In a move not seen since the Civil Rights Movement, President Donald Trump is sending in the military to a state without the governor’s permission to stop protests. Democrats still seem to be working out how to talk about it.
The protests started Friday after a series of Trump-directed immigration raids in California, and the demonstrations grew more violent once the president deployed National Guard troops to quell the marchers. (California is suing the administration over Trump’s decision to send in the troops, claiming the president is violating its sovereignty.)
But by Monday afternoon, most congressional Democrats had largely stayed quiet about the conflict in California, beyond calling for peace and calling on Trump to revoke the troops he’s deployed.
Trump’s immigration crackdown has scored net approval with Americans, and the images coming out of LA of blocked freeways and burning vehicles may complicate Democratic messaging that local officials and police have it handled.
But as Democrats look for ways to communicate about these protests, the safest and most common reaction seems to be to blame Trump and condemn the violence. The grim reality is there’s not much Democrats can do.
Thus far, the most common Democratic reaction has been to call for peace and criticize the president.
“I condemn all violence and urge everyone to remain peaceful,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján posted on X. “I appreciate the efforts of local law enforcement in California as they work to manage the situation.”
He added that Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard against the wishes of California’s elected officials wasn’t “law and order or leadership.”
“It’s chaos and division,” Luján posted.
Other Democrats were clear that Trump wasn’t helping the situation.
“I think that President Trump is trying to agitate,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat told NOTUS in an interview. “He is trying to divide and create a greater conflict.”
That has been a consistent message from Democrats. Los Angeles’ mayor, former Rep. Karen Bass, said Monday that what people were seeing in LA was “chaos that is provoked by the administration.”
“This is about another agenda,” Bass said. “This isn’t about public safety.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla also painted Trump as an agitator, writing on X that the president was provoking violence “to distract from terrible headlines.”
At a press conference on Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that Democrats plan to use “every lever available” to respond to the escalation from the Trump administration, though he didn’t name any specifics.
“We’ll continue to press Republicans here in the House to undertake their constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch,” Jeffries said. “It only takes a handful of Republicans to actually show some spine, some backbone and some courage at what is happening in America, a clear assault on the American way of life.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that “roughly 500” Marines were being deployed to the Los Angeles area, in yet another escalation from the Trump administration.
And as the protests continue to intensify, elected Democrats are figuring out in real time how to fight back.
“We should make sure we’re going on offense on issues of immigration,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar said Monday evening. “We should not shy away from talking about how Donald Trump is causing chaos in our cities.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim McGovern struck a much more diplomatic tone, though he agreed that Democrats should decry Trump’s actions as an overreach and a distraction.
“Everybody agrees that anybody who harms a police officer or destroys property oughta be held to account. We all believe that people who commit terrible crimes, who are here in an undocumented status, oughta be either put in jail or deported immediately,” McGovern told NOTUS. “There’s areas of common ground, but what he’s doing is purposely trying to inflame the situation.”
Lawmakers representing districts in or surrounding Los Angeles — like Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Norma Torres — have been highlighting their unsuccessful attempts to visit immigration detention centers in the area, arguing there’s a lack of transparency from the Trump administration on deportations.
“Not just us, but a bunch of members have been denied access to ICE facilities,” Espaillat said. “We should legally answer that.”
Congressional Hispanic Caucus members met virtually Sunday night to speak with Democratic lawmakers who represent the area where the demonstrations are taking place to discuss the National Guard’s deployment.
“Multiple elected officials — including members of Congress — were denied access to federal facilities and exposed to chemical agents while attempting to conduct oversight,” according to a statement. “Community groups are warning this may be part of a broader escalation strategy, potentially laying the groundwork for martial law or a federal military response in the region. The CHC will seek a formal investigation and coordinated response by Congress.”
The CHC will also meet Tuesday morning to discuss the developments. Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, the chair of the group, has largely defended the administration’s actions in Los Angeles. He is calling for the support of the agency conducting immigration raids — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — for the de-escalation of the protests, and for the administration to only deport criminals.
“What I’d like for us to do is focus on the convicted criminal illegal aliens,” Gonzales said Sunday. “We should absolutely focus on that population, the worst of the worst, and make sure that those are the areas that get removed. Otherwise, it’s going to take us down this route of constant civil conflict.”
One viral moment causing partisan tensions: Republicans are seizing on the photos and videos of the demonstrations from over the weekend, specifically images of protesters holding up Mexican flags and flags from other countries.
“The Mexico flag is just a flag of another country,” Espaillat said, in defense of the protesters. “Just like people take out the Irish flag on St. Patrick’s Day here.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Espaillat said.
According to the memo that deployed the guard, troops will remain in Los Angeles “for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.”
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Daniella Diaz is a reporter at NOTUS. Emily Kennard is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
Tinashe Chingarande, who is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow, contributed to this report.