As Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) held an event in Los Angeles to announce California's planned vote on a redistricting push to retaliate against Texas Republicans' attempt to disenfranchise Democratic voters in up to five districts, the Border Patrol sprang into action and made arrests outside of the area.
Fox News, which had Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on air at the time, asked her to weigh in while playing footage of the arrests.
"Border Patrol agents are making arrests, illegal immigrants — I don't know whether they were at this press conference or if they were in the area, but this a is ... very in your face way, you know, to let Democrats know that you are going to do your job, you're going to carry out these Trump policies. Can you just respond to this video that we're watching right now?"
"Well, every single one of our ICE and Border Patrol operations is built on information, on investigative work," said Noem. "It's a case and an operation that has been planned because of who they think could be in that area."
The move comes as Trump has also used the National Guard to federalize law enforcement operations in Washington, D.C., making shows of force in the street and clearing out homeless encampments. The move has triggered protests.
Trump has insisted the move is necessary to control crime, even as crime rates in D.C. have been on a downward trend for years.