Now with the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration said on Monday that it will continue to “flood the zone” in Los Angeles, which the president claims was “saved” through his illegal immigration crackdown and use of troops.
“We could do the same thing in Chicago, New York … Los Angeles, we did it. We saved Los Angeles … Los Angeles was a mess,” President Donald Trump said Monday morning regarding the June demonstrations against ICE raids in Los Angeles. “We sent our troops in right at the beginning and we killed it, and it was nasty, but we killed it immediately.”
The Supreme Court’s decision clears the way for federal agents to continue to conduct sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles by lifting a restraining order from a judge who found “roving patrols” were conducting indiscriminate arrests.
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A protester vandalizes a Waymo taxi as another burns near the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) -
Police are seen through smoke on the 101 Freeway near the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) -
A California Highway Patrol vehical burns on the 101 Freeway near the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) -
Demonstrators protest outside a downtown jail in Los Angeles following two days of clashes with police during a series of immigration raids on June 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 9: Anti-ICE protesters clash with police near the Federal Building and detention center in Los Angeles, California on June 9, 2025 amid protests over immigration raids. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“At this point, it’s the Supreme Court saying that ICE agents can essentially continue doing what they were previously doing, which is that they can continue these raids where they are rounding up people and detaining them in order to determine their immigration status,” Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson said.
Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also issued a statement on Monday, which accused Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of protecting criminals.
“DHS law enforcement will continue to FLOOD THE ZONE in Los Angeles. This decision is a victory for the safety of Americans in California and for the rule of law. DHS will continue to arrest and remove the criminal illegal aliens that @MayorOfLA is protecting, the DHS posted on X.
In July, Mayor Bass responded to a federal lawsuit that claimed the City of Los Angeles deliberately obstructed the enforcement of federal immigration law by charactorising the litigation as an attempt to undermine local authority.
“L.A. will stand strong, and we will stand together,” she said. “We are a city of diversity, of labor, of business, of faith, of community, of creativity, of success. We are a proud American city, and we will stand united.”