“A Park, a President, a Threat” – Trump’s Troops in Los Angeles, His Silence in Texas

These are images usually seen in conflict zones: Humvees among palm trees, armed soldiers by a lake, an amphitheater that looks more like a command post than a venue for summer concerts. In MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, normalcy is on pause today. About 90 California National Guard soldiers – armed, in uniform, supported by 17 military vehicles and two ambulances – are securing a major immigration raid by federal agents. President Donald Trump gave the order. It is the most visible escalation of his deportation policy – and the clearest break with democratic convention not to use the military against one’s own population. Officially, the Department of Defense says this is not a military operation. And yet it looks like one. No president before Trump has so openly used military means for domestic deterrence. Since June, over 4,000 National Guard members and hundreds of US Marines have been stationed in Los Angeles at Trump’s command – against the expressed will of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Last week, it was announced that 200 of those troops would be reassigned to fight wildfires. But this Monday, the spotlight turned to MacArthur Park – a neighborhood with a high percentage of migrants, full of Spanish and Central American culture, home to many families with undocumented status. The city calls it the “Ellis Island of the West Coast” – for Trump, it’s a symbol of a reality he wants to erase. Los Angeles no longer resembles a normal city. It feels more like a dystopian vision of an occupied place.

The National Guard members are not officially participating in arrests – but they are reportedly allowed to detain individuals temporarily until they are handed over to the police. Their primary mission: to protect ICE agents from a potentially “hostile crowd.” The uniforms are meant to distinguish roles: dark blue tops for officers, camouflage pants underneath – a symbol of the new interior border regime. The number of operations is classified. The fear is visible. On Monday morning, Mayor Karen Bass stood next to a border patrol agent at the edge of the park. Her expression was serious. Her influence limited. Meanwhile, the White House remains silent on another escalation – the disaster in Texas. Dozens of dead, missing children, destroyed towns. And still no clarity on whether President Trump intends to reconsider his plan to dismantle FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dodged the question on Monday. Instead, she announced that the president would visit the flood zone on Friday – though no final decision had been made.

Leavitt called it “a once-in-a-generation national disaster.” She urged all residents to remain vigilant and heed warnings – though it’s unclear which warnings she was referring to – and defended the administration against any responsibility. “The idea of blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie,” she said. The weather service’s warnings were clear, she insisted, and the agency “did its job.” A blatant lie. What she failed to mention is that since 2024, the weather agencies have been suffering under the infamous DOGE cuts – from the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.” The result is a grotesque portrait of American politics: in Los Angeles, migrants are encircled by soldiers – in Texas, families die in the floodwaters. The president remains silent on disaster relief and issues threats in the park. This is not the America the world once knew. It is the America Trump wants. And it is an America where military and government institutions are increasingly becoming tools of personal agenda. A park as a show of force. A silence as a message. A president who governs as if there were no boundaries – neither external nor internal.