Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA) claimed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was the first to escalate tensions amid the protests in Los Angeles that “started peacefully.”
A protest broke out Friday against the ICE raids in Paramount, California, that happened earlier that day. Law enforcement arrested protesters for unlawful assembly and assault on peace officers in some cases, but Barragán denied the allegations of violent protesters.
“It started peacefully. Then we had federal officers, you know, doing the tear gas, shooting out pellets,” Barragán said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“By federal officers, you mean ICE?” host Dana Bash interjected.
“ICE, yes,” Barragán said. “And, you know, people were there to protest. They’re there to protest the mass deportations that are happening. And so it was peaceful. And of course, you escalate the situation. Now you‘re talking about bringing in the National Guard to militarize the situation. It‘s gonna get worse. It‘s unnecessary again.”
The California representative echoed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who called President Donald Trump’s decision to send 2,000 National Guard troops to the area “purposefully inflammatory,” predicting it “will only escalate tensions.”
“LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice. We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need. The Guard has been admirably serving LA throughout recovery. This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,” Newsom posted on X.
Barragán similarly claimed that she had spoken to local sheriffs who told her “they have things under control. There is no need for the National Guard. They have the manpower that they need.” However, the Los Angeles County Sheriff seemingly disputed Barragán’s claim that the protesters were peaceful, writing in a statement that they became “increasingly agitated” and demonstrated “violent behavior” toward police officers.
“Those are not the people that are coming out to protest immigration,” Barragán said. “So last night when I talked to the sheriff, he had told me the situation in Paramount was under control, that the people that were peacefully protest [SIC] have left. The situation was now across the street into the Compton area. And this was the unruly folks that Saturday night crowd, the people that were actually there to protest immigration were gone.”
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Mayor Karen Bass claimed that the National Guard had not been deployed in the city of Los Angeles, 15 miles north of Paramount. However, Barragán claimed that the National Guard is prepared to stay in the area for 30 days.
According to ICE, “officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults while carrying out arrests.” This statistic was shared after Friday’s arrest of 45 immigrants in the area, but before the protests began.