Why There are Barely Any Black Protesters in the L.A. ICE ‘Riots’

The ICE protests in Los Angeles have made enough of an international impression that President Donald Trump has gone over the head of California Gov. Gavin Newsom to not only send into Los Angeles the state’s National Guard but also 700 Marines to deal with protests that have erupted over ICE raids in the city.

One question, though: Where are all the Black protestors?

Polling shows that 50% of Black folks support a route to citizenship for people who are in the country illegally. But make no mistake...more than a few of us think illegal immigration is getting out of hand. Some worry about the economic impact people entering the country illegally will have on Black workers. There is good reason for that.

A little known fact is that, since 2008, median household income increased 14.1% for Black households, compared to 24.3% for Hispanic households. Add to that the fact that many Black folks have legitimate reasons to be frustrated about how once-thriving Black communities have been largely taken over by people who may or may not be in the country legally. That might explain why there are so few of us out in the streets acting a plum fool.

But look...most of us really rock with Trump. We may not love how illegal immigration is impacting Black communities, but we dislike the man who lives in the White House even more.

Put simply, we just don’t like his get down. The President looks at the way that all the other leaders of the free world before him have done things and says, “Nah. I’ll do it my way.” Very few of us rock with that.

The numbers say most Black folks think something needs to be done about illegal immigration. That might (does?) explain why there are not as many of us in the streets in L.A. But since so few of us like this President and how he does things...we won't exactly come to Donald Trump's defense.