After a day and a half of rioting in Los Angeles County, President Donald Trump activated the National Guard to protect federal officers and property. The riots were triggered by ICE’s attempts on Friday, June 6, to arrest a few dozen illegal aliens.

The president’s mobilization order, signed on Saturday, June 7, was clarifying and precise: “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

L.A.’s illegal-alien riots have provided Trump with a picture-perfect opportunity to deliver on his central campaign promises: the era of tolerating arson, looting, destruction of property, and attacks on law enforcement is over; the era of enabling endemic immigration lawlessness is over. And that picture-perfect opportunity has filled the Democratic establishment with impotent rage.

It is fitting that Los Angeles would be the staging ground for the White House’s affirmation of law and order. California leads the country in its contempt for immigration law in particular, and for public order more generally. From October 1, 2022, to February 6, 2025, California’s jails and prisons refused to allow ICE agents to take custody of 13,025 illegal-alien criminals—over half of all such refusals nationwide. By comparison, Illinois was a distant second, with 2,946 refusals, and New York State, with a “mere” 873 refusals, was sixth. Jails controlled by the Los Angeles Police Department and by the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department released 1,037 illegal-alien criminals over that period, including six homicide suspects or convicts, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.