The administration of President Donald Trump announced the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops as federal agents clashed with demonstrators in Los Angeles for a second consecutive day following immigration raids.
The security personnel confronted about 100 protesters in the Paramount area of southeast Los Angeles, where some demonstrators waved Mexican flags while others covered their mouths with respiratory masks.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, informed Fox News that the National Guard would be sent to Los Angeles yesterday evening.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the decision as “purposefully inflammatory.”
The protests highlight a clash between the Democratic-led Los Angeles, where census data indicates a substantial Hispanic and foreign-born population, and Trump’s Republican administration, which has emphasized a crackdown on immigration as a key focus of his second term.
In the late afternoon, law enforcement began detaining several protesters, according to witnesses from Reuters. There was no immediate official confirmation of any arrests.
Video footage depicted numerous green-uniformed security personnel equipped with gas masks, lined up on a road littered with overturned shopping carts as small canisters released clouds of gas.
“Now they know that they cannot go to anywhere in this country where our people are, and try to kidnap our workers, our people – they cannot do that without an organized and fierce resistance,” said 44-year-old protester Ron Gochez.
The initial wave of protests began on Friday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carried out enforcement operations in the city, resulting in the arrest of at least 44 individuals on suspected immigration violations.
Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and deputy chief of staff at the White House, stated on X that Friday’s demonstrations constituted “an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.” On Saturday, he labeled the day’s protests a “violent insurrection.”
LAPD makes an arrest during a demonstration in central Los Angeles yesterday.
Immigration demonstration
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement concerning Friday’s protests, claiming that “1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building, assaulted ICE officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and vandalized taxpayer-funded property.”
Reuters was unable to verify DHS’s claims. Angelica Salas, executive director of the immigrants’ rights group Chirla, stated that lawyers hadn’t been able to access those detained on Friday, which she deemed “very worrying.”
Trump has vowed to deport record numbers of individuals residing in the country illegally and enforce strict measures at the US-Mexico border, with the White House aiming for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants daily.
However, this extensive immigration crackdown has also inadvertently affected individuals legally residing in the country, including some permanent residents, leading to multiple legal challenges.
Regarding the protests in Paramount, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office noted in a statement: “It appeared that federal law enforcement officers were present, and members of the community were gathering to protest.”
Salas from Chirla reported that protesters assembled after it appeared an ICE contingent was utilizing parking lots near a Home Depot store in Paramount as a base.
ICE, DHS, and the Los Angeles Police Department have not responded to inquiries regarding the protests or potential immigration sweeps.
Television news footage from Friday showcased unmarked vehicles resembling military transport and vans filled with uniformed federal agents navigating the streets of Los Angeles as part of the immigration enforcement initiative.
Raids occurred around Home Depot locations, where street vendors and day laborers were apprehended, along with actions at a garment factory and a warehouse, according to Salas of Chirla.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, condemned the immigration raids.
“I am deeply angered by what has taken place,” Mayor Bass stated. “These tactics instill fear in our communities and violate fundamental principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this.”
