Newsletter
The California Sun gathers all the must-read stories about California in one place.
Good morning. It’s Thursday, June 12.
- National Guard to join ICE agents on immigration raids.
- Mexican flags at protests become Republican fodder.
- And eight perfect backpacking trips in the Bay Area.
Immigration protests
1.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that President Trump sent the military to Los Angeles to “end the chaos.” Thanks to that decision, she added, “the mob violence is being stomped out.” But the soldiers in Los Angeles have no arresting power. As of Wednesday, the roughly 700 Marines in L.A. had not been deployed on the streets, while the National Guard has been relegated to protecting federal buildings. “They are not performing law enforcement or any other functions,” said Maj. Gen. Niave F. Knell. Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “complete theater.” L.A. Times | Washington Post
- Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman told reporters on Wednesday that 500 guardsmen were being trained to accompany ICE on immigration raids. The move puts soldiers closer than ever to carrying out law enforcement actions. A.P.
2.
The New Yorker went looking for the National Guard in Los Angeles:
“The sweeps by ICE that had provoked the protests were sporadic and difficult to predict, so those wishing to demonstrate chose to do so in front of the Feds, and this consistently meant gathering at the Federal Building, which was the only place in downtown L.A. they could be seen. The soldiers brought in to put down the protests were drawing new ones around them.”
3.
On Wednesday, the chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, touted the fact that there are now more U.S. troops deployed to Los Angeles than serving in Syria and Iraq. “This is exactly what the American people voted for,” he wrote on X. “Defense of our people & our homeland.” The goal, military analysts said, may be to get Americans used to seeing troops on the streets of major cities. Trump himself portrayed Los Angeles as just a warm-up. “This is the first, perhaps, of many,” he told reporters on Tuesday. Some worry the Bay Area may be next. Washington Post | N.Y. Times
4.
On Tuesday, when President Trump delivered remarks at Fort Bragg in North Carolina about his plan to liberate the den of gangsterism and “third world lawlessness” that he said is Los Angeles, the crowd of beret-wearing soldiers snickered, nodded their heads, and broke out in applause. But the warm reception was not left to chance. According to communications reviewed by Military.com, the troops were screened for their loyalty to Trump. There was an additional directive: “No fat soldiers.” Military.com | Daily Beast
5.
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that 330 people have been taken into custody in Southern California during federal immigration sweeps that began last week in Los Angeles. Workplaces have increasingly become targets. On Wednesday, ICE agents raided several businesses in Downey, located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Councilman Mario Trujillo said. “These raids at Home Depots, restaurants, places of worship, or schools are not keeping our community safe,” he said. “They are creating havoc and fear.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
- In the past, ICE almost exclusively targeted convicted and accused criminals. According the latest figures, nearly a quarter of ICE detainees are now people with no criminal conviction and no pending criminal cases. Washington Post
6.
On Tuesday, a Nebraska couple on an anniversary trip to Los Angeles visited Griffith Observatory, perched 1,000 feet above sea level. In the city below, children played in parks, street vendors sold fruit and tacos, and joggers passed beneath blooming purple jacarandas. “If you’re not here, you think L.A.’s burning to the ground,” Joe McGuire said. “But you come out here, you look around and you just say, ‘My God, this is where I want to be.’” Washington Post
7.
The Fresno journalist Juan Esparza Loera called them “American as apple pie.”
The National Review called them “the Confederate banner of the L.A. riots.”
And Republican strategist Matt Wylie called them “the greatest political gift.”
The Mexican flags in Los Angeles anti-deportation protests have become Republican fodder, as MAGA figures seek to portray the city as a place under “foreign invasion.” But protesters say the flags of their parents’ home countries are intended not as a sign of disloyalty, but rather a celebration of America’s diversity. Dylan Littlefield, a bishop who joined a rally on Sunday, recalled growing up in L.A. with Italian Americans displaying their flag. “No one has ever made a single comment or had any objection to the Italian flag flying,” he said. The Atlantic | N.Y. Times
8.
“These people just wanted to destroy.”
“Riots are not peaceful protests.”
“Immigrants make America great”
“Deploying the military to crush political protest is classic authoritarian fascism.”
The Washington Post texted 1,000 Americans about the Los Angeles protests. Roughly eight in 10 Democrats opposed sending in the military. Nearly nine in 10 Republicans supported it.
9.
Other developments:
- Around two dozen businesses in downtown Los Angeles have been looted and many more vandalized. Nella McOsker, head of a business advocacy group, described the mood among merchants: “Angry, scared, frustrated, and deserted.” O.C. Register | Wall Street Journal
- Democrats berated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the use of troops in L.A. during a Senate hearing on Wednesday. “It is unconstitutional. And it is downright un-American,” said Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington state. A.P. | Politico
- Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Raleigh, St. Louis, Seattle. Protests have spread coast to coast as immigration raids stoke anger. See photos. 👉 N.Y. Times | A.P.
Statewide
10.
Brian Wilson, the creative force behind the Beach Boys, has died, his family said on Wednesday. The eldest of three brothers in the band, Wilson penned their first song, “Surfin‘,” in 1960 for his music class at Hawthorne High School. Signed by Capitol Records in 1962, they followed up with “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Good Vibrations,” and other anthems of the California Sound, celebrating a life of surfing, cars, and fun in the sun. By the late 1960s, the group was adrift as Wilson struggled with drugs and mental illness. He seemed to stabilize somewhat in his final years thanks to improved psychiatric medications and his marriage. No cause of death was given. Wilson was 82. N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
11.
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to eliminate California’s two newest national monuments. Former President Biden established Chuckwalla National Monument near Joshua Tree and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument near Mount Shasta just before leaving office. In a legal opinion released this week, the Justice Department asserted that the president has the authority to determine whether national monuments were worthy of the designation. In a statement, the White House cited Trump’s pledge to “liberate our federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal and mineral leasing.” S.F. Chronicle
12.
Angel Island, located in San Francisco Bay, is a day hiker’s delight. But it becomes magical at night. “The city lights start lighting up and campers are left with this really peaceful feeling,” said Inga Aksamit, an avid hiker. “You’re right in the middle of everything, and yet here we are in this quiet outdoor setting you won’t find anywhere else in the Bay Area.”
The San Francisco Chronicle included Angel Island’s Sunrise Campground in a piece on “eight perfect weekend backpacking trips in the Bay Area.”
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