The chaos that unfolded in Los Angeles over the weekend was sparked by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at workplaces, a controversial policy that seems designed to appease the Trump administration’s desire to increase the number of deportations at all costs.

The policy to raid workplaces, reportedly pushed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and other top Trump administration officials, comes as ICE has tried to increase its deportation numbers. “Stephen Miller wants everybody arrested. ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?'” one ICE official told the Washington Examiner last month. White House Border Czar Tom Homan has also told reporters: “You’re going to see more work site enforcement than you’ve ever seen in the history of this nation. We’re going to flood the zone.”

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The raids kicked off protests, which led to violent clashes between citizens and law enforcement. Among those arrested was union leader David Huerta, President of SEIU California and SEIU-United Service Workers West, which represents more than 750,000 service workers statewide. US Attorney Bill Essayli said in a post on X that Huerta “was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday.” The union countered that Huerta was “peacefully observing” and said he was treated for injuries sustained during his arrest; SEIU is planning to hold a Monday morning rally on his behalf in downtown LA.

How has the White House squared this? By labeling all undocumented immigrants as criminals, even though unlawful presence in the country is a civil, not criminal, violation. When asked for the number of ICE arrests conducted so far that have specifically targeted immigrants with criminal records, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “all of them,” adding, “because they illegally broke our nation’s laws, and, therefore, they are criminals.”