One group supporting anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles has ties to the Chinese regime.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is under scrutiny for organizing Los Angeles anti-ICE protests that turned into riots,
The Daily Signal reported.
PSL issued a
statement on social media platform X supporting the Los Angeles protests, confirming their public endorsement and involvement in the protests, framing them as a resistance to immigration enforcement.
PSL is a communist political party in the United States, established in 2004. On its
website, it says it ”believes that the only solution to the deepening crisis of capitalism is the socialist transformation of society.”
An X post by the research institute Hispanic American Studies
says that the PSL’s Los Angeles branch played a “leading role” in the anti-ICE protests, specifically organizing a large rally outside City Hall on June 8. This rally was part of the broader demonstrations against Trump’s immigration policies.
On the PSL website, they openly encourage supporters to
fight ICE: “Don’t let Trump and ICE win without a fight! Papers or not, everyone has certain rights they can use when an agent is trying to deport them.”
PSL has been found to be associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through economic funding, ideological alignment, and other connections.
As an example of that, it receives funding from socialist billionaire Neville Singham, who is involved in CCP propaganda efforts.
Rodriguez’s activities are well-documented. In 2023 and 2024,
The New York Times and
Washington Free Beacon released an extensive exposé detailing his vast financial network, which has funneled millions to nonprofits praising China across countries including South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Brazil, and India.
These organizations appear to have a track record of parroting CCP talking points and opposing U.S. interests and, in some instances, receiving funding from CCP entities or working with CCP officials. Yet, none of these organizations appear to have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
NTD reached out to PSL for comment.
Former Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
wrote on his X account in May 2024: “No surprise that Neville Roy Singham, a Marxist U.S. citizen w/ ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is funding pro-Hamas groups & events attended by members of the Squad.” He urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the billionaire.
Rubio, together with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
wrote to the DOJ in July 2024 to request an update on the DOJ's efforts to counter propaganda from the CCP.
“These reports suggest that Mr. Singham has expanded his network to include not only far-left, pro-CCP entities, but also radical, antisemitic entities,” they wrote.
“Many of these groups have increased their activism in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 brutal terrorist attack on Israel. These groups have not only disrupted Senate proceedings, but have engaged in violent, antisemitic riots in many cities across the United States.”
The PSL defends China’s human rights record, notably denying the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and arguing against claims of democracy suppression in Hong Kong.
Sherry Wolf is an American socialist, writer, and activist known for her work on socialism, sexuality, and gender issues.
In her
book, Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics, and Theory of LGBT Liberation, Sherry Wolf wrote that the PSL strongly defends “virtually every country claiming to be socialist—from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Kim Il-sung’s North Korea to modern China (including a robust defense of the Tiananmen Square massacre) and Castro’s Cuba.”
The PSL
was an organizer of anti-Israel
campus protests at Columbia University, particularly during the Gaza Solidarity Encampment that began on April 17, 2024.
The organisation's influence has also been linked to individuals who have taken extreme actions. One such case involves Elias Rodriguez, the 31-year-old Chicago resident who carried out the May 21 shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Afterwards, PSL issued a
statement on X (@pslnational, May 22, 2025), denying current ties: “We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.”
“The FBI is investigating any and all monetary connections responsible for these riots,” FBI director, Kash Patel
told The Epoch Times on June 10, in response to rising concerns about possible CCP influence behind the chaos.
Authorities Respond to Protests
On June 11, after a fifth day of protests over immigration raids. Los Angeles police say they have made "mass arrests.”
Last week, images and videos captured hundreds of protesters confronting federal agents in riot gear trying to detain illegal immigrants near a Home Depot in Paramount, California, drawing global attention.
On June 10, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed an overnight
curfew in a limited section of downtown Los Angeles, citing vandalism and looting of businesses.
The curfew, effective from 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, prompted police to patrol downtown, using rubber bullets to break up crowds. Bass justified the curfew, stating it was necessary "to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting”, noting the city had reached ‘a tipping point."
Meanwhile, immigration raids that sparked protests the previous Friday persisted, with National Guard troops now shielding border control agents during enforcement actions.
President Trump defended deploying 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines, saying it was to protect the city from being "conquered by a foreign enemy" and vowing to "liberate" it. But California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the deployment as an "assault" on democracy.
