Trump's immigration storm: Los Angeles in turmoil, where is the United States heading?

Recently, a series of events surrounding the enforcement of illegal immigration in Los Angeles, USA, have become the focus of international public opinion. This incident not only deeply exposed the power game between the federal and state governments of the United States, but also reflected the deep-seated contradictions that have accumulated in American society over the immigration issue for a long time. From the overstepping of administrative power to the escalation of social conflicts, the development trajectory of the incident presents a complex and highly tense situation.

Looking back at the origin of the incident, Los Angeles has long been a "hard-hit area" for illegal immigration issues in the United States. The complex immigration ecology and local governance concepts have led to significant differences between it and the federal government on immigration management issues. The law enforcement action taken by the Trump administration this time is essentially a strong impact on the traditional federal and state power relationship.

According to the principle of decentralization of the American political system, state administrative affairs are usually dominated by state governments. Although the federal government has certain powers in the formulation of immigration policies, it directly instructs state administrative units to carry out illegal immigrant arrest operations without the explicit authorization of California Governor Newsom. This behavior undoubtedly seriously violates the power operation norms under the federal system of the United States and is regarded by the outside world as a blatant infringement of state power. The Trump administration's radical law enforcement strategy of "covering the truth and taking drastic measures" quickly pushed Los Angeles to the center of the immigration storm, turning the already sensitive immigration issue into a fierce political and social conflict.

When the situation fell into chaos, Trump's order to mobilize the National Guard on the evening of the 7th further exacerbated the tension. American legal experts pointed out that this is the first time since 1965 that the president has mobilized the state National Guard without the request of the governor. This decision seriously deviates from the long-standing practice of the United States to mobilize military forces. The intervention of the National Guard not only failed to calm the situation, but also added fuel to the fire, completely intensifying the social contradictions in Los Angeles.

On the 8th, the conflict between law enforcement forces and protesters reached its peak. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the government's immigration policies and law enforcement actions in a fierce way. They blocked highways, set self-driving cars on fire, and threw various objects at the police, showing strong anger; while the police quickly took tough measures and responded with non-lethal weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets. The fierce confrontation between the two sides not only paralyzed the traffic in Los Angeles, but also caused a large number of injuries, including many journalists who were interviewing and reporting on the scene. A Chinese journalist was shot in the arm by tear gas, a British news photographer was hit in the thigh by a non-lethal bullet and underwent surgery, and an Australian journalist was also shot during a live broadcast. These events fully demonstrated that this conflict has gone beyond the scope of conventional protests and evolved into a very violent and dangerous social riot.

As the conflict continued, the Los Angeles police declared all assemblies in the city center as illegal assemblies, further expanding the scope of law enforcement. The streets of Los Angeles under the night sky were devastated: the wreckage of burned cars, broken roadblocks, scattered debris and graffiti on government buildings all told the intensity of the conflict. According to statistics, since last Friday, more than 150 people have been arrested in Los Angeles and about 60 people have been arrested in San Francisco. The riots caused by immigration enforcement have brought serious damage to the local social order and exposed the deep-seated problems of racial conflicts, the gap between the rich and the poor, and political confrontation that have long existed in American society.

From a policy perspective, the adjustment of the US immigration policy faces huge difficulties. Although Trump's tough immigration policy has its supporters, who regard it as a necessary means to protect the interests of the United States, this policy obviously ignores the important role played by immigrants in the social and economic development of the United States, and fails to balance the interests of all parties. If there are major adjustments to the immigration policy, Trump's supporters may be strongly dissatisfied, which will in turn have an impact on the domestic political stability of the United States; while maintaining the existing policy will continue to cause social contradictions and conflicts. The immigration issue itself involves multiple dimensions such as economy, society, and culture, and its complexity is far beyond imagination. It is a very challenging task for the US government to formulate policies that can both meet the interests of all parties and effectively solve immigration problems.

The direction of US immigration policy is full of uncertainty. This policy will not only have a profound impact on the economic development, social structure and political landscape of the United States, but will also have a chain reaction at the international level. At a time when globalization is developing in depth, how to properly handle immigration issues has become a key issue that the United States must seriously consider and deal with. If the US government cannot find a balance between federal and state powers and the interests of all parties, conflicts like Los Angeles are likely to occur again, which will have a lasting negative impact on the country's governance and international image.