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- By Native News Online Staff
President Trump authorized the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines in response to protests over ICE raids, without the consent or request of California Governor Gavin Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The actions have ignited tensions between protesters and law enforcement.
The following statement from Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund:
“President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and active duty Marines against the Los Angeles community is an act of violence meant to silence organizers who are taking a righteous stand against the illegal and brutal ICE raids happening everyday.
This move is appalling to all who believe in our First Amendment rights to assemble and protest. As the nation’s largest Native advocacy organization, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund strongly objects to the use of force against organizers and the community of Los Angeles.
As the Indigenous peoples of this country, we also stand against the actions of ICE. The ICE raids on residents are unconstitutional and racially motivated. Our community has endured centuries of racist policies and militarized force intended to silence, displace, and erase us for defending our civil and human rights. We have seen this playbook before. We demand that the military presence be removed from Los Angeles and ICE be abolished.
As sovereign citizens of our Tribal Nations and the United States, we cannot remain silent while the federal government violates our human rights and responds to constitutionally protected protests with violence. Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund demands peace, justice, and the immediate withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Los Angeles.”
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