LA falling: What Trump’s anti-immigration push means for transatlantic democracy 

Problem

The Trump administration has escalated its anti-immigration push. Announced on May 21st, its plan includes using local police, non-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and targeting previously off-limits sites like hospitals and courthouses to track undocumented individuals. It is aiming for 3,000 arrests per day—which equates to over a million annually.

These measures have sparked serious concerns among liberal Americans and Europeans alike. President Donald Trump’s sanctioning of such acts highlights the MAGA movement’s tilt towards racial profiling, civil rights violations and desire to do harm to vulnerable communities. Even international students are reporting heightened fears about deportation after ICE raids in dormitories, resulting in several arrests and prompting many to consider fleeing the country.

But Trump’s ideology is going beyond border control to embrace exclusion and authoritarianism. He is borrowing from Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban’s playbook to dismantle liberal influence over the US administrative state and civil society. Trump’s aggressive policies and alignment with authoritarian leaders are further straining transatlantic ties, leaving the European Union and its allies isolated in defending democratic values.

As the US turns inward, Europeans must decide whether—and how—to move forward on their own terms.

Solution

The situation in LA is the result of a migration and asylum system that criminalises those trying to reach America’s borders. But this convergence of migration pressure and political response in the US and now Europe signals a dangerous trajectory toward authoritarianism.

Europeans should not follow Trump and MAGA’s example; rather, they will need to improve their crisis-management frameworks and prioritise cooperative international solutions while promoting policies that respect human rights and enhance stability. Building international coalitions to defend liberal democracy with countries like Canada may also help uphold an established rules-based order—that has human decency at its core.

Furthermore, Trump displaying sympathy for authoritarian tropes may prompt European governments to overcome long-standing obstacles to integration, such as their pursuing of externalisation policies, and reform their flawed approach to migration. Now is the time for European leaders to unite. They need to invest their political capital in approaches which go against this surge of authoritarianism and populism—and into defending democracy and upholding human rights.

Context

The crisis in LA began on June 8th. ICE raids sparked widespread outrage, leading to three days of mass protests. Demonstrators blocked freeways and clashed with police in what quickly became a flashpoint for national tensions. In response, Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard to the city (without a request from California’s governor), followed up with another 2,000 guards and 700 active-duty marines.

The state of California has filed a legal challenge and sued the Trump administration, arguing that its actions violate federal law and state sovereignty. Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned the deployment as an attempt to “manufacture a crisis”.

But Trump’s discussion about migration management has found common ground across the Atlantic. In America, enforcement has grown increasingly aggressive, targeting not just undocumented migrants but families, children and long-term residents. In Europe, the migration crisis has already reshaped political landscapes, emboldening populist parties that capitalise on fears around national identity, security and economic competition. Now politicians on both sides are pushing for stricter border controls and policies that curtail civil liberties under the guise of protecting national sovereignty.