The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Meet the 'New Confederates' in America’s Blue Cities

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Across the country, a new confederacy is rising—built not on states’ rights, but on resistance to federal immigration law.  As cities like Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago openly defy federal immigration laws, Victor Davis Hanson argues we’re seeing the rise of a “neo-Confederate secessionist ideology” where local officials act as if they’re above the law on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” “Sometimes it's sponsored or encouraged by the Democratic Party: Gavin Newsom in California, our governor, or Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, openly calling for resistance, or Gov. Pritzker of Chicago. “What's really disturbing is we're starting to see a new—I would call it—a neo-Confederate successionist ideology in these cities. In these blue cities, the officials who run them, the mayors or the police chiefs, believe they are a law unto themselves. In other words, within the confines of Chicago or within the confines of Portland, they can nullify all federal laws, just in the way that South Carolina said it could on the eve of the Civil War: The Union does not apply to us. We are morally superior.” 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1    👉If you can’t get enough of Victor Davis Hanson from The Daily Signal, subscribe to his official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273    👉He’s also the host of “The Victor Davis Hanson Show,” available wherever you prefer to watch or listen. Links to the show and exclusive content are available on his website: https://victorhanson.com  (0:00) Border Patrol and ICE Efforts (0:42) Neo-Confederate Ideology (2:35) Incidents of Resistance (6:00) Historical Parallels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's been a lot of news lately about the efforts of the Border Patrol and the immigration customs enforcement ICE. I want to remind everybody how that works out in reality. In many cities there is organized resistance. But what's really disturbing is we're starting to see a new, I would call it, a neo-confederate, successionist ideology in these cities. The officials who run them, the mayors or the police chiefs, believe there are a law onto themselves. Sometimes it's very violent by Antifa, are encouraged by the Democratic Party in California. Governor Gavin Newsom or Governor Pritzer of Chicago, they can nullify all federal laws.

And when we get to that point, we're really on the verge of civil insurrection, just in the way that South Carolina, on the eve of the Civil War. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal. There's been a lot of news lately about the efforts of the Border Patrol and the immigration customs enforcement ICE, their efforts to round up illegal aliens, and they are prioritizing two groups, those who have criminal records and those who have already been processed for deportation and have evaded apprehension. But in many cities, in blue states, or at least in blue cities, there is organized resistance. Sometimes it's very violent by Antifa.

Sometimes it's sponsored or encouraged by the Democratic Party. Gavin Newsom in California, our governor, or Karen Bass, a mayor of Los Angeles, openly calling for resistance or Governor Pritzler of Chicago. But what's really disturbing is we're starting to see a. new, I would call it a neo-confederate, successionist ideology in these cities. In these blue cities, the officials who run them, the mayors or the police chiefs, believe there are a law onto themselves. In other words, within the confines of Chicago or within the confines of Portland, they can nullify all federal laws, just in the way that South Carolina said it could on the eve of the civil war. The union does not apply to us. We are more.

superior. I want to remind everybody how that works out in reality. If you're an ICE agent and you're in an ICE detention center, you may not be able to get out in or out of work or you can't fulfill your duties because there is a siege on of Antifa semi-terrorist and their sympathizers that surround you and the Oregon police will not help you. In fact, in a recent demonstration, a reporter was arrested reporting on the inaction of the Oregon police and the violence of the protesters. If you look at a recent suburb in Chicago, resistors to ICE actually did a blockade. They had 10 or so cars, and they, by design,

ambushed a ICE patrol and stopped the agents from being able to go forward or backward in their vehicles. One of them was armed with an automatic weapon. When ICE called for the Chicago police to lend assistance because they were an extremist, the Chicago police did not. Governor Pritzer basically said that ICE lies and so we don't really pay any attention to them. Mayor Johnson of Chicago didn't help. In other words, we're starting to see now organized resistance, not on the street by thugs and terrorists and resistors, but we're starting to see in neo-confederate fashion elected officials. And the premise that they're using is, again, we are a law and to ourselves. I would like to remind them of two things. Not all Americans or Portlanders are

Chicagoans. But everybody that's a citizen in Chicago and everybody who is a citizen in Portland is first and foremost a U.S. citizen and therefore subject to the laws, the federal laws of the government first and foremost. And what these elected officials are doing and what law enforcement is doing at the municipal level is no different than what caused a civil war. They are actively encouraging resistance and nearly armed resistance. because these officers are law enforcement to federal agents who are trying to dutifully fulfill their constitutional mandates to protect the border and ensure that people who come across do so legally. They're just fulfilling the law, federal immigration law, and yet they're being resisted by, I guess you would call it neo-Confederates. where is this going to lead, if it's not stopped now by mayors and governors in these blue jurisdictions,

what's on the horizon is not just blockading ice cars and not just not rendering assistance. As it gets more and more extreme, you will start to see blue mayors and city officials actually use their powers within their jurisdictions to stop, physically stop, And when we get to that point, we're really on the verge of civil insurrection. And we're back to something like 1861. Or maybe I'd like to end with an example for our blue city mayors, especially in Portland and Chicago. In 1963, George Wallace said, Alabama is a world to itself. It has unique customs and traditions and history that the federal. government does not understand. So the federal government cannot come into our state and tell us that

we have to give civil rights protections to African Americans who want to intend the University of Alabama. So I, Governor Wallace, will stand in the door and force people who are black out. And what happened? The Kennedy administration said, no, this is an 1861, Governor Wallace. I'm sorry. You do not have the right, the right moral or actual to refuse a federal mandate. And all men are created equal, and we're going to enforce that. And so what John F. Kennedy did, and Bobby Kennedy is Attorney General, they federalized the Alabama National Guard, and they brought in U.S. troops. And they forced George Wallace to step aside and to accept people according to the laws of the United States of America. So I would like to remind the left, you're on the side of George Wallace resisting federal law,

and ICE that you despise is on the right side of history, trying to enforce laws that have been broken for the protection of all citizens, all citizens in this United States, including those in Chicago, and including those in Portland, who are having their civil rights endangered if they live next to an ICE facility or if they're an ICE agent in general. They are in danger. and the federal government has a right to protect them. And so I would urge you all to stop what you're doing

and get back to the right side of history. Thank you very much, Victor Davis-Hansson, for The Daily Signal. Thank you for tuning in to the Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this. You can also check out my own website at victorhansen.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.