Trump deploys National Guard against anti-racist protests

Donald Trump is becoming increasingly authoritarian

Donald Trump has declared war on the anti-racist movement in the United States as thousands fight back against his racist round-ups in LA.

Trump’s administration has deployed up to 2,000 members of the National Guard—part of the US military reserve force—against protesters. The National Guard is rolling out onto the streets of Los Angeles county, California, after two days of persistent anti-racist demonstrations.

Thousands of people have come out to resist the violent racist raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and other arms of the US government. The soldiers are raiding the most populous county in the country, where nearly 34 percent of the population were born outside of the US.

On Friday Ice and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) officers carried out raids across LA. The initial raid took place at businesses such as the DIY and construction retailer Home Depot. 

This comes after the deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, made a statement demanding more Ice raids, saying “Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?”.

Officers wearing gas masks and riot gear were able to arrest around 45 people in Friday’s raid, according to the Socialist Workers Party’s sister organisation Marx21. 

A statement issued by Marx21 says “The response from our side was swift” with anti-racist protests beginning “immediately”. The protests continued “throughout the day and continued way until the night”.

Multiple demonstrations were called on Friday afternoon denouncing the raids that had started around 12 noon. One marched from the site of the original raid at Home Depot to the federal detention centre and federal building. According to Marx21 this forced the Ice agents to “retreat back into their building”.

The raids continued into Saturday, but so did the protests. Agents used teargas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowds, injuring several people. Several areas have had to be evacuated because of the sheer amount of the chemical weapon that is lingering in the air.

According to Marx21, “This had the opposite effect. It further angered the crowd and created a standoff between the agents and the community that lasted until the agents were forced to flee.”

Crowds of anti-racist protesters are forcing Ice agents into stand offs on the streets. The armed vehicles of the state, aided by helicopters delivering palettes of weapons, are yet to defeat the resistance.

It is part of a pattern of increasing authoritarianism and a ramping up of violent racism from Trump.

Marx21 says, “It is the result of the hate spewed by the Trump administration and illegal kidnappings by this agency.”

The White House has been pushing for more deportations and raids recently as it falls behind on its goals. Multiple large scale raids have taken place in the last few weeks as Trump falls short of his racist aim of deporting more people than the previous Democrat administration.

Last week at a student housing complex in Florida, Ice agents kidnapped dozens of migrants and loaded them into buses. They detained some 15 people in Louisiana while working on a flood control project.

The White House “border tsar” Tom Homan pledged, “You’re going to see more work site enforcement than you’ve ever seen in the history of this nation. We’re going to flood the zone.”

The number of raids has also increased as Trump has diverted personnel and resources away from agencies such as the FBI towards immigration control.

Marx21 have said that the protests are “the reaction by people who are angry at the racist attacks that are destroying the lives of hardworking immigrants”.

The organisation stated that “both national and local Democrats have failed” to take any action to counter the vile racism of the Trump administration. In fact, they have even endorsed it—such as when senator Bernie Sanders praised Trump’s efforts in “making sure our borders are stronger” earlier this year.

Marx21 say, “We are looking at the possibility that no matter where Ice goes, there will be resistance. It is the job of any activists to channel that anger and resistance into building a left that can fight not just against ICE raids, but the abolition of ICE and anti-immigrant laws.”