Written by Joseph Elbaz

Throughout the Downtown region of the beautiful city of Los Angeles, protests have arisen around the topic of immigration and what President Trump and his office have done to combat it and make sure that “illegal aliens” are not entering our country. Los Angeles, which is home to many immigrants, both legal and illegal, has been experiencing these violent protests specifically in response to the actions of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), which has been raiding offices, houses, and even public spaces in search of criminals and immigrants which have ignored the legal process of entering the United States. 

Ignoring the conspiracies and controversies centered around the violence that ICE has committed while doing their job, these current events of protests which include the burning down of cars, violence against police, and other lawful actions represent the ongoing debate of immigration which started in the 19th century concerning Irish and German migrants who according to some, were ruining the newly founded American identity. This continued into the early 20th century, where over 10 million migrants entered the United States, contributing to immigration laws being passed, and this topic really escalated into what it has become over the last 50 years. 

In our times, this debate seems much more emotional, and on both sides, people have a point. Some may look at what ICE is doing as against human rights, morally wrong, and inefficient, as not all of the people they have deported and seized have been criminals. To elaborate, some may find this as ultimately destroying the foundation of America, as families are being split up, chaos is emerging, and many important workers now fear for their lives, at the expense of an inefficient governmental plan, On the other hand, some may argue that this is the ultimate truth and that when one enters this country illegally, whether with good intentions or bad intentions, they run the risk of being delivered back to their origins. Their resistance to this only goes to show how far the American government has failed to enforce its immigration policies, which has led to this influx of immigrants who now are begging for their lives to be held intact, even though their existence in the United States is inherently wrong.

I personally believe the truth begins somewhere in the middle. While ICE and the U.S. government have the right to deport illegal immigrants, they should do so in a more orderly fashion and try to deport those who destroy America rather than build it up. This may lead to ruckus among immigrants who may have family members who have committed crimes, but this should be taken out of consideration, as they are criminals and should be dealt with accordingly. Regardless of this debate, what the protesters are doing in causing destruction among the already impoverished streets of downtown L.A. should be stopped and is not justifiable under any circumstances.