Rachel Maddow

And if you start looking, when you see scenes like this anywhere in the country right now, you will often see HSI as the logo, if you see any logo at all, on the uniforms or on the patches of these agents. Now, HSI is supposed to be like investigating smuggling rings. They are not an agency that is trained for policing protests or doing crowd control or anything like that.

Nevertheless, Trump has them doing that, over and over again, all over the country. And when they do things like that, it keeps going horribly wrong because this federal agency is clearly totally untrained for this work and is clearly out of its depth.

Nevertheless, Trump has them doing that, over and over again, all over the country. And when they do things like that, it keeps going horribly wrong because this federal agency is clearly totally untrained for this work and is clearly out of its depth.

And so, guess who the geniuses were who so nimbly managed this operation at a popular Italian restaurant in the lovely Balboa Park neighborhood of San Diego this weekend? Now, hi, you guys. Somebody apparently told these guys from HSI Somebody apparently told these guys from Homeland Security Investigations that they were going to be invading Fallujah on Friday afternoon. I mean, this is bananas.

And so, guess who the geniuses were who so nimbly managed this operation at a popular Italian restaurant in the lovely Balboa Park neighborhood of San Diego this weekend? Now, hi, you guys. Somebody apparently told these guys from HSI Somebody apparently told these guys from Homeland Security Investigations that they were going to be invading Fallujah on Friday afternoon. I mean, this is bananas.

This is a popular Italian restaurant in San Diego. Just as they were opening for dinner on a beautiful Friday afternoon, multiple clown cars full of Trump's HSI agents in full battle rattle with helmets and long guns and flak jackets and goggles and masks and the whole thing.

This is a popular Italian restaurant in San Diego. Just as they were opening for dinner on a beautiful Friday afternoon, multiple clown cars full of Trump's HSI agents in full battle rattle with helmets and long guns and flak jackets and goggles and masks and the whole thing.

I mean, literally looking like they were going to rappel out of helicopters into the Tora Bora cave complex to fight Al Qaeda. These guys dressed like this run into a neighborhood Italian restaurant and reportedly handcuffed the entire crew working at the restaurant, everybody inside. And then they arrested people who were like, you know, busboys and waiters and stuff.

I mean, literally looking like they were going to rappel out of helicopters into the Tora Bora cave complex to fight Al Qaeda. These guys dressed like this run into a neighborhood Italian restaurant and reportedly handcuffed the entire crew working at the restaurant, everybody inside. And then they arrested people who were like, you know, busboys and waiters and stuff.

And then, unsurprisingly, the whole neighborhood came out to say, what the heck are you doing? Is this Red Dawn? Are we being invaded, Wolverines? This is what you're doing to save us from the terrible menace of, like, the nice waiter at our favorite local restaurant? Trump's immigration agents had no idea what to do.

And then, unsurprisingly, the whole neighborhood came out to say, what the heck are you doing? Is this Red Dawn? Are we being invaded, Wolverines? This is what you're doing to save us from the terrible menace of, like, the nice waiter at our favorite local restaurant? Trump's immigration agents had no idea what to do.

Cowards.

Cowards.

They made this San Diego street corner look like they were in a war zone because they were so completely unprepared and untrained and flummoxed by all of the neighbors and passers-by understandably yelling at them and telling them to leave people alone.

They made this San Diego street corner look like they were in a war zone because they were so completely unprepared and untrained and flummoxed by all of the neighbors and passers-by understandably yelling at them and telling them to leave people alone.

They were so scared and so unprepared and so untrained for this completely predictable situation that they set off multiple, what appeared to be these flashbang smoke grenades against the random neighbors in San Diego, against the people on the street who were outraged by what they had done, who were demanding that they identify themselves for one, and that for two, they get out.

They were so scared and so unprepared and so untrained for this completely predictable situation that they set off multiple, what appeared to be these flashbang smoke grenades against the random neighbors in San Diego, against the people on the street who were outraged by what they had done, who were demanding that they identify themselves for one, and that for two, they get out.

This kind of thing, seriously, this is not a sign of strength. This is not a show of force. This is a show of weakness and cluelessness. These guys talked themselves into the idea that the country would be so excited to see them be really performatively cruel to immigrants, right? They thought this would be a great political advantage for them.

This kind of thing, seriously, this is not a sign of strength. This is not a show of force. This is a show of weakness and cluelessness. These guys talked themselves into the idea that the country would be so excited to see them be really performatively cruel to immigrants, right? They thought this would be a great political advantage for them.

We will perform feats of military-like strength, going after immigrants and humiliating them and debasing them and abusing them for public consumption, and that will build our political capital. That's what they thought. Turns out everywhere they try it, everyone in America hates it. Everyone hates what they're doing. This weekend, the restaurant opened back up.