LOS ANGELES, USA — President Donald Trump has authorised the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to ongoing protests sparked by a series of federal immigration raids, as tensions escalate between the White House and California state leaders.
The move comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted enforcement operations across the city on Friday, June 6, 2025, arresting at least 44 individuals for alleged immigration violations.
The raids triggered two consecutive days of street protests, with demonstrators accusing federal authorities of indiscriminate crackdowns and racial profiling.
Footage from the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles on Saturday, June 7, 2025, showed dozens of federal officers in green uniforms and gas masks facing off against demonstrators, some of whom waved Mexican flags.
Protesters overturned shopping carts and chanted anti-ICE slogans, while security personnel deployed tear gas.
There was no immediate confirmation of arrests, although Reuters reporters at the scene witnessed some detentions.
“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 protester Ron Gochez, 44.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that roughly 1,000 individuals participated in the protests on Friday, June 6, 2025, describing some participants as “rioters,” though this account could not be independently verified.
In a statement issued by the White House, Trump justified the National Guard deployment as a response to “lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” asserting that if local leaders could not restore order, the federal government would intervene.
“RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Vice President J.D. Vance echoed that stance, accusing protesters of undermining border security.
“Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America’s political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,” he wrote on X.
White House aide Stephen Miller described the protests as a “violent insurrection.”
However, two U.S. officials told Reuters that the administration has not invoked the Insurrection Act, which would allow the use of active-duty military forces to suppress civil unrest.
California Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticised the decision, calling it “purposefully inflammatory.”
In a post on X, he said the deployment was not about law enforcement needs but “spectacle.”
“Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully,” he urged residents.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also condemned the federal immigration raids, stating: “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this.”
Rights groups say the enforcement actions swept up not only undocumented migrants but also legal residents.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said lawyers had yet to gain access to those detained.
“That is very worrying,” she said, adding that arrests had been made near Home Depot stores, garment factories, and warehouses.
President Trump has pledged to ramp up deportations as part of a broader immigration crackdown, setting a target of 3,000 arrests per day by ICE.
The aggressive approach has already sparked legal challenges and renewed scrutiny over the treatment of immigrants — both documented and undocumented — under his administration.
As of Saturday, June 7, 2025, protests had continued in smaller pockets across the city, with demonstrators vowing to return to the streets in the days ahead.
Authorities say the National Guard remains on standby for rapid deployment, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that active-duty troops from Camp Pendleton were “on high alert” should violence escalate further.
