Newsom’s office stated that the president’s order and the presence of the guard: “not only caused widespread panic and chaos, but have unnecessarily created an additional diversion of resources as the state tries to calm a community terrorized by this reckless federal action.”
In fact, the “panic and chaos” was already well underway before Trump or Newsom became involved. LA Police Chief Jim McConnell declared on June 6th that his department was “overwhelmed” and LA Mayor Karen Bass ordered an overnight curfew on June 10th.
Newsom should give his own Guardsmen, the Marine Corps, and state and local peace officers more credit. He himself ordered the National Guard into action just five months earlier in response to rampant looting during the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles. He sent hundreds of guardsmen to patrol Los Angeles and its suburbs.
So, looting was enough for Newsom to act in January, but not in June?
Either he was aware that the understaffed LAPD officers were recipients of a barrage of violence, looting, vandalism, and assaults including hurling incendiary devices (otherwise known as bombs) or he decided to seize on the incident to position himself as a 2028 presidential contender – with a live action, real life debate with President Trump over states’ rights and immigration, complete with a riot to make his point.
While he may have scored some political points in the progressive media, he didn’t do so well in court.
Despite arguments proffered by Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta that President Trump overstepped his authority, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously ruled that the President was acting within his authority to maintain order and rejected an appeal by Newsom to take the guard command away from Trump while the case was being litigated. Newsom may appeal the ruling to a larger 9th Circuit panel or try to seek an emergency appeal from the U.S. Supreme Court. The full issue will continue to be litigated in federal court.
While the governor may object to the military deployment, he has still asked that local law enforcement agencies around the state provide “mutual aid” to Los Angeles. He also ordered hundreds of California Highway Patrol officers to Los Angeles – something he also did in Oakland last year in response to a crime wave there.
Newsom seems to lurch from one public safety crisis to another.
According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, Americans’ views on the deportations is mixed. 32 percent believe all immigrants living in the US should be deported, 51 percent believe some should be deported, while just 16 percent believe none should be deported. Lastly, 97 percent agreed that immigrants who have committed violent crimes should be deported.
What should not be debated is the professionalism of the state and local peace officers and California National Guard members and US Marines who have been deployed and tasked with the unenviable job of maintaining peace during a difficult time.
The thin blue line – aided by one in green – is still holding.
Steve Smith is a senior fellow in urban studies at the Pacific Research Institute, focusing on California’s growing crime problem.
