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Migrants ‘are not criminals’, says Mexico President after LA immigration raids
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum's statement came just a day after the ICE conducted high-level workplace raids across LA, triggering widespread protests.
As the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids in Los Angeles, in which 35 Mexicans were reportedly detained, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said that migrants "are not criminals".
She defended the migrants living in America and said, "Mexicans living in the United States are good men and women, honest people who went to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and to support their families. They are not criminals! They are good men and women!" Sheinbaum said in a speech, a news agency AFP report cited.
What happened in Los Angeles?
Armed and masked ICE agents on Friday carried out coordinated workplace raids across LA, sparking rage and protests.
Soon after, protesters gathered outside federal buildings in downtown LA, including a detention center.
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Additional protests also erupted in Paramount, just south of the city, with protesters carrying and chanting slogans such as "ICE out of LA!"
Meanwhile, federal agents resorted to tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd. Some demonstrators were also seen raising Mexican flags.
According to Bloomberg, the federal immigration agency said it arrested an average of 2,000 undocumented immigrants per day nationwide this week, including 118 persons in the LA area.
National Guard troops in LA
US President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops in Los Angeles after the violent protests against immigration raids in the city.
The US military said that 300 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had been sent to three separate locations in the greater LA area, and were "conducting safety and protection of federal property and personnel".
Troops wearing helmets, camouflage gear and carrying automatic weapons were seen in front of a federal complex in downtown LA.
ALSO READ | Paramount ICE raids: What is happening near Home Depot and why are people getting arrested?
California Governor Gavin Newsom, on the other hand, deemed the deployment by Trump as "purposefully inflammatory".
In a post on X on Sunday, Newsom wrote, "Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into LA County -- not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis."
"He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful," he added.
