Vice President JD Vance arrived in Los Angeles on Friday to tour multiple federal centers, meet with leaders and Marines and deliver remarks amidst ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and protests in Southern California.
At around 3:10 p.m., Vance spoke to the press about why he traveled to L.A., what he learned during his tour and to speak on behalf of the Trump administration’s recent immigration sweeps and to thank local and federal law enforcement.
“The good news is that the rioting has gotten a lot better, but the bad news is I heard from everybody, unfortunately, the soldiers and marines are still very much a necessary part of what’s going on here because they’re worried it’s gonna flare back up,” said the Vice President.
Vance then spoke on local and state government, specifically calling out Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, saying they have actively encouraged “illegal migration” into the Los Angeles community and have offered benefits to immigrants who “break the law, come into our country and receive generous public assistance for having done so.”
Vance then introduced the law enforcement group around him, including representatives from the Marines, the District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and other federal officials — saying their presence has been necessary because of the community’s unrest caused by what the Vice President described as “the basic federal action of enforcing immigration law.”
“What happened here was a tragedy. You had people who were doing the simple job of enforcing the law, and they had rioters egged on by the Governor and the Mayor, making it harder to do their job. That is disgraceful, and it is why the President has responded so forcefully,” said Vance.
Vance then spoke directly to law enforcement, saying he believes they may be suffering a “morale problem,” and thanked them for their work.
Earlier this month, Vance posted about the demonstrations on social media.
“Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America’s political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,” his June 7 post on X reads.
Meanwhile, local politicians, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, have spoken out publicly against the administration’s deployment of the military in Los Angeles, saying it was uncalled for, unconstitutional and only enflamed the situation.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report.
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