Erick-Wood Erickson
The “California Values Act” is California’s version of a model statute organized by progressive states. Connecticut has one. New York has one. Others do too.
The legislation prohibits local law enforcement from assisting federal authorities in conducting civil immigration detainments. In other words, short of an illegal alien being detained during the commission of a crime, local law enforcement is unable to assist the feds.
When ICE detained illegal aliens in Los Angeles and took them to the ICE detention facility, they were engaged in civil enforcement. As a result, the local and state police could not engage. When the protestors surrounded the facility, until the violence started, the police could not help.
As a result, Trump needed to call in the National Guard or other federal authorities. The local ICE officers were quickly outnumbered by the protestors and the agitators within hoping to incite the mob to violence, which ultimately happened.
The media talking point has become that the presence of the National Guard provoked the violence. But the LAPD Chief disagrees, noting these multiday protests tend to turn towards violence and the National Guard presence was minimal. Additionally, the rioters were targeting LAPD and California Highway Patrol officers.
Interestingly, the Mayor of Los Angeles, on CNN, dared to say that federal authorities enforcing existing law is why violence broke out and her preference is for the federal authorities to not enforce the law. She wants to keep ignoring federal immigration law.
Here’s what is really going on.
Under the United States Constitution, all persons in the United States, whether or not citizens, count for congressional apportionment. California is projected to lose between four and five seats in Congress after the 2030 Census.
A 2023 analysis by the liberal Brennan Center estimated that California will lose four seats, while the conservative American Redistricting Project pegged the likely loss at five seats.
It’s a major chunk of a wider shift of population, congressional seats and electoral votes from blue states — New York will also be a big loser — to red states such as Texas and Florida, whose economies are growing smartly and where housing is affordable.
By either 2030 projection, were the 2032 Democratic nominee for president to carry the same states that Harris did this year, he or she would win 12 fewer electoral votes.
California needs as many illegal aliens as possible both as a source of cheap labor and as a way to offset projected 2030 census losses.
Because the Electoral College is calculated by adding together a state’s two senators and the total number of its House members, if California loses five congressional seats, it would go from 54 Electoral College votes to 49. Those five seats will go elsewhere, most likely to Republican-leaning states like Texas and Florida.
It is why George Soros is pouring tens of millions of dollars into turning Texas blue by 2032 — the first presidential election after the 2030 census.
It is also why California is so invested in the continued protection of illegal aliens. They need them for national political power through congressional seats and the Electoral College.
