As of June 8th, President Trump has deployed the National Guard to respond to a protest against federal immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles, California. According to ABC News, Law Enforcement was having violent clashes with the protestors, and the president decided to send the National Guard to areas such as Downtown LA, Compton, and Paramount.
An interview with LVA Student Chris Galindo shared his thoughts on the issue: “It’s stupid, he’s disregarding real-life problems to use them for basic, unnecessary adventures of his own” said Galindo.
This problem could affect our very city, as the state of Nevada is a flip state. A flip state is when a state swings between a Democratic and a Republican candidate in every statewide election. Las Vegas has consistently been a blue city in the last two elections, but Nevada’s rural areas (Elko, Esmerelda, Genoa, etc.) overall have consistently been red, historically swinging between the two parties. President Trump has been sending the National Guard to blue states such as Oregon, California, New Mexico, and the city of Washington D.C, which do not agree with his point of view, instead of sending the National Guard to cities with higher crime rates, cities that need them, creating huge issues of conflict from the choices being made.
Another LVA Student, Stephanie Flores, voiced her opinion on Trump sending the National Guard to the protest. “Your job isn’t to worry about the people who are going against you. It’s to worry about the people who are breaking the law and causing harm” said Flores.
If the National Guard were to come to Las Vegas, it could affect the lives of school students from LVA. Which, at that point, would depend on the school’s ability to help and protect the students.
“The school board is very protective of our students, even though some people might have disagreements, but our teachers’ main priority is to keep our students safe. To make sure that their personal views don’t interfere with the student’s life.” said Galindo, sharing his trust with the school and staff to protect the students.
While it remains to be confirmed whether or not President Trump will send the National Guard to Las Vegas, it is important to stay vigilant, as ICE is already prominent in this city. We can all do our part as a community to make each other feel safer and support one another.
