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US President Donald Trump has claimed that a “migrant invasion” has taken implicit Los Angeles, successful a bid to warrant migrant arrests during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids since June 6.
Others successful his medication person echoed that rationale, aft the raids triggered ongoing protests and Trump called the National Guard and Marines into the metropolis to quell unrest, clashing with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
But however close are these claims of an penetration by undocumented migrants?
What did Trump say?
“A erstwhile large American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals,” Trump wrote connected his Truth Social level connected June 8. Trump added that helium is ordering his medication officials to “take each specified enactment indispensable to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and enactment an extremity to these Migrant riots”.
Three days later, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller wrote successful an X post: “America was invaded by amerciable aliens. Americans voted to extremity the invasion. Democrat rioters are present waging convulsive insurrection to overturn the predetermination effect and proceed the invasion.”
America was invaded by amerciable aliens.
Americans voted to extremity the invasion.
Democrat rioters are present waging convulsive insurrection to overturn the predetermination effect and proceed the invasion.
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 10, 2025
Miller shared an representation from the Los Angeles riots, showing a rioter waving a Mexican flag. Miller wrote “According to Governor Newsom, this is what the Founders were warring for”.
According to Governor Newsom, this is what the Founders were warring for: https://t.co/ow1c1OpOkY pic.twitter.com/udE6D0QPtk
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 11, 2025
Have undocumented migrants successful California increased?
No. In fact, the other is true.
Data from the US Office of Homeland Security Statistics shows that the fig of undocumented migrants has fallen importantly since 2010.
In 2010, the colonisation of undocumented immigrants successful California was estimated to beryllium 2.9 million. The colonisation has dropped astir each twelvemonth since then, and arsenic of 2022, it was estimated to beryllium 2.6 million.
That inclination is besides pronounced among Mexican undocumented migrants, a main people of the ongoing ICE raids.
In caller years, a fig of undocumented migrants from Mexico person besides near the US to instrumentality to Mexico, probe from the Center for Migration Studies of New York shows, based connected US Census data.
Between 2010 and 2018, 2.6 cardinal Mexican nationals near the US undocumented population. While galore were deported, 45 percent of radical near voluntarily. In California, the fig of undocumented migrants from Mexico declined by 605,000 betwixt 2010 and 2018.
Why are galore Mexican undocumented migrants leaving the US?
While the Trump medication has been trying to promote undocumented migrants to self-deport – adjacent offering a $1000 currency grant – the inclination of Mexicans leaving the US to instrumentality to their location state agelong predates not conscionable his existent term, but adjacent his archetypal term.
The voluntary instrumentality of Mexican immigrants began aft the Great Recession, which was a play of important economical downturn and fiscal situation betwixt 2007 and 2009, Anne Pebley, societal demographer and prof of assemblage wellness sciences at UCLA, recovered portion researching migration from Mexico and Central America. Pebley co-authored a probe nonfiction with these findings, published successful February 2023, alongside academics crossed the US.
This voluntary instrumentality of Mexican migrants backmost past was owed to determination being amended fiscal opportunities successful Mexico. For the aforesaid reason, the accomplishment of undocumented migrants coming into the US besides declined successful the aftermath of the recession, Pebley was quoted arsenic saying successful a quality merchandise published connected the UCLA website.
Pebley added that since the Great Recession, greater economical stableness successful Mexico combined with worsening employment opportunities successful the US look to beryllium the main motivating origin down the voluntary instrumentality of Mexican migrants, albeit expanding anti-immigrant notions and laws implicit the past 2 decades whitethorn person contributed to their continued return.
Are transgression rates successful California increasing?
No. In fact, convulsive transgression successful the authorities dropped by 4.6 percent portion spot transgression dropped by 8.5 percent successful the authorities successful 2024, compared with 2023, according to an investigation of Real Time Crime Index information by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The information showed that successful California, robberies, aggravated assaults, conveyance theft, burglary and larceny person decreased.
Do migrants perpetrate much crimes?
Multiple studies person shown that migrants are consistently less likely to beryllium imprisoned than radical calved successful the US. One specified probe paper, published successful July 2023, analysed 150 years of US Census information and utilized imprisonment rates arsenic a proxy for crime.
The economists recovered that successful much caller years, migrants are 60 percent little apt to beryllium jailed than citizens calved successful the US.
What bash Californians deliberation astir migrants?
Since the 1990s, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) has carried retired yearly surveys of authorities residents connected their perceptions of whether migrants bring benefits to the authorities – oregon whether they are a burden.
The past survey was carried retired by the PPIC successful February 2024. Based connected this, 60 percent of the authorities residents believed that migrants were a payment to the state.
However, the percent of Californians who clasp a favourable presumption astir migrants has fallen successful caller years. According to the survey PPIC carried retired successful 2023, 66 percent of Californians believed migrants were a benefit. In 2021, 78 percent of Californians held this view.
What is the latest connected the LA protests?
On Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) imposed a curfew successful the city’s downtown and announced that they would transportation retired “mass arrests” if radical gathered successful the designated curfew area. The curfew lasted until 6am (13:00 GMT) connected Wednesday.
Trump, meanwhile, claimed helium would “liberate” Los Angeles from “animals” and “a overseas enemy” – without specifying what helium meant. A time earlier, the Trump medication deployed 700 Marines successful LA and doubled the fig of National Guard soldiers successful the metropolis to 4,000.
The protests proceed to deepen the rift betwixt the Republican Trump medication and the Democratic authorities government. In an code connected Tuesday, Governor Newsom called Trump’s usage of subject powerfulness a “brazen maltreatment of power”.
“He doubled down connected his unsafe National Guard deployment by fanning the flames adjacent harder, and the president – helium did it connected purpose,” said Newsom.
On Monday, the California politician announced that helium had filed a suit against Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to extremity the amerciable takeover” of the National Guard.
On June 7, Trump federalised the National Guard, marking the archetypal clip successful 60 years that a US president has activated the defender successful defiance of a authorities governor’s wishes.
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