Former Vice President Kamala Harris was on the wrong side of the illegal immigration issue during her failed attempt to prevent President Donald Trump from winning a second presidential term, and she remains on the wrong side now as riots aimed at blocking immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles spiraled out of control over the weekend.
Harris issued a statement condemning President Trump’s use of the California National Guard to help restore order in the troubled city after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic Mayor Karen Bass refused to step in as federal agents were being attacked and assaulted.
“Los Angeles is my home. And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city,” Harris began. “Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos.
“In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division,” she said, adding that the protests were “mostly peaceful” despite widespread destruction to ICE and Border Patrol vehicles, the injuring of ICE personnel, and the burning and looting of shops in downtown L.A.
“This Administration’s actions are not about public safety — they’re about stoking fear,” she went on to falsely claim.
The statement comes after Trump federalized some 2,000 California National Guard troops, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put another 500 U.S. Marines located nearby at Camp Pendleton on standby.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for California governor in 2026 as a Republican and could face off against Harris, blasted her response in blaming Trump for the situation while also ripping Newsom.
“Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Karen Bass and the Democrats want you to think this is a ‘peaceful protest,’” Bianco tweeted on Sunday, along with a video of a burning vehicle and a mob that had taken over an L.A. street. “Don’t let them gaslight you. This is Gavin’s Lawless California. Our state deserves better.”
Bianco also tweeted a graphic containing Harris’ statement, adding: “President Trump didn’t start these riots. He’s not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways. This statement is an embarrassment and does nothing to diffuse the violent riots taking place across the city.”
“The Democrats and their ‘leaders’ own this,” he added.
Riverside is around 50 miles south of Los Angeles, but Bianco said he’s watching the situation.
“An adherence to law is an absolute requirement if we are to remain a civilized society,” Bianco added in a statement of his own. “While RSO will ensure every person’s constitutional right to protest, we will also exercise a zero-tolerance policy for any criminal activity associated with said protest. Any person breaking the law, encouraging or inciting this behavior, or assaulting or obstructing law enforcement will be arrested, jailed, and prosecuted.”
Trump also responded to the attacks on ICE agents, writing on his Truth Social platform: “Paid Insurrectionists!” while taking jabs at Newsom and Bass, saying they “should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done.”