Reconquista Rising: The Ethnic Ideology Driving LAs ICE Riots
A Radical Ethnic Ideology, Born In The 1960s, Has Emerged From Incubation In Los Angeles, And Threatens To Rip The United States Apart From The Inside If Unchecked
For days now, the streets of Los Angeles have erupted into chaos. What appeared on the surface to be spontaneous demonstrations against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been revealed to have far more dangerous roots. Among the masked mobs are not just protestors, but activists waving flags—not American, but the flags of foreign nations south of our border. This is not typical LA unrest; its an overt expression of a decades-old ideological movement that sees California and the American Southwest as the rightful territory of Mexico.
The movement, commonly referred to as Aztlán or La Reconquista, originated in the 1960s as part of the “Chicano Civil-Rights movement”. Its a radical, racially motivated ideology borne out of grievance politics. They insist all of the land legally ceded by Mexico in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah) was “stolen” by the United States and must be returned. While not yet a mainstream political platform throughout the United States, this ideology has discreetly run deep roots among activist groups, educators, and political leaders in California and the Southwest. This ideology challenges the legitimacy of U.S. sovereignty over the region, and its only growing stronger.
Adding fuel to this fire are the recent statements made by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward the United States. In a recent speech, she declared “If necessary, we’ll mobilize”, an unprecedented statement that many interpreted as a thinly veiled threat of military conflict. She was demanding that the U.S. not impose taxes on remittances sent from the U.S., referring to those in America sending the money to relatives in Mexico. She referred to those sending the funds as “our fellow countrymen”, seeming to reflect a belief that all ethnic Mexicans in the United States, regardless of citizenship, remain loyal subjects of Mexico. Sheinbaum reiterated this notion, going on to say “they have the full solidarity of their government”, that of Mexico. That kind of rhetoric raises a sobering question: how long before ancestral pride becomes political allegiance? Has it already?
The overwhelming majority of Mexican-Americans, or Chicanos, are law-abiding, patriotic citizens who contribute to American life. They are no less American (legally or otherwise) than I am. However, a neighboring foreign leader speaking in terms of loyalty and mobilization reveals the very real danger of trans-national identity politics. When a foreign president refers to millions of U.S. citizens as their “countrymen" and hints at military action on their behalf, she is not just lobbying—she is staking a claim. She is threatening the safety of our nation. South Carolinians may not take a direct hit by this unrest from 3,000 miles away, but it’s important to recognize it’s trajectory.
We have entered an era when international borders are no longer sacrosanct, and cultural ties mean more than national ones. Such tensions have erupted time and again throughout human history. We’ve been watching it unfold for several years between Ukraine and Russia. The current unrest in California isn’t just about ICE enforcement—it’s the result of decades of ideological groundwork that challenges the legitimacy of the United States. When political leaders abroad and activist groups at home unite under the banner of a foreign nation, we have no choice but to take them at their word.
Many Americans have joked, in half-serious tones, that America would be better off kicking California out of the Union—or if it ever seriously tried to secede, wish them well and send them on their way. And to be clear, if the actual citizens of California, through their elected representatives and legitimate democratic process, chose to pursue secession, I believe we should let them. But that’s not what’s we’re looking at.
What we’re seeing now is something far more insidious: a movement fueled by orchestrated illegal mass-migration, political subversion, foreign encouragement, and, increasingly, intimidation through public disorder and crime. This isn’t self-determination—it’s an insurgency. If the American people of California and the Southwest are being backed into a corner, and held hostage by foreign operatives and domestic radicals, then it is the duty of the United States to stand up for them. Not just in principle, but with action. We must be clear-eyed about what’s taking place. We must listen to what’s being said. We must be unwavering in our commitment to preserve not only our borders, but the dignity, safety, and sovereignty of our fellow Americans—from Los Angeles to Myrtle Beach. While those who would tear America apart are rallying under a Reconquista, it may be time America recommitted to its Manifest Destiny. Either way, a reckoning seems inevitable.
Isn’t it rather myopic for Mexican latinos to accuse the US of stealing and colonizing their land? Though some speak indigenous languages, doesn’t Spanish predominate? Who was it, again, who brought Spanish to the New World? They could not have been colonizers, surely?