Trump's Escalating Migrant Terror Campaign Is Unpopular, Out Of Control, Inhumane And Doing Enormous Harm To The Country

Leon Krauze, long time Los Angeles Univision anchor, joins us Live at 12:15pm ET today

Morning all. While there is much happening now our focus today will be on Los Angeles, the assault on Senator Padilla, Trump’s dramatic immigration enforcement escalation and Governor Newsom’s courage and inspiring leadership.

Leon Krauze will be joining us live at 12:15pm ET to give us a fresh report from his days on the streets of Los Angeles this week (click here at 12:15pm to join us). While he is based in Miami now, Leon was the local Univision anchor in Los Angeles for many years. He has a new essay in the Washington Post this morning, The Real Siege Of Los Angeles, that I encourage everyone to read (gift link) whether you can join us today or not. This is going to be a great and timely conversation. Hope you can make it.

Yesterday Trump told us that the plan was to remove 21m people from the United States, or 6% of our current population and at least 5% of our total current workforce. “All of them have to go home.”

A few points about this insane post. Best estimates are that the total undocumented population in the US is between 12m and 15m. The figure that Trump and his regime keeps using - 21m came in under Biden - is made up and false. Here’s the latest Pew data from 2022:

Assuming that at least 1m new arrivals came in 2023 and 2024 (many legally btw), we can estimate that the undocumented population today is at least 12m and perhaps as high as 15m. These 12m to 15m make up between 25 and 30% of the overall immigrant population in the US.

So the 21m number is wrong, as are the claims 1) that undocumented people have brought destruction to the US (their crime rate is lower than native born Americans, and the violent crime rate is half of what it was 30 years ago) 2) that they receive welfare - no undocumented person is eligible for federal programs like welfare, Medicaid etc. In fact Hispanic Americans have the highest worker participation rate of any group in America. Higher than whites, for example.

It is also not true that these 12m to 15m live in blue states. Here are Pew’s 2022 estimates of the six largest undocumented populations in the US:

• CA - 1.8m

• TX - 1.6m

• FL - 1.2m

• NY - 650,000

• NJ - 475,000

• IL - 400,000

As we discussed with Joe Garcia a few days ago close to 1m current TPS (temporary protected status) holders are about to lose their legal status in the US, and they live primarily in Florida. So it likely that by Labor Day Florida will have the most number of undocumented people in the US, followed by California and Texas.

In my post yesterday I explained that the restrictionist movement that is driving this “remigration” campaign had abandoned their dream (fantasy?) of forcibly removing the 12m to 15m (the 21m!!!) many years ago for it was seen as impractical, too expensive and something the public would not stomach. Somehow in his current more fascistic and unhinged manifestation Trump has returned to this “noble mission” and so DHS/ICE and now the American military have launched a campaign to forcibly remove one in twenty of the people living here in the United States today, many of whom have no place to return to and are long settled here.

The scale and ambition of this unfolding campaign is breathtaking.

As we explored yesterday in my video and post the good news is that the American people are rejecting this stepped up enforcement campaign. Trump is now underwater on immigration and deportations in new independent polling, and his overall job approval this week has been the worst of his second term:

Immigration approval

37%-52% (-15) WaPo

43%-54% (-11) Quinnipiac

Deportations

39%-50% (-11) YouGov

40%-56% (-16) Quinnipiac

Overall approval

43%-52% (-9) Econ/YouGov

43%-54% (-11) Civiqs

42%-55% (-13) Navigator

40%-53% (-13) YouGov

38%-54% (-16) Quinnipiac

39%-60% (-21) AP-NORC

Budget Bill

30%-50% (-20) Econ/YouGov (18%-52% with indies!!!!!!)

I remain shocked at what happened to Senator Alex Padilla yesterday. But it is important to note that right before Padilla was assaulted Kristi Noem said this:

“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city."

So the “noble mission” apparently is to not just to round up the 21m it is also to wrest control of - liberate - America’s largest city (and perhaps others) from its elected leadership, including Senator Padilla. It’s an admission that the Trump regime is now using our military to achieve a domestic partisan political goal. Watch the video. You can hear the moment when Senator Padilla is assaulted.

Senator Padilla put out this statement yesterday:

In a later interview Senator Padilla reminded us that he was escorted into the press conference room and only spoke up when Noem started talking about liberating the city from him and other duly elected officials - something that could have reasonably read as a threat:

Here is that powerful moment from Senator Padilla’s press conference yesterday:

In yet another legal rebuke to our mad leader a Federal Court ruled last night that the California National Guard needed to return to the control of California’s Governor. An appeals court stayed that ruling, and it is likely to be in front of the Supreme Court soon.

Last night Governor Newsom held an extraordinary press conference reacting to this escalating, hard to fucking believe shitshow. Here is the clip that is getting the most attention. Do watch this my friends. Our friend Gavin Newsom is answering history’s call right now:

And this one about Trump starring in his own “Marvel movie” -

So here we are. A ridiculous place. Madness. Trump needs the military because it’s clear DHS/ICE is not equipped, trained or capable of removing all “those people.” And so the domestic terror campaign escalates. Communities are under siege. Families torn apart. People literally disappeared to foreign gulags. Domestic law enforcement has spun completely out of control. Businesses all across the US are being disrupted and hurt. Many could fold, causing mass layoffs and extraordinary economic pain. Prices for our food, health care, child care, and travel are all going to rise, doing further harm to American consumers. The damage being done to the country, to people, to families is incredible, jawdropping and beyond the pale.

This damage is only a piece of Trump’s agenda of sabotage, plunder and betrayal. His tariffs have raised prices on everyone, slowed the American and global economies and alienated governments throughout the world. His reconciliation bill would put the fiscal integrity of the US in danger, and cause serious hardship for tens of millions of Americans. His attack on science, research, academia and public health is wrecking our greatest driver of prosperity and success, reducing opportunities for all young people today and doing enormous harm to the public health of all of us. We are in the midst of an unprecedented attack on everything that has made America great, and the “life, liberty and happiness” of the American people themselves.

It’s why we have to keep fighting all. We are better than this, and have been for 250 years. We are Americans, and fighting for freedom and democracy is what we do. So, now, let’s get to work.

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Job One for us this summer remains fighting Trump’s ruinous economic agenda. We need to keep calling every day and demand our leaders vote down the reconciliation bill and roll back Trump’s terrible tariffs. This is the big, definitional battle of the summer and we need keep working it every day. Those of you in states with Republican Senators have a particularly important role to play.

Here’s a possible script for contacting your offices. Use whatever works for you:

I am calling to urge you to vote against the reconciliation bill and to roll back Trump’s terrible and illegal tariffs. Together these actions have raised taxes on all of us and will explode the deficit - things Republicans have always told us they did not believe in.

But your agenda is also causing all of us to “pay more and get less” for every day things including our health care; people to loses their jobs; and the economy to slow - all so you can give your rich donors a huge tax break. Your plans will weaken this great country and are an extraordinary betrayal of everything you promised during the campaign - which was to help people like me, not Elon Musk, get ahead.

Your plans are ones of sabotage, surrender and betrayal and I urge you to abandon them and to work with Democrats to find a better way.

I know many of you are involved in the June 14th No Kings events, town halls, Telsa take downs and all the other in person activities that have taken off of late. Thank you, and good luck this weekend at the No Kings events everyone. Be safe, drape yourself in red, white and blue and have fun! Joy will matter this weekend. It is a powerful, powerful antidote to the darkness they are trying to spread.

To keep our momentum going after this weekend’s No Kings events I encourage to explore ways of Owning The Fourth and make our Independence Day an ugly one for our mad wannabe king. We heard from Hopium community member Deborah Potter last night about her work advancing “resolutions of disapproval” in New Mexico. Will have more on that for you in the coming days.

Two other recommended actions:

• Sign on to the critically important Bethesda Declaration and watch my interview with Stand Up For Science’s Executive Director Colette Delawalla

• Contact your Rep and Senators to demand they fight Trump’s illegal use of the National Guard and Marines in California. Encourage Democrats at all levels of government to a stand with Governor Newsom and the California - for Trump is not just attacking California, he is attacking the rights and freedoms of all of us.

Please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder!

Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you - and a fight it truly is - Simon