The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported this weekend that a crowd of 1,000 protesters “became increasingly agitated, throwing objects and exhibiting violent behavior toward federal agents and deputy sheriffs.” That sounds like a precarious situation. Perhaps local authorities could have handled the unrest without President Donald Trump calling up the California National Guard; perhaps not. But let’s not forget the underlying causes of the problem.

On Sunday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN, “If immigration raids had not happened here, we would not have the disorder that went on last night.” The argument, then, is that the mere presence of federal agents enforcing existing law in Los Angeles sparked civil unrest and violence. Indeed, this is one of the Democrats’ central arguments.