The LA Riots

As a native Angelino, born and raised, I watched last night’s riots in Los Angeles with great sadness, thankful that I no longer live there. There are so many aspects to this issue, perhaps, too many to cover in a single posting, but I will try.

Those who read my articles know that I have sympathy for the plight of poor Mexicans who have come to the US  illegally simply to find work and opportunities that do not exist for them in Mexico. Most of them are not criminals, but are people trying to support their families. I get that. 

At the same time, it is hard not to feel anger watching people burn police cars, throw stones off of freeway overpasses, and take over the downtown area. One character drove his van in donuts at an intersection and then drove at high speeds around downtown until he parked and was arrested by Sheriff’s deputies. It is also upsetting to see many of these people waving flags of other countries as they commit all this violence and destruction. 

The overwhelming number of these flags were Mexican, with some flags of Central American countries thrown in. And what violent protest would be complete without the Palestinian flag? (I counted three on the news broadcasts.)

According to the news coverage, it seems that last night’s events began with peaceful demonstrations around the downtown Olvera Street area. But as nightfall closed in, others arrived with a different, more violent agenda;  Antifa types, pro-Palestinians, and leftist anarchists of various stripes.

It is impossible to say what percentage of rioters last night were foreigners, illegal aliens, or citizens. They were overwhelmingly young. But going back to the flag issue, it would be good to point out here that whoever is in someone else’s country should realize that they are an ambassador for their own country. My (Mexican-born) wife and I had just returned from a week in Mexico, where I never have a problem because I conduct myself there as I do in any other country I visit-as if I were an ambassador for my country. 

When you are in another country and act badly, you give a poor impression of your own country to every local who sees you. If you act like a jerk-or worse- you do damage to the image of your own country in the eyes of the natives.

So how do you think Americans watching the events unfold on TV last night reacted to all that? Can you imagine if I went to Mexico and paraded around the streets demonstrating against whatever policies or problems existed in Mexico and committing mayhem while waving an American flag? That wouldn’t be received too well, would it?  Last night’s actions, as well as similar events playing out in New York and Chicago, have done great harm to the public’s perception of Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, Hispanics, and immigrants in general, the overwhelming majority of whom do not deserve to be associated with this kind of violence and destruction.  I have a lot of in-laws of Mexican origin living in Southern California, including Los Angeles. Whatever their opinions about illegal immigration, Trump, or the ICE raids may be, I am confident none of them were anywhere near downtown Los Angeles last night.

So where do I stand on the ICE raids being conducted in Los Angeles and other places? I will repeat what I have said before. I fully support going after criminal illegal aliens, such as Tren de Aragua, MS-13, drug cartels, human smugglers, people who have been previously ordered deported, jihadists, foreign students who are running amok and making life miserable for Jewish students on our college campuses, people largely allowed to walk into our country by the Biden administration. They are a threat to public safety, and they all need to be removed. And shame on politicians like California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass for their sanctuary policies that have led to all this. Their statements amid all this chaos are not helpful. They have lost control of their state and their city. It is hypocritical for them to complain about ICE doing its job.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: With some 15-20 million illegals in this country, the federal government has to prioritize the most dangerous criminals for arrest and removal first. To the extent that efforts are made to target those who are simply working and trying to feed their families without committing other offenses, that would not be a wise allocation of resources. That said, nothing justifies what is happening in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.