This summer, the typically picturesque Lafayette Park, located in front of the White House, was closed to the public by a tall black fenceline—the place Washington, D.C. residents and tourists used to gather was empty. In the past three months, the nation’s capital was altered by the deployment of the National Guard, a military parade, increased police presence and overall unrest among the city’s population. On the other side of the country, Los Angeles experienced a similar military occupation as citizens gathered throughout the city to protest raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In the midst of interning, traveling and spending time at home, Vassar students bore witness to the changing landscapes of two of America’s most influential cities.
On Aug. 11, President Donald Trump announced that the National Guard would be deployed to the District of Columbia to address crime in the city. Two days later, troops touched down in the nation’s capital. Since then, over 2,300 troops have been deployed. Patrolling the streets and stationed at metro stops, the presence of the National Guard was unavoidable for Vassar students and other residents of the District.
“The first time I was ever aware that the National Guard was coming was because there was a huge protest right at 5 p.m. when I had left my office and was walking to the Georgetown shuttle,” said Hannah Lee ’26, who was interning in the District this summer. “That’s when I knew that this was going to be happening. And then I was on a Friday morning run from Georgetown to DuPont [Circle] and I was looking down, changing songs on my phone, and then I looked up and I saw a bunch of people in their [uniforms].”
Beyond the National Guard occupation, students noted feelings of unease at the presence of additional military personnel and equipment ahead of the army parade celebrating the Army’s 250th birthday that took place June 14. “Walking to work and seeing blockades and military tanks for a taxpayer funded parade was surreal to say the least,” wrote Abigail McLaughlin ’26, who was interning in the District this summer. Although McLaughlin had left the District of Columbia prior to the arrival of the National Guard, she added, “I never felt unsafe in the city without the National Guard, and I can say with confidence I would’ve felt unsafe with their presence.”
Students also reported observing many National Guard troops in areas of the city with relatively lower crime rates, such as Georgetown and DuPont Circle, even though the officers were previously deployed to combat crime. “D.C. is super segregated,” said Lee. “Obviously, there’s not much of the crime that they’re talking about in the northwest [of the District], [so it] was weird to see all the resources deployed there. But it’s also upsetting to see that they are targeting other, not as well-off areas of D.C. even more, like the northeast and southeast parts.”
Lee and Claire Perry ’27, a District of Columbia resident, both observed large groups of troops near popular local restaurants and nightlife establishments. “[I] noticed that on nights out going to the bars with my friends, there would be huge groups of [National Guard officers] talking to drunk girls and questioning people,” wrote Perry. Reflecting on the experience of seeing troops around the city, Perry added, “It felt really uncomfortable to be watched by people who were so heavily armed, some wearing face coverings.”
Included in his push to lower crime in the District, Trump announced his intention to move people experiencing homelessness outside of the city. In the weeks following this announcement, students began to see dwindling numbers of unhoused people throughout the city. “There were a lot more homeless people that were [in Georgetown] earlier in the summer,” said Lee. “I noticed that after the National Guard came, there were also a lot of unmarked cars [in Georgetown]. I don’t know where they went, but I think the homeless population in Georgetown just completely dwindled down, which is insane.”
In Los Angeles, the response to the National Guard was characterized by widespread protest. Scores of Angelenos poured down the one-way streets of Downtown Los Angeles, as the city’s population came out for mass protests against ongoing ICE raids and Trump’s installation of the National Guard, a decision that was met with dissent from both residents and politicians on the local and state level. Two lifelong citizens of Los Angeles spoke with The Miscellany News on what the presence of the National Guard meant for their city, and how they understood the protests.
Niko Jerrard ’28 and Sophie Shulman ’28, who jointly attended protests in Downtown, spoke about the psychological impact of the National Guard on the protestors. Both emphasized the idea that the National Guard’s presence did more to frighten protestors than to actually enforce federal law. Shulman said, “The National Guard almost felt more like a symbolic presence than anything… It was like a more intimidating visual.” Jerrard agreed, sharing, “[The] National Guard can’t conduct arrests or shoot people, but they can scare people.” Under this fearful environment, protests did not last for more than a couple of weeks. Shulman asserted, “That’s so obviously the goal…just creating such an intense and hostile environment that people are either going to get scared or they’re going to get burned out.”
As a result, Shulman noticed that her neighborhood’s reaction to the presence of ICE and the National Guard was strong at first, but later diminished after weeks of ongoing protest and police response. She explained, “In my immediate neighborhood there was definitely a quick sense of, ‘We need to lock in and support one another’… I’m not sure how much that ‘lock in’ sense of community lasted after the most public parts of everything that was going on.” Jerrard shared a similar sentiment: “I feel my own resolve wavering too, which makes me kind of sad.”
Despite the widespread media attention that the National Guard received, according to both Shulman and Jerrard, it was actually the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) that led most of the violent response. “The majority of the violence that we bore witness to was definitely LAPD.” Shulman went on to describe the police’s response to protestors as “the most disturbing things” she had seen police officers do.
The impact of ICE raids and the National Guard on Los Angeles has been substantial. Estimates show that between June 1 and June 26, approximately 2,031 people were arrested by ICE across seven counties in Southern California—68 percent of whom had no prior criminal convictions. This number does not include the hundreds of protestors arrested from the first week of June’s protests. Los Angeles’s Latino and Hispanic communities, which make up 48 percent of the county’s population, have faced serious challenges. Many immigrants across Los Angeles face great risk of deportation by simply going to school or work.
As a result, local businesses, street vendors and public places are left without the people who once made them up. In wake of the ICE raids, the usual hum of Los Angeles’ vibrant streets are quieter. Jerrard reflected on the impact of this on the everyday experience of life in Los Angeles: “My favorite taco stand closed, and we don’t know what happened to the people that worked there… There’s certain neighborhood staples that are disappearing.” With ICE raids ongoing and the threat of the National Guard in the collective consciousness of residents, Los Angeles remains a city threatened by both federal immigration enforcement and a militarized police force.
On Sept. 2, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s military occupation of Los Angeles was illegal. Despite this, Trump announced on Sept. 12 that he would be deploying the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee. This is a departure from his previous indications that Chicago, Illinois, would be the next city troops would be sent to. The White House has yet to announce when the National Guard will arrive in Memphis.