President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration agenda has met a groundswell of opposition in Los Angeles, the country\u2019s second-largest city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least 56 people<\/a> have been arrested so far in massive protests against the administration\u2019s immigration raids<\/a> in the city Friday. The demonstrations have spilled over onto one of the region\u2019s largest freeways, and federal authorities are facing criticism after they arrested, and apparently injured<\/a>, a prominent labor leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, the White House has threatened to arrest California\u2019s governor and mobilized Marines to support National Guard troops in defending federal property<\/a> \u2014 even though state officials say they don\u2019t want the assistance and are now suing the administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the White House, this scene \u2014 Trump battling a blue state over his signature issue \u2014 is a political win, officials said. It\u2019s a nationally watched saga of the sort that has long defined his career: a made-for-TV moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy to have this fight,\u201d a White House official said, emphasizing that politically, the administration sees it as a winning issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Democrats and immigration activists have broadly blasted<\/a> the Los Angeles operation as illegal and inhumane and insisted that it\u2019s all about politics \u2014 and not about sound public policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis Administration\u2019s actions are not about public safety \u2014 they\u2019re about stoking fear,\u201d former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Los Angeles resident who ran against Trump last year, wrote in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Trump allies argue that it\u2019s simply Trump carrying out the hard-line immigration agenda that was the centerpiece of his campaign. NBC News spoke with four White House officials, in addition to other Trump supporters, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is what America voted for, period,\u201d a Trump adviser said. \u201cThis is the America First focus that got the president elected and is driven by nothing else than what he promised American voters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook at the violence, the attacks on law enforcement,\u201d the adviser added. \u201cIf Democrats want to support that, let them. This is why we win elections and they do not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump advisers also pointed to the fact that the president\u2019s immigration policies continue to get high marks in most public polling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A CBS\/YouGov poll conducted just before the Los Angeles immigration raids found that 54% of respondents approved of the administration\u2019s \u201cprogram to deport immigrants illegally<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those numbers help clarify why the administration and more broadly congressional Republicans are politically comfortable leaning into support of the raids over vocal opposition from critics \u2014 and a persistent threat of legal challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know there\u2019s no question places like California have thumbed their nose at the American people and decided they want to be a sanctuary for criminals,\u201d Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Monday, adding, \u201cI think he\u2019s exercising exactly what he said he\u2019d do and what people elected him\u201d to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump advisers say the president also points to the fact that he got more votes in California in 2024 than in his previous campaigns, even though he still badly lost the heavily Democratic-leaning state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The administration\u2019s response to the protests does seem to have one eye on the reaction in conservative media, a space increasingly dominated by pro-Trump influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of those influencers have been posting from the protests \u2014 most notably Phil McGraw, a well-known Trump supporter better known as \u201cDr. Phil,\u201d who embedded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the Los Angeles raids, as he did during similar immigration raids in Chicago<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trump adviser, asked about McGraw\u2019s involvement, said: \u201cThis is an important moment in American history. People have a right to see it in a way not unfairly skewed by a biased mainstream media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The adviser wouldn\u2019t elaborate on how McGraw, whose presence was first reported by CNN<\/a>, was able to have front-line access to the federal immigration operations. A spokesman for McGraw didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Republicans more broadly also see the fight as a political winner and say Democrats are functionally taking the bait on an issue in which polling has given Trump an advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it is a symptom of how far left this party has done when you have major Democrats standing on the side of illegal aliens that are torching vehicles,\u201d Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is one of the reasons the Democratic Party is struggling so much nationally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump administration official, said the raids shouldn\u2019t be a surprise because immigration is a \u201clegitimate issue\u201d the voters have signaled they care about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no political upside in defending or denying the images of burning cars, rioters and looting and the destruction,\u201d he said of Democrats. \u201cA feeling that things have spun out of control in California and that government can\u2019t effectively govern. \u2026 It has changed the conversation from illegal immigration to a breakdown in society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, there has been some disagreement \u2014 at least in public messaging \u2014 about how far to push in going after California Democrats, a break between what may be politically popular with the base and what\u2019s politically realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clearest example centers on the Trump administration\u2019s authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops over the opposition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have argued that inserting National Guard troops will inflame tensions and potential violence \u2014 a response that has led Trump to signal he would consider<\/a> arresting Newsom if he were to continue what the administration considers to be his interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would do it if I were Tom,\u201d Trump said, referring to his \u201cborder czar,\u201d Tom Homan. \u201cI think it\u2019s great. Gavin likes the publicity. But I do think it would be a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While detaining Newsom would no doubt please Trump\u2019s MAGA base, White House officials privately say it\u2019s not currently in the cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not being actively planned or considered,\u201d a senior White House official said. \u201cBut anyone who breaks federal law puts themselves at risk of being arrested. That\u2019s just a basic fact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A second White House official said that if either Newsom or Bass, a former Democratic congresswoman, do something at odds with federal immigration law, they could be detained. But the official also acknowledged that the optics of arresting California officials amid an immigration fight they believe most Americans support could backfire with some Republican voters because, at the moment, it doesn\u2019t appear they have actually broken any immigration laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The official said there isn\u2019t some grand strategy to deploy National Guard troops in blue cities across the country; the administration is simply waiting to see whether other protests get out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Newsom has leaned into the threats, practically daring the administration to arrest him rather than focusing on the protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s a tough guy. Why doesn\u2019t he do that? He knows where to find me,\u201d Newsom told MSNBC\u2002<\/a>on Sunday. Referring to Homan, he added: \u201cThat kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, California sued the Trump administration<\/a>, arguing that Trump\u2019s federalizing the state\u2019s National Guard is \u201cunlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion<\/a>,\u201d Democratic state Attorney General Rob Bonta said. \u201cThe president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president\u2019s authority under the law \u2014 and not one we take lightly. We\u2019re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump supporters have lined up behind him, with some even offering to head to Los Angeles to help, despite having no law enforcement experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPreparing to deploy \u2026 to Los Angeles,\u201d vocal Trump supporter Benny Johnson said on X<\/a>. He followed up with a post to his 3.7 million followers<\/a> showing him wearing military-style gear with his name on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The increasingly contentious political fight over Los Angeles, administration officials admit, is no longer about just deporting those with criminal records, which was Trump\u2019s main pitch to voters on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n