LA Mayor Warns Immigration Crackdown Could Spark Riots

“That’s A Very Dangerous Situation”

It’s been 25 years the since the Rodney King riots, and it seems like another wave of civil unrest in Los Angeles has never been more likely.

Even LA Mayor Eric Garcetti thinks that his city could be a “tinderbox,” ready to blow. During a recent interview with Latino USA, he admitted that he thinks President Trump’s tough immigration policies could spark LA’s next riot.

On Friday’s NPR’s “Latino USA” podcast, Garcetti said it is dangerous when “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] calls themselves police,” adding that “it’s bad for ICE and it’s bad for LAPD” because “people open that door expecting to see LAPD.” He said “if something goes wrong” when ICE agents try to deport illegal immigrants, “I fear a tinderbox out there, where people will suddenly say no and try to defend… keep that person from being taken. That’s a very dangerous situation.”

“We just commemorated 25 years since the urban unrest and we know how quickly things can explode,” Garcetti said, referring to the 1992 L.A. riots.

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