Nearly half of Americans are opposed to the deployment of U.S. Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
A June 9 CBS News/YouGov poll found 45% of adults surveyed disapprove of using the California National Guard to counter the protests, compared to 38% who approve and 17% who are unsure. Opposition to the Marines’ presence is 47% compared to 34% who favor the move.
The breakdown along party lines was starkly polarized, with 74% of Democrats disapproving of the National Guard deployment compared to 75% of Republicans in favor of it. Three-quarters of Democrats disapprove of the Marine presence compared to 68% of Republicans who approve.
The survey said half of Americans disapprove of the administration’s mass deportation effort, compared to 39% who approve of its approach. Opposition stood at 82% among Democrats while approval among Republicans was 84%. The disapproval and approval rates among independents is 54% and 40%.
“The American people see Trump and (presidential political adviser Stephen) Miller’s actions for what they really are: a dangerous overreach and escalation that undermine our values and threaten our communities, while not doing anything to advance real immigration solutions,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice.
The Los Angeles demonstrations began June 6 after numerous immigrants, including some who are union members, were arrested in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The protests escalated and spread to other cities after troops were deployed in LA. At least one governor, Greg Abbott of Texas, has vowed to deploy National Guard troops if protests become violent.
But that approach only exacerbates the tension, Cárdenas said. “Weaponizing the National Guard, bringing in the Marines to American neighborhoods and communities and indiscriminately targeting citizens and noncitizens alike behind masks and guns are actions designed to inflame a situation, ignore rights and instill fear.”
Immigration advocates, meanwhile, are no happier with the president’s new travel ban, which went into effect June 9.
Azadeh Erfani
“This ban harkens back to the racist and Islamophobic ban piloted under the first Trump administration,” said Azadeh Erfani, policy director with the National Immigrant Justice Center. “We knew back then that it had nothing to do with national security, and everything to do with animus toward predominantly Black, brown and Muslim individuals and families.”
Trump signed an executive order June 4 prohibiting the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrant citizens from Afghanistan, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Visa restrictions also were placed on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The president cited a Colorado flamethrower attack against Israeli hostage supporters by an Egyptian man as a rationale for the ban, even though Egypt is not on the prohibited list.
Madeline Lohman
“Wholesale travel bans targeting entire nationalities do not produce any measurable national benefit,” said Madeline Lohman, advocacy and outreach director at The Advocates for Human Rights. “Instead, they separate families, leave people at risk of persecution and torture, deprive employers of essential workers, and erode the vibrant fabric of our communities. True national security begins with human rights and a commitment to equality, not with policies of division and discrimination.”
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty responded by urging Congress to pass the recently introduced “NO BAN Act” to end the president’s abuse of authority.
“BJC has fought every iteration of this ban, and we will fight this one, too,” Executive Director Amanda Tyler said. “The chaos it will create — separating families, stranding visa holders, and denying refuge to the vulnerable — is a humanitarian crisis manufactured by executive overreach.”
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