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While Democrats like Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) issued broad disapproval of the violence, their commitment remains in question. Aguilar told the Daily Caller, “Anyone who is lawless or loots or commits a crime should be punished — that is the House Democratic Caucus position.” Yet when it comes to backing a formal resolution, Democrats have gone quiet.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) made headlines for downplaying the violence, claiming protests remained “largely peaceful” — a comment that has drawn sharp rebukes from Republicans who point to overwhelming evidence of destruction.
Kim’s resolution doesn’t stop at condemning the riots. It takes a direct shot at state and city leaders, including Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for what Republicans call a complete failure of leadership. According to Kim and her colleagues, their refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — under the guise of “sanctuary” policies — has enabled chaos to flourish.
“These individuals, many of them, had already deportation orders issued against them … they should just cooperate with federal agents — ICE agents — and the situation would not have escalated to the level,” Kim emphasized.
She also criticized state officials for sitting idle as the situation worsened: “Before the National Guard [troops] were called in there, the situation was already escalated, escalated to the level that we’re seeing. I’m glad there was a decisive leadership from the administration to send the guards, and I’m glad they did it sooner than later.”
The violence in Los Angeles is not some distant concern for Kim. As a Korean-American representing a large swath of Southern California, she sees the consequences of failed policy and weak enforcement firsthand. Her resolution is a direct challenge to the political theater dominating the Democrat Party — demanding they stop playing both sides and condemn the destruction outright.
“I wanted to send a strong message that we are there to support the work that they [law enforcement] are doing as they continue to fight to contain the situation,” she stated. “At the same time, the core message of the resolution is to condemn the violence, the chaos that we see as the rioters continue to be more violent.”
The resolution has already secured backing from the full California Republican House delegation. Now the spotlight is on the Democrats: Will they stand with law enforcement and the victims of violence, or will they continue turning a blind eye as cities burn?
One thing is clear — Rep. Young Kim isn’t backing down.
