L.A. immigration protests are getting a military response.
Monday, June 9, 2025
What happened? You’ve probably heard about the immigration-related protests in L.A. President Trump has called up the National Guard (against the wishes of California’s governor and the mayor of Los Angeles) and will soon be sending Marines.1 The military is supposed to be protecting ICE agents from protestors, and not engaging civilians.2 Still, these folks are trained for combat, and this is likely to intensify the situation. Why are people protesting? The pot is starting to boil over. It seems that it’s more important to the administration to deport people, anyone really, than to specifically target violent offenders like they promised. One of the L.A. raids took place in a Home Depot parking lot, targeting day laborers who were seeking construction work3 (work we do not have enough Americans to do). Immigrants who were following the law and appearing for their ICE check-ins were detained overnight in the basement of a federal building with no beds, and limited food and water. There were children held in those conditions. People who are showing up to court to plead their case are having their cases dismissed4 and then immediately chained and deported.
How can I pray? Pray for those who do day labor work who need to show up to support themselves and their families, but who are more fearful. Pray for those kids who were held overnight in a government building not prepared to hold them — that the Lord would give them comfort and ease their fears. Pray for each National Guard member being deployed, that they will keep in mind the humanity of those they encounter. Pray that God begins preparing your heart so that you know how to respond if you witness injustice happening around you.
What is one more thing I can do? Prepare to be a good bystander if you see ICE activity! Jump down to the “Know how to be an effective bystander” section of this great article. Pick one thing off that list to do. I signed up to get alerts for ICE activity in my area. Let me know what you choose! Here’s a great video to watch and share as well:
We need to watch this closely, our leaders calling in the military to get involved in protests. It’s a very dangerous precedent. The Governor of California said that this “level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented – mobilising the best in class branch of the US military against its own citizens”.
This article gets into the details of the protests, as well as some of the violence that has occurred.
Day laborers are usually paid in cash for one day of work at a time. This is common in construction, and workers will go to places like Home Depot in the morning, because employers know to look for them there to hire.
This is such a cruel move. Many folks think it is good news to hear that the government is dismissing their immigration case. They think it means they get to stay. Quite the opposite. Once they no longer have an active case before the court, they can be eligible for deportation.
:'-(