Quigley Statement on Trump's Escalation of Violence in Los Angeles, ICE Raids in Chicago

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s decision to dramatically escalate the situation in Los Angeles by deploying 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to California:

“Donald Trump has deployed nearly 5,000 troops to Los Angeles in an alarming show of force.  If it were Vladimir Putin deploying troops into Moscow, Congress would rightfully call it out. It can happen here, and it is.

“This mobilization of troops is intended to stoke fear in immigrant communities and anyone who opposes the president’s agenda. Trump is deliberately trying to inflame tensions to provoke a response. In California, and here at home in Illinois, I support every protester who has chosen to peacefully assert their First Amendment rights and defend their immigrant neighbors. We cannot give Donald Trump the reaction he so clearly wants. We cannot give him an excuse to militarize our nation’s second-largest city further, or to spread his dictatorial mandate to others.”

On the recent immigration raids in Chicago, Quigley said:

“Americans elected Donald Trump to secure the border, not to arrest mothers, children, and law-abiding immigrants trying to comply with the courts. Showing up at courthouses and arresting individuals attending ICE-mandated check-ins only drives more people into the shadows and makes it less likely they will cooperate with law enforcement in the future. It’s bad for police, it’s bad for communities, and it’s bad for our nation. I will not stand idly by while Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s hatred dictates American immigration policy.”