FROM THE OUTSIDE | A manufactured crisis

Por

José Carreño Figueras

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Publicado: 9/6/2025 · 4:28 p.m. MX | Actualizado: 9/6/2025 · 4:28 p.m. MX

One of the key elements driving the manufactured crisis shaking Los Angeles—one that allows President Donald Trump to politically confront California’s Democratic authorities—is the urgency within immigration enforcement agencies to meet the quota of “at least 3,000 arrests per day,” a target demanded by Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House and the architect of the current administration’s immigration policy.

His demand resulted in consequences.

Last week, hundreds of undocumented immigrants who had scheduled appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were detained—sometimes together with their families—in the basement of the federal building in Los Angeles.

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A similar situation occurred in Miami, where ICE agents showed up at immigration courts to detain individuals attending asylum hearings, particularly Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans.

With that backdrop, historian Heather Cox reported that in Los Angeles, “federal officials launched a new phase of the regime’s crackdown on immigration, this time focusing on workplaces.” Heavily armed agents patrolled the city’s textile district, where they clashed with demonstrators chanting slogans and throwing eggs.

The agents pepper-sprayed the crowd and fired what are known as ‘less-lethal’ or ‘non-lethal’ rounds—rubber or plastic bullets. Protesters also gathered outside the federal detention center, demanding the release of their relatives; riot police dispersed them with tear gas.

By Saturday, the Trump administration determined that Los Angeles was on the brink of disaster and opted to deploy the National Guard, without a formal request from the state government, aiming to place local authorities on the defensive politically.

It was the practical sequel to a process that began in late May, when the conservative Washington Examiner reported that during a work meeting, Stephen Miller harshly criticized federal immigration officials for what he considered disappointingly low deportation and transfer numbers—around 600 people per day.

“Stephen Miller wants everyone arrested,” one of the meeting participants told reporter Anna Giaritelli. “Why aren’t they at Home Depot? Why aren’t they at 7-Eleven?” Miller reportedly asked.

The pressure proved overwhelming for officials such as Tom Homan, the so-called “border czar,” who swiftly announced, “more workplace enforcement than ever before in this country.”

But tensions have escalated to such an extent that when Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar voiced her support for deporting criminals while questioning the arrest of asylum seekers without due process, many quickly labeled her an enemy of the government.

José Carreño Figueras