles, originally spurred by a transgender high schooler qualifying for the state track and field championship. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' he said in a post on Truth Social late last month. 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.' Then, on Friday, reports emerged that the administration was advancing plans for sweeping cuts, with the White House criticizing California on issues including immigration and energy. California K-12 schools received $8 billion from the federal government for the 2024-2025 school year, making up to 6 percent of the state's K-12 funding, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. State lawmakers, currently plotting out the next fiscal year, may have to make sudden pivots. 'I think [because] we're in the middle of state budget negotiations right now that these conversations are very much live, but we know California is ready and willing to push back and to keep the promise of access to an education, access to a college degree, for millions of Americans and for Californians here,' said Joshua Hagen, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Campaign for College Opportunity. While no money has yet been frozen, Trump has previously targeted both states and schools with federal funding cuts in order to try to get them to bow to his demands. And the president, who has embraced the Los Angeles fight over immigration, could use it to justify action he was already eyeing. 'This administration has threatened cuts to education and crucial social programs that the entire country's working class communities rely upon. Now, he has the working of people of California in his cross hairs at the same time that he's unlawfully sending the National Guard and now the Marines here to California to increase the terror his administration is inflicting upon our immigrant communities,' said Randa Wahbe, president of the Community College Association, an affiliate of the California Teachers Association. The potential cuts would be 'destabilizing to our faculty, to our students, to our staff, to our communities. Our students need more resources and opportunities, not fewer. Our communities need more investment, not less,' Wahbe said. 'So these threats and attacks are not only cruel, but they're also dehumanizing.' She pointed out that although California has the largest higher education system in the country, almost 70 percent of faculty are parttime, creating an already difficult situation with the budget as she argues these employees are not paid enough. And California students, like those nationwide, are still struggling with learning loss and other test score-related problems. The 2025 Education Recovery Scorecard in February found the average U.S. student last year remained nearly half a grade level behind in math and reading compared to pre-pandemic levels. 'Our country has been decreasing in terms of overall education performance compared to the rest of the world,' said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice. 'At a time where our country is already losing ground to other countries on education, which is a huge problem for us, competitive and long term, we absolutely should be investing in education, not cutting.' If Trump administration follows through with the cuts, there is no foolproof plan to make up the gap. Conversations are ongoing in the state legislature, and schools have some reserves, but those would only last for so long. 'I know our community colleges have district reserves that they will need to tap into to help sustain necessary services. The amount of reserves in each district varies. So that's not a long-term solution,' said Wahbe. Kindra Britt, the director of communications for California County Superintendents, pointed out that students from immigration communities could be squeezed from two different directions, facing ICE arrests among their family and friends while their schools see budget cuts. 'In the onslaught of threats that we've been receiving since he came into office, it's always been where it's going to hit vulnerable students the most,' Britt said. 'Now, obviously, this huge focus on immigrants, hitting low-income communities, English learners, things like that. It's just a massive distraction and a time suck, if I'm being honest,' she added. 'We're exhausted and our job is focused on providing services to students. This is an exciting time of year. It's graduation, and it's just getting clouded in the continuous and exhausting distraction from the federal level.'
