Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Tuesday called for de-escalation in downtown Los Angeles following the federal troop deployment to quell protests.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” the moderate Republican said the massive show of force in L.A. is important to send a message against “lawlessness” in the city but that the situation should de-escalate going forward.
Asked about the “rules of engagement” for the 700 active-duty U.S. Marines deployed to the L.A. area, Gonzales stressed that they are there as a “support mechanism” for the law enforcement and federal agents on the ground.
He also said the Marines contributed to “the overwhelming force to be able to go, ‘This is not going to be tolerated. Lawlessness will not be tolerated in our country.’”
“But we also need to de-escalate things right after you’ve accomplished that. Now you de-escalate. Now you start to, you know, you start to calm things down,” Gonzales added.
Gonzales said lawmakers and others with public platforms can play a role in toning things down.
“Those of us in the political arena, we need to do that. We need to get back to going, ‘Wait a second here. We can have laws. We can also have protests. Let’s do it peacefully. Let’s calm the jets and let’s go back to our corners,’” he added.
Gonzales — who represents the largest stretch of the U.S. southern border — said it’s important for Republicans to focus on deporting convicted criminals, both in practice and in messaging.
“I’m all about somebody protesting — whether you agree with it or don’t agree with it — that’s what we need. Perfectly okay with that. But burning a city to the ground? I don’t want to see that happen in L.A. I don’t want to see that happen anywhere else.
“So to me, what brings us together is if we focus on convicted criminal illegal aliens. There’s over 600,000 of those people in our country,” he added.
Gonzales was asked about concerns that individuals getting caught up in immigration enforcement operations are not only convicted criminals, but also people who have not committed any violent crime. He said “details matter” and said he’d continue pressing for more information about who the individuals are that are getting swept up in so-called ICE raids.
“I’ve talked to DHS officials, and I’ve asked for — and there’ll be more of this — I’ve asked for, well, who are the people that are apprehended? Are they, indeed, these convicted criminals? Are they somebody who overstayed their visa, or are they somebody who, you know, finished their adjudication process and were denied? Like, who are they?”
“I want to get the breakdown of it,” he continued. “But once again, those are more sensitive cases. If you’re focused on going after the convicted criminal, everybody gets behind you.”
