Protests against President Trump’s deportation policies continue to spark debate among lawmakers, revealing deep divisions between Republicans and Democrats both on Capitol Hill and across the country.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, voiced strong support for Trump’s decision to send the National Guard to California.
“The reason he did that is because Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass, the governor and mayor, refused to enforce the law, and in fact, they sided with the criminals, they sided with the rioters, they sided with the lawlessness,” Cruz said in an Eye On Politics interview. “And what President Trump said is he’s going to step in and protect our communities, that if the local officials won’t protect the communities, the federal government is going to.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, offered a different take. Speaking to CBS News Texas, Veasey called the president’s move an overreaction.
“What was happening within this very small radius of one square mile did not require the intervention of the National Guard, according to the governor and the mayor, and this is the showdown that Trump has been wanting for a long time,” Veasey said.
Still, Veasey agreed that anyone breaking the law should be held accountable.
“I think that the lunatics that are out there doing that and throwing things at law enforcement vehicles, obviously, they need to be arrested. They need to be prosecuted,” he said. “They don’t need to be pardoned like J-Sixers. They need to be put in jail and held accountable for their recklessness and their lawlessness. I also think they didn’t need to call in the guard.”
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, announced the deployment of more than 5,000 Texas National Guard soldiers and over 2,000 Texas State troopers ahead of planned protests this weekend.
Cruz backed Abbott’s decision.
“I think the governor is exactly right,” he said. “In Texas, we are going to do whatever is necessary to prevent violence. Everyone has a First Amendment right to protest. You can speak, and you can speak peacefully, and the Constitution protects that right. Nobody has a right to engage in crimes of violence. Nobody has a right to throw rocks and other objects at police officers. Nobody has a right to light police cars on fire. Nobody has a right to loot stores.”
But Veasey remained skeptical about the need for the guard.
“I doubt that the guard is needed. I anticipate all of the protests here in the Dallas area to be completely peaceful,” he said. He also suggested political motives might be involved. “Abbott is probably also thinking that this foolish president that we have will call in the guard for him and nationalize the guard if Abbott doesn’t call them in.”
