A U.S. Marshal and an undocumented immigrant were both shot Tuesday during an immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles. Federal agents had surrounded and boxed in a vehicle when the driver allegedly rammed federal vehicles attempting to escape. Agents opened fire. The Marshal was struck in the hand by what appeared to be a bullet ricochet. The immigrant was struck in the elbow. Both were hospitalized and expected to survive.
The shooting occurred amid escalating tensions between federal immigration enforcement and Los Angeles officials. The city declared a state of emergency last week over federal raids, claiming they’ve caused widespread fear and forced businesses to close. Mayor Karen Bass has called for congressional investigation into alleged unlawful detentions of U.S. citizens and immigrants by federal agents.
The confrontation represents the physical manifestation of a deeper constitutional conflict about federal versus local authority, immigration enforcement priorities, and what happens when federal operations proceed over explicit local government objections.
(Ethan Swope/For The Times)
Discussion
Federal law supercedes state law when it comes to criminality, being in the United States illegally is a Federal Crime so state laws mean nothing, they cannot stop federal authorities enforcing a federal law. No, the Constitution is not gone, but it is being enforced legally by Federal Agents charged with that enforcement.
Biden
Gavin newsom and Karen bass needs to be responsible for everything that's going on in California ! including the police , military and others that get hurt or death ! Gavin and Karen have a lot of blood on their hands
Looks like another smear campaign against our federal heroes! The media and liberal L.A. leaders think they can cry "state of emergency" just to avoid enforcing the law? Gimme a break. Uphold the law and let our marshals do their job. #MAGA
This is the fault of illegal aliens being allowed into our country be democrats, pure and simple!!!
Federal over rides State anytime
The Democrat Party and the biased liberal media spewing their hate!
Whatever happened to simple respect for self & others? Then the plain simple Ten Commandments that so many of us learn when we are children!
Maybe if the state officials would do their jobs. Both are doing nothing but stirring up problems.. Illegal means illegal and the states should be working with federal agencies.
Actually I think the state government should call a 8:00 curfew.. Federal agents will be able to do their jobs better, going into and out of their buildings and easier to find the illegals
If federal law should always be respected, what do you think about the role of local governance in addressing community concerns? Shouldn't cities like LA have a say in how they handle situations that directly impact their residents, especially if they believe federal actions are causing unnecessary harm or fear?
CITIES OUGHT HAVE SOME SAY–BUT WHEN ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE PUTTING OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AT RISK–CLEARLY THE CITIES AR ENOT DOING THEIR PART. AND WHEN SHOTS ARE FIRED ANYTHING THE CITY HAS TOSAY GOES OUT WITH THE TRASH.
City of Angels gone mad, folks! Federal law is law! These Dem-led cities refuse to respect it coz they lost 2016 bigly! Anyone shocked this mess happened while they’re trying to undermine fed authority? They scream “state of emergency” when we enforce legal immigration, total joke! MAGA!
All 13 GOP Members that want free medical for illegal and to extend Obamacare should all be identified and immediately forced out of office. These 13 Members only care about themselves and not the American Citizens. In addition, Dr. Rand Paul RF Kennedy and leading Medical personnel that works closely with RFK should diligently work to produce a Medical benefit replacement to eliminate totally Obamacare immediately. These thirteen are RHINOS that definitely need to be replaced!
The CIA, NSA, National Guard, ICE, and Marine Corp should all enter into Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Boston, New York City and Chicago to work diligently in the removal of all illegals. In addition those political people forcing the police not to perform their jobs should immediately be identified and Handcuffed and sent to Prison for breaking the U.S. Constitution as well as the law on the books about illegals!
The cities want say for their citizens, then it should be for all the citizens and not just the ones that don't suffer. Clean the city up and finish the the job that you're mayor chooses not to do. She should be fired!
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What Actually Happened
Federal agents from ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Marshals Service surrounded a vehicle containing someone they were attempting to detain. The driver, according to ICE and HSI sources, rammed federal vehicles in an escape attempt.
Federal agents opened fire. A U.S. Marshal was struck in the hand – initially assessed as a bullet ricochet rather than direct hit. The person in the vehicle was struck in the elbow. Both injuries were serious enough to require hospitalization but not life-threatening.
The incident reflects the violence that can erupt during immigration enforcement operations when targets resist detention. Vehicle ramming against federal agents constitutes assault with deadly weapon. The use of force in response follows law enforcement protocols for situations involving vehicles as weapons.
But the shooting also occurred within a context of sustained local resistance to federal operations. Los Angeles officials have declared the federal presence unwelcome. They’ve characterized the raids as unlawful. And they’ve mobilized city resources to resist rather than cooperate with federal enforcement.
The State of Emergency Declaration
Last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency specifically because of federal immigration raids. The declaration stated that federal operations “have caused fear and have forced businesses to shut down.”
That’s an extraordinary claim – a local government declaring a state of emergency not because of natural disaster, civil unrest, or public health crisis, but because federal law enforcement is conducting operations within its jurisdiction. The declaration frames federal authority itself as the emergency requiring local response.
State of emergency declarations typically authorize extraordinary governmental powers – suspending normal regulations, mobilizing resources, and enabling rapid response to crisis conditions. What extraordinary powers does Los Angeles claim in response to federal immigration enforcement? And does a city possess authority to declare federal law enforcement operations an emergency?
The constitutional question is whether states and cities can use emergency declarations to obstruct or resist federal enforcement of immigration law – an area where federal authority is well-established.
The Alleged Unlawful Detentions
Mayor Karen Bass stated Monday that “around 170 U.S. citizens have been detained across the country” during immigration operations. Representative Robert Garcia demanded that “all records and documents related to the detentions be turned over.”
If true, detention of U.S. citizens during immigration raids constitutes serious civil rights violations. Citizens cannot be deported and shouldn’t be detained in immigration proceedings. Such detentions reflect either mistaken identity, documentation problems, or enforcement overreach.
But the claim requires verification. How many of the 170 alleged detentions involved citizens versus legal permanent residents versus those with contested citizenship claims? How long were they detained? Were they released once citizenship was confirmed? What processes are in place to prevent such detentions?
The answers matter because they distinguish between systemic violations of citizens’ rights versus errors that occur during any large-scale enforcement operation and get corrected through normal procedures.
The Federal Response
The Department of Homeland Security has characterized its operations as enforcing immigration law against “criminal illegal aliens” that Los Angeles officials are “protecting.” The framing positions the city as obstructing legitimate federal authority rather than protecting residents’ rights.
In September, the Supreme Court ruled that immigration raids could resume after a brief pause, with DHS stating: “This decision is a victory for the safety of Americans in California and for the rule of law.”
That Supreme Court authorization provides federal agents legal backing for their operations. The ruling established that federal immigration enforcement can proceed despite local objections. Los Angeles cannot legally obstruct federal operations even if city officials believe them unjust or excessive.
The Constitutional Structure Under Pressure
The Supremacy Clause of Article VI establishes that federal law supersedes conflicting state law when federal government acts within its constitutional authority. Immigration enforcement falls within federal authority – courts have consistently held that states cannot create independent immigration policies conflicting with federal law.
But states retain police powers to regulate matters of local concern. They can refuse to cooperate with federal enforcement. They can decline to dedicate local resources to assisting federal operations. And they can use their own authorities to protect residents from what they view as federal overreach.
That creates tension. Federal agents can enforce immigration law. But they cannot commandeer state and local governments to assist. When local governments actively resist rather than simply declining cooperation, the tensions escalate into confrontations like Tuesday’s shooting.
(Ethan Swope/For The Times)
The “Fear” and Business Closure Claims
Los Angeles officials claim federal raids have “caused fear and have forced businesses to shut down.” Those effects are real – communities with significant immigrant populations experience disruption when federal enforcement operations occur.
Families fear separation. Workers avoid public spaces. Businesses lose customers who stay home. The economic and social costs of enforcement operations extend beyond the individuals actually detained.
But those costs alone don’t establish that federal operations are unlawful or that cities can declare them emergencies. Federal law enforcement regularly causes disruption – drug raids disrupt neighborhoods, counterterrorism operations create fear, organized crime prosecutions affect communities. The disruption doesn’t invalidate the federal authority to conduct operations.
The question is whether the level of disruption, combined with allegations of citizen detentions, crosses into unlawful federal conduct warranting local government resistance rather than simply creating unfortunate but legal consequences of enforcement.
What Tuesday’s Shooting Reveals
An immigration enforcement operation resulted in gunfire, federal agent injury, and immigrant injury. That escalation reflects the volatility created when federal operations proceed over sustained local resistance.
Would the driver have rammed federal vehicles if the broader context didn’t position federal agents as invading force opposed by local government? Would federal agents have been as quick to open fire if the operation occurred in a jurisdiction actively cooperating with enforcement?
The answers aren’t clear. But the context matters. When local officials declare federal operations an emergency and characterize agents as unlawfully detaining citizens, they create an environment where resistance seems justified and confrontations become more likely.
The Sanctuary City Question
Los Angeles operates as sanctuary city – declining to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and limiting how local police can assist ICE operations. That policy reflects local values prioritizing immigrant community trust over assistance to federal deportation efforts.
Sanctuary policies are legal. Cities aren’t required to assist federal immigration enforcement. But they cannot actively obstruct federal operations. The line between non-cooperation and obstruction gets tested when cities declare emergencies in response to federal raids.
Federal enforcement can proceed without local cooperation, but it becomes more difficult and potentially more confrontational. Tuesday’s shooting may reflect that increased difficulty – federal agents conducting operations without local support in communities where officials have declared them unwelcome.
The Congressional Investigation Demand
Mayor Bass’s call for congressional investigation into alleged unlawful detentions represents an attempt to use federal legislative oversight against federal executive enforcement. If ICE is detaining citizens, Congress has authority and responsibility to investigate.
But congressional investigations take months. They require cooperation from the administration being investigated. And they depend on congressional majorities willing to pursue oversight. The current Republican-controlled Congress seems unlikely to investigate Trump administration immigration enforcement aggressively.
That political reality means Bass’s demand functions more as political positioning than practical remedy. It signals to constituents that city officials are fighting federal operations, but it’s unlikely to produce near-term accountability or operational changes.
The Federalism Balance Under Strain
The Constitution distributes power between federal and state governments. Immigration falls within federal authority. But states retain sovereignty within their spheres and cannot be forced to implement federal policies.
That balance creates space for conflicts like the current Los Angeles situation. Federal agents can enforce immigration law. Los Angeles can refuse cooperation. Both sides can claim constitutional authority for their positions.
What happens when that conflict produces violence? When federal operations result in shootings? When local emergencies get declared? The Constitution doesn’t provide clear resolution mechanisms beyond federal supremacy in areas of federal authority and state sovereignty within reserved powers.
The Human Cost
A U.S. Marshal went to work Tuesday enforcing federal law and got shot. An immigrant in the country illegally made a decision to ram federal vehicles and got shot. Both are hospitalized.
Those human consequences get lost in constitutional debates and political positioning. Real people sustained injuries during an enforcement operation that reflects broader policy conflicts about immigration priorities.
The Marshal was doing his job within legal authority. The immigrant was resisting detention in a manner that endangered federal agents. Both choices led to violence that might have been avoided under different circumstances or different policies.
What Comes Next
The shooting will intensify the conflict rather than resolve it. Los Angeles officials will cite it as evidence that federal operations are dangerous and unjustified. Federal officials will cite the vehicle ramming as proof that they’re confronting dangerous individuals warranting enforcement.
Both sides will harden positions. Los Angeles will maintain its emergency declaration and resistance posture. Federal agents will continue operations with Supreme Court authorization backing them. And the underlying constitutional tension about federal versus local authority will remain unresolved.
Unless Congress changes immigration law, courts impose new restrictions on enforcement, or administrations shift priorities, these conflicts will continue. Cities with large immigrant populations will resist federal raids. Federal agents will conduct operations regardless of local objections. And confrontations will occasionally escalate into violence.
The shooting Tuesday didn’t resolve anything. It demonstrated what happens when constitutional conflicts over federal authority and local resistance manifest in physical confrontations on city streets. A Marshal and an immigrant both went to hospitals. The policies that created the confrontation remain unchanged. And the next operation carries risk of similar violence.
Federal vs. local! When did states stopping have any say? Is the Constitution just gone?