The real siege of L.A. - ICE raids are shredding the city’s social fabric of immigrant lives

[spidermike007]

I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and the hardest working, most honest people I know are immigrants, and they often do work for considerably less than Americans would be willing to do that work for, and they often do work that Americans have no interest in doing.

 

Many highly intolerant guys on this forum don't want to hear that, many here have an extreme level of intolerance toward any type of immigration, and barely allow for any difference distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration. 

 

That is a sad thing to witness. Rhetoric is horrific, when it is not well thought out. 

 

 

[impulse]

1 hour ago, StandardIssue said:

How many of the punters commenting on this and supporting the ICE raids in LA have ACTUALLY LIVED THERE?

 

Well I have (for 5 years) and one of magnificent features of LA is it's wide diversity of cultures from all over the world INCLUDING THAI TOWN. Which has a rich Thai population.

 

I'd wager most of the punters that favor these raids do so only because the like the idea of those "lefties" and illegals getting the punishment and knocking around the unthinking and cruel of you  think they deserve.

 

The inhumanity of such attitudes is sickening.

 

Nah.  We're mostly against giving free stuff to people who break the law to come into the country.  We're broke.  Over $35T in debt.  We can't afford it.

 

Trump would have to deport 8000 illegals a day to undo the damage Biden did.  They're at about 800 a day now.  It only makes sense that they're focusing on the worst of the worst. 

 

Hell, Obama deported more per day...  And the vast majority never saw a judge.  It was okay then.  But now that's not okay?

 

Social media posts claimed "75–83%" of people deported during the Obama administration "never saw a judge or had a chance to plead their case."

 

Mostly True

 

US deported more than 3M people during Obama presidency. Most did not have chance to plead case in court | Snopes.com

 

(God, I can't believe I'm quoting Snopes.)

 

BTW, I lived in SoCal for about 5 years and Texas for about 25.

[impulse]

16 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and the hardest working, most honest people I know are immigrants, and they often do work for considerably less than Americans would be willing to do that work for, and they often do work that Americans have no interest in doing.

 

Many highly intolerant guys on this forum don't want to hear that, many here have an extreme level of intolerance toward any type of immigration, and barely allow for any difference distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration. 

 

That is a sad thing to witness. Rhetoric is horrific, when it is not well thought out. 

 

 

 

Given that the labor component is such a small percentage of food prices, most Americans (myself included) would gladly pay 10% more for peaches if it meant not paying about $150B a year on taking care of "newcomers".  Especially those who go on to commit even more crimes once they get to the Promised Land.

 

Hats off to Mayor Eric Adams who revealed that NYC's cost of caring for them was $36,000 a head per year.  Multiply that by 10 million heads or so, and you're talking real money.  When we're over $35T in debt.

 

 

 

[ThreeCardMonte]

6 hours ago, TedG said:

 

Does this surprise you?

Not anymore.  The left’s strategy is to downplay the riots

[ThreeCardMonte]

30 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and the hardest working, most honest people I know are immigrants, and they often do work for considerably less than Americans would be willing to do that work for, and they often do work that Americans have no interest in doing.

 

Many highly intolerant guys on this forum don't want to hear that, many here have an extreme level of intolerance toward any type of immigration, and barely allow for any difference distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration. 

 

That is a sad thing to witness. Rhetoric is horrific, when it is not well thought out. 

 

 

They’re not here to pick lettuce.  We have H2A workers.

Contrary to what your brainwashed mind believes, we support immigration.

 

LEGAL IMMIGRATION 

 

[Hanaguma]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and the hardest working, most honest people I know are immigrants, and they often do work for considerably less than Americans would be willing to do that work for, and they often do work that Americans have no interest in doing.

 

Many highly intolerant guys on this forum don't want to hear that, many here have an extreme level of intolerance toward any type of immigration, and barely allow for any difference distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration. 

 

That is a sad thing to witness. Rhetoric is horrific, when it is not well thought out. 

 

 

Typical racism of the left. They see immigrants only as borderline slaves/indentured servants.  "Who's gonna cut my grass? Who's gonna clean my toilets?"  

 

Well, I have some news for you. There is NO job in America that is done by illegal immigrants exclusively. Every job in America is majority done by citizens and legal residents.   

 

Other countries in the world seem to work just fine without importing a  permanent underclass.  And so can America. 

[spidermike007]

13 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Typical racism of the left. They see immigrants only as borderline slaves/indentured servants.  "Who's gonna cut my grass? Who's gonna clean my toilets?"  

 

Well, I have some news for you. There is NO job in America that is done by illegal immigrants exclusively. Every job in America is majority done by citizens and legal residents.   

 

Other countries in the world seem to work just fine without importing a  permanent underclass.  And so can America. 

That is blatantly incorrect, just look at Thailand there are many classes of work in Thailand that most Thai people are unwilling to perform, and therefore Cambodians and Burmese are required to perform these tasks.

 

It is the same in America, the vast majority of Americans are unwilling to do menial landscaping, pick fruit, work in slaughterhouses, wash dishes, and perform so many other jobs, the list goes on. We are talking about dozens and dozens of different types of jobs that Americans have no interest in or wouldn't do for under $25 an hour. 

 

To argue differently is simply to ignore the facts on the ground, and the desperate need that the US has for immigrant labor. I'm not arguing in favor of illegal immigration, but I am arguing in favor of drastic immigration reform which allows more immigrant labor to work in the US legally. This is something that neither party seems to have an interest in discussing or solving. 

[NoDisplayName]

8 hours ago, Mike_Hunt said:

This makes burning and looting acceptable?

 

No, dear.  Try reading the words I typed, rather than fantasizing about what you want to think I writ.

 

LA is big, really big.  Bigly big, in fact, and we never know when city or county is the subject, as this is usually undefined.

 

That means when some journalist or potentially paid influencer says "LA is burning", it's all pretty subjective in the mind of the reader as to the extent of the fiery but mostly peaceful protests.

 

Anyhoo, DIY is the solution.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 hours ago, Mike_Hunt said:

This makes burning and looting acceptable?

 

There's historically been burning and looting many times in many U.S. cities for different reasons thru the years.... even after somebody's team won the Super Bowl, if memory serves...  Not condoning it, just stating the reality of things. 

 

Some right wing posters here some years back posted to the forum dangerous looking photos of rioting and mayhem claiming that they were BLM protesters after the George Floyd episode.  Turned out, the photos were of post Super Bowl rioting by Philadelphia Eagles fans that had been on the front pages of major newspapers, if memory serves..  Nobody called in the Army or National Guard back then, because that's what the police are f for. 

 

Trump is a dictatorial loon who's out on a limb.

 

 

 

 

 

[NoDisplayName]

4 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

NY Times headline just now:

- Trump Shifts Deportation Focus, Pausing Raids on Farms, Hotels and Eateries
- The abrupt pivot on an issue at the heart of Mr. Trump’s presidency suggested his broad immigration crackdown was hurting industries and constituencies he does not want to lose.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Yep, the would be King was on the news yesterday saying Ohh... we can't be deporting all the good people who pick our food and the people who take care of customers in our hotels... just because they may not have some document they ought to have.... We need to find some solution for them, and we're not going to target them. Their employers love them and they do good work.....

 

That's the reality of the service sector in the U.S. and has been for many decades - lots of undocumented but otherwise law abiding people doing lower paid jobs that American citizens don't want to do....  And now, after causing immense disruption and fear around the country and calling out the Marines and National Guard, now only now, Trump's waking up to those facts???

 

[blaze master]

7 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

Best stay out of the conversation if you can't understand journalism "in context".  People who get caught up in the hyperbole are easily identified and lose credibility quick to those of us who know better.

 

Probably best you stop making such stupid comments. 

 

 

[ThreeCardMonte]

3 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

No, dear.  Try reading the words I typed, rather than fantasizing about what you want to think I writ.

 

LA is big, really big.  Bigly big, in fact, and we never know when city or county is the subject, as this is usually undefined.

 

That means when some journalist or potentially paid influencer says "LA is burning", it's all pretty subjective in the mind of the reader as to the extent of the fiery but mostly peaceful protests.

 

Anyhoo, DIY is the solution.

 

When was this photo taken?  The purpose of including it in your post? 

[NoDisplayName]

25 minutes ago, ThreeCardMonte said:

When was this photo taken?  The purpose of including it in your post? 

 

Those are the famous "rooftop Koreans" who defended their homes and stores from roving bands of fiery but mostly peaceful gentle giants during the Saint Rodney riots.

 

"Pants up, don't loot!"

 

The purpose is to show that California is a sanctuary for the criminal element, and its up to the citizens to look out for themselves.

[Hanaguma]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

That is blatantly incorrect, just look at Thailand there are many classes of work in Thailand that most Thai people are unwilling to perform, and therefore Cambodians and Burmese are required to perform these tasks.

 

It is the same in America, the vast majority of Americans are unwilling to do menial landscaping, pick fruit, work in slaughterhouses, wash dishes, and perform so many other jobs, the list goes on. We are talking about dozens and dozens of different types of jobs that Americans have no interest in or wouldn't do for under $25 an hour. 

 

To argue differently is simply to ignore the facts on the ground, and the desperate need that the US has for immigrant labor. I'm not arguing in favor of illegal immigration, but I am arguing in favor of drastic immigration reform which allows more immigrant labor to work in the US legally. This is something that neither party seems to have an interest in discussing or solving. 

Yet... Americans DO all the jobs you mentioned. About 36% of crop workers in ag are undocumented. That means more than 60% are American citizens or legal residents.  Meat processing is about 25% illegals.  Restaurant workers 10-20%, about 25% in landscaping and gardening.

 

So where ARE the jobs that "American's won't do"?  They are already doing all those, and more.  You have a very low opinion of American workers. The big issue is pay. Americans cannot or will not compete in a race to the bottom in wages with illegal immigrants. Remove the illegals, the pay will go up, and legal residents will do the work. Or, in many industries, automation will take over. Either way, no need for the underclass.

[baansgr]

17 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I’ve been at the protests in Los Angeles this week, and I have news for you: The city is not facing an “insurrection.” In the vast expanse that is Los Angeles County, the rallies barely register as a blip. The protests are confined to a very small area of downtown. The protesters I spoke to weren’t anarchists bent on burning down the system. They were mostly young people — first- or second-generation U.S. citizens — protesting the persecution their immigrant parents are enduring. They are certainly not “insurrectionist migrant mobs.”

 

And for the most part, yes, the protests have been peaceful. There have been isolated — and reprehensible — incidents of looting and vandalism, but nothing near the scale of past riots in Los Angeles. The notion that the situation is under control thanks to the National Guard is simply false. The LAPD has been managing the response very well.

 

Los Angeles isn’t a “ruptured, balkanized society of strangers.” It is not “occupied territory.” It certainly isn’t experiencing the consequences of an “invasion.” What Los Angeles, this vibrant, pluralistic city where dozens of languages and nationalities coexist, is experiencing is an attack on its most essential social fabric — a concerted campaign of terror. Since last Friday, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement began its operations, the immigrant community in the city that best embodies the immigrant experience in the United States has been paralyzed.

 

(more)

 

Washington Post

https://archive.ph/799sN

 

Opinion column by 

León Krauze, an award-winning Mexican journalist, author and news anchor.

Legal people have nothing to worry about...so why are people rioting???...because they are illegals

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Legal people have nothing to worry about...so why are people rioting???...because they are illegals

 

People are protesting Trump and his outrageous policies because otherwise law abiding residents in the U.S. were being arbitrarily swept up in Trump's immigration raids, college students having their student visas canceled for no reason, people with valid pending asylum claims arrested, even American citizens wrongfully detained by ICE. And immigrants arrested and deported by ICE in direct violation of judge's orders to the contrary.... etc etc etc...

 

These are the actions of a would-be tin pot dictator:

 

US citizen blasts ICE after being detained as he drove to work: ‘They’re the criminals’

ICE and Homeland Security agents forced Elzon Lemus out of his car and detained him for between 20-25 minutes, apparently based solely on his appearance

 

Friday 13 June 2025

 

A New Yorker who was stopped and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents says he was treated like a criminal for simply existing as a Hispanic person in the U.S.

 

"[ICE] said that they’re looking for criminals, but in reality, they're the criminals," Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, told reporters during a Thursday press conference.

 

Lemus, an electrician, was riding in the passenger seat of a car on his way to work when ICE agents stopped the vehicle in Westbury, New York. The ICE agents reportedly said that Lemus "looks like somebody we are looking for."

 

(more)

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-citizen-detained-ice-criminals-new-york-b2769786.html

 

 

[ThreeCardMonte]

1 hour ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Those are the famous "rooftop Koreans" who defended their homes and stores from roving bands of fiery but mostly peaceful gentle giants during the Saint Rodney riots.

 

"Pants up, don't loot!"

 

The purpose is to show that California is a sanctuary for the criminal element, and its up to the citizens to look out for themselves.

Correct

[baansgr]

Foreign students that riot/protest.waving every flag under the sun except the Stars & Stripes..

Definitely need deporting...someone that gets stopped and because of the chip on their shoulder won't provide any ID...hmmm.. Definitely need.arresting till they can proof their legitimacy, need I go on...Trump is doing a fantastic job..Go Donald 👍 

[blaze master]

17 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

That is blatantly incorrect, just look at Thailand there are many classes of work in Thailand that most Thai people are unwilling to perform, and therefore Cambodians and Burmese are required to perform these tasks.

 

Everyone looking downwards to do the dirty work. Canada imports seasonal workers. Not to mention the other issue with workers we are curreny.having

 

What a species we are. 

[blaze master]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

People are protesting Trump and his outrageous policies because otherwise law abiding residents in the U.S. were being arbitrarily swept up in Trump's immigration raids, college students having their student visas canceled for no reason, people with valid pending asylum claims arrested, even American citizens wrongfully detained by ICE. And immigrants arrested and deported by ICE in direct violation of judge's orders to the contrary.... etc etc etc...

 

These are the actions of a would-be tin pot dictator:

 

US citizen blasts ICE after being detained as he drove to work: ‘They’re the criminals’

ICE and Homeland Security agents forced Elzon Lemus out of his car and detained him for between 20-25 minutes, apparently based solely on his appearance

 

Friday 13 June 2025

 

A New Yorker who was stopped and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents says he was treated like a criminal for simply existing as a Hispanic person in the U.S.

 

"[ICE] said that they’re looking for criminals, but in reality, they're the criminals," Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, told reporters during a Thursday press conference.

 

Lemus, an electrician, was riding in the passenger seat of a car on his way to work when ICE agents stopped the vehicle in Westbury, New York. The ICE agents reportedly said that Lemus "looks like somebody we are looking for."

 

(more)

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-citizen-detained-ice-criminals-new-york-b2769786.html

 

 

 

This one time at band camp.