ICE

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles tore into Gov. Gavin Newsom on "TMZ Live" -- ripping his response to the L.A. ICE protests and claiming it was such a mess, Trump had no choice but to step in.

Knowles pointed to torched cop cars, assaulted officers, and even an 'illegal alien' allegedly tossing a Molotov cocktail as proof L.A. was in serious trouble -- blaming the chaos on Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass' failure to act accordingly, which forced Trump to bring in the National Guard and send in the Marines.

When our hosts pushed back -- noting the chaos was limited to one small area -- Knowles doubled down, saying Trump’s actually showing restraint in the matter... and this kind of tough crackdown is exactly what voters are begging for.

9:34 AM PT -- Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, has responded to Kim Kardashian.

Kim Kardashian is coming out swinging against the Trump administration's ICE raids in Los Angeles ... calling the president's immigration policies "inhumane."

The reality TV star posted a statement on her Instagram story Tuesday, offering her opinion on the violent protests that have erupted in downtown L.A. and Paramount — a largely Latino city in L.A. County -- over the past 5 days.

In her post, KK wrote that she was OK with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents removing violent criminals, but not hardworking people ripped from their families.

As Immigration Customs and Enforcement raids go down across the country, ICE now has its very own impersonator ... and he's wreaking his own brand of havoc in Philadelphia.

Detectives are searching for a man posing as an ICE agent, who they say tied up a woman and stole $1,000 in cash from her at a repair shop last weekend.

Police say the sham agent screamed "Immigration" before tying up the woman for more than 2 hours and swiping her money. The woman was eventually freed by a co-worker long after the suspect had fled in a white Ford van.

Gavin Newsom says Los Angeles is just the start of President Trump's plan to tear down Democracy across the whole country ... and he's urging all Americans to stand up against POTUS.

The Cali governor issued his alarming address Tuesday evening ... a few hours after a federal judge refused to grant an emergency restraining order to block Trump from federalizing the CA National Guard, and from deploying U.S. Marines on the streets of Los Angeles.

Newsom said, "This isn't just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us."

The chaos erupting in L.A. is less about politics and more about a serious leadership problem, according to a Texas congressman.

Rep. Wesley Hunt didn't hold back on "TMZ Live" Tuesday -- telling us the federal government had to deploy 700 Marines and thousands of National Guard troops to restore order in the City of Angels ... because it's all about protecting American streets from looking like a war zone.

Wesley makes it clear to us this isn't about red vs. blue states -- it’s about who's actually leading with backbone, and in his eyes, Texas is setting the bar.

As protests against ICE raids have continued in Los Angeles this week -- sometimes violently -- one particular cop was singled out for ridicule as he stood in riot gear with his squad on the street.

Viral video circulating online shows the moment two protesters in the downtown crowd appear to recognize an LAPD officer as a frequent customer at CAVA, a Mediterranean-style fast-casual restaurant chain, where they claim to work.

The two young adults immediately start hazing the cop with hateful comments, who stands stoically ... as the young lady lists the details of the guy's counter order, and says he's always asking for a discount.