Trump's war on California: Criminalizing the very existence of immigrants.

Stone-throwing youth have confronted tanks from Camarillo to Gaza to Prague.

ICE invaders fire teargas at farmworkers and their supporters in Camarillo, CA.

Trump’s brain…

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Over 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have already been deployed to Los Angeles, despite objections from Governor Newsom. Tear gas is being used near children, and one farmworker died during the raid in Camarillo. Reports include the use of masked agents, unmarked vehicles, and aggressive tactics. California officials and the ACLU have filed lawsuits, arguing these raids violate constitutional protections, including due process and states’ rights.

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Looking at the videos of kids throwing rocks at occupying troops brings back images of Prague ‘68 and Gaza 2000. The visual symmetry is striking: armored vehicles rolling through city streets, youth standing defiantly, and the state responding with overwhelming force. The raw defiance in those California protests evokes the same visceral resistance.

Faris Odeh, a 14-year-old boy, stood alone in front of an Israeli tank in 2000, stone in hand. Ten days later, he was shot and killed by Israeli forces.

A major escalation

After Trump watched footage of protesters throwing rocks at ICE agents in Camarillo, he granted “total authorization” for federal officers to exit their vehicles and arrest individuals “by any means necessary.” He called the protesters “slimeballs” and demanded their immediate incarceration.

What’s next? We can only imagine.

Will Trump call for a full military assault on California in support of embattled ICE and National Guard forces? Will Congress approve billions in arms shipments? Will Democrats resist, or simply demand congressional approval before the assault begins?

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It is one of the great ironies of American history that a country built by immigrants now criminalizes their presence, especially in California, a state torn from Mexico by invading U.S. troops in 1848. Today, those same lands are patrolled by federal agents hunting the descendants of the very people who built their fields, cities, and culture. It is not just hypocrisy—it is a betrayal of memory. The ICE raids in Camarillo are not isolated enforcement actions; they are part of a longer, bitter legacy that recasts laborers as threats and their existence as criminality.