Good morning:
On Friday, destructive riots and unrest broke out in parts of Los Angeles in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempting an immigration-enforcement operation. The protests continued throughout the weekend, and images of burning vehicles, clashes with officers, and foreign-flag-waving protestors spread rapidly.
Over the objections of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Trump activated the National Guard to protect federal property and law-enforcement agents on Saturday, June 7. Later, the Pentagon mobilized 700 U.S. Marines.
Protests and riots have popped up in other parts of California and across the country. Manhattan Institute scholars weighed in on the destructive riots in City Journal and elsewhere:
Senior fellow Heather Mac Donald explains that “cradle-to-grave welfare subsidies” have made the state a magnet for unlawful immigration. Senior fellow Christopher F. Rufo lays out the strategic options for promoting order available to the Trump administration. And Nick Ohnell fellow Rafael A. Mangual writes that many Americans are making a connection between progressive causes and the violence carried out in their name.
In the Wall Street Journal, senior fellow Jason Riley warns Democrats that they are losing this debate on both the political and policy fronts. President Trump’s election proves he has a mandate to enforce U.S. immigration law, and the ongoing chaos is the result of the Left’s crime-friendly policies, not lawful actions by ICE.
ICE needs the president’s support on another piece of the immigration puzzle: judges. In a new video, fellow Daniel Di Martino breaks down his new research on the need for more immigration judges to issue more deportation orders. Currently, there are too few immigration judges working through too many cases, causing a backlog that ICE agents can’t solve on their own.
Back on the East Coast, New York City voters are preparing for the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday, June 24. Manhattan Institute scholars gathered ideas for a City Journal symposium titled “An Agenda for New York City’s Next Mayor.” Contributions include a new economic agenda, by MI’s director of cities, John Ketcham; steps to make the subways safer, by senior fellow Nicole Gelinas; and how to save NYC’s failing schools, by scholars Ray Domanico and Danyela Souza Egorov.
Fellow Ken Girardin also took aim directly at mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s unrealistic and functionally impossible tax-and-spend agenda. As mayor, Mamdani would not have the authority to make some of the soak-the-rich changes he proposes, and he would be faced with fiscal realities he is ill-equipped to manage.
Finally, the Manhattan Institute released today a new report by senior fellow Chris Pope on how to make use of overcapacity in Veterans Affairs hospitals and facilities. Although the veteran population has declined significantly since the 1960s, the VA still operates almost the same 170 major hospitals since the end of the world wars. Congress should allow Americans not currently eligible for VA-funded treatment to receive their care at VA hospitals. This would lessen the cost per veteran and provide revenue for the VA to maintain the facilities.
Continue reading for all these insights and more.
Kelsey Bloom
Editorial Director
