Immigration raids prompt clashes with riot police in LA
Federal agents in Los Angeles have faced off against demonstrators protesting immigration raids again following Friday's protests that senior White House aide Stephen Miller condemned as an "insurrection" against the United States.
The security agents on Saturday engaged in a tense confrontation with protesters in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, where one demonstrator was seen waving a Mexican flag and some covered their mouths with respiratory masks.
A live video feed showed dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds.
A first round of protests kicked off on Friday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted enforcement operations in the city and arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "1000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property".
Miller, an immigration hardliner and the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on X that Friday's demonstrations were "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States".
The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where a significant portion of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his second term.
Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the US-Mexico border, with the White House setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3000 migrants per day.
But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also included people legally in the country, including some with permanent residence and has led to legal challenges.
Television news footage earlier on Friday showed unmarked vehicles resembling military transport and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation.
The Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass condemned the immigration raids.
"I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this."
The LAPD did not take part in the immigration enforcement. It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds protesting the deportation raids spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and gathered outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were reportedly being held.
The Department of Homeland Security criticised Democratic politicians, saying their anti-ICE rhetoric was contributing to violence against immigration agents.
"From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
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ABC News
18 minutes ago
- ABC News
White House sends National Guard to protests against LA immigration raid
Protests against immigration raids across Los Angeles have spilled to a second day in what the White House has labelled an anti-US "insurrection". The rallies first kicked off in the Paramount area on Friday, local time, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 44 people from locations across the city on alleged immigration violations. ICE agents executed search warrants at three locations, including a clothing warehouse in LA's fashion district where a tense scene unfolded as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away. The Associated Press was told people were also detained outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop. By Friday evening, protesters had gathered outside a federal detention centre where lawyers said the arrested people had been taken, chanting "set them free, let them stay". Other protesters held signs that said "ICE out of LA!" and led chants and shouted from megaphones. Some scrawled graffiti on the building facade. The demonstration outside the centre prompted a police response that included tear gas, flash-bangs and the arrest of a union leader. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer-funded property". The claims were not independently verified. Confrontations continued into Saturday, with Reuters video showing dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds. The officers, who appeared to be from Border Patrol, not local LA police, stood guard outside an industrial park in Paramount and deployed tear gas to disperse crowds. "ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are," a woman announced through a megaphone. "You are not welcome here." One hand-held sign said, "No Human Being is Illegal." The Trump administration indicated on Saturday evening that it would deploy the National Guard, a military reserve force activated by a state governor as part of an emergency response. "We're already mobilising. We're gonna bring National Guard in tonight and we're gonna continue doing our job. This is about enforcing the law," Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan told Fox News. However, California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared to have been against the call, saying on X that the federal government was "taking over" the California National Guard. "That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions … there is currently no unmet need," he said. "This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust." White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote on X that the demonstrations constituted an "insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States". ICE representatives did not immediately respond to AP inquiries about weekend enforcement activities. The LA Police Department did not take part in the immigration enforcement. It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds protesting the deportation raids spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and gathered outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were reportedly being held. Arrests by immigration authorities in LA come as the Trump administration pushes to fulfil promises to carry out mass deportations across the country. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the ICE raids were meant to "sow terror" in the nation's second-largest city. Speaking to NBC4 later, she threw her support behind the LA community. "We are going to fight for all Angelenos, regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not," Ms Bass said. "We are a city of immigrants, and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos." California is home to the United States' largest immigrant population, having 10.6 million foreign-born residents. That accounts for 22 per cent of the total foreign-born population across the country. According to the Pew Research Center, 1.8 million immigrants in California, or about 17 per cent of the total number, were undocumented in 2022 and 83 per cent either held US citizenship or another legal residency status. That data, based off information from the US Census Bureau, also found that from 2019 to 2022, California was the only one of seven US states whose unauthorised immigrant population did not increase. Since Mr Trump's return to office, ICE agents have been particularly active in California, Illinois, and New York, all historically blue states, according to analysis published by Axios last week. Those are also states whose respective legislations prohibit local law enforcement authorities from assisting in federal immigration arrests. In a statement on Saturday, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons chided the LA mayor for the city's response to the protests. "Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement," he said. "Make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation's immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens." ABC/wires
West Australian
20 minutes ago
- West Australian
Trade talks rest on Anthony Albanese's meeting with Donald Trump in Canada
Australia's case for exemptions or relief from American tariffs will rest on Anthony Albanese's meeting next week with US President Donald Trump. Trade Minister Don Farrell had two conversations with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of OECD and World Trade Organisation meetings in Paris last week to press Australia's case, but says it's clear the leaders need to make the final call. Ministers and officials at all levels have consistently been arguing the US shouldn't impose tariffs on Australia because it has a trade surplus here, selling more to Australians than it buys each year. The Trump administration has so far imposed hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which have just risen to 50 per cent, and also slugged Australia with a 10 per cent so-called reciprocal tariff despite Australia not having tariffs on any US goods. Mr Albanese and Senator Farrell have repeatedly said the imposts are not the actions of a friend. Nevertheless, Senator Farrell said he'd had a 'friendly discussion' with Mr Greer but the final decision would be made at a higher level. 'He certainly made it clear that these are ultimately decisions that the President of the United States will make,' the minister told Sky News on Sunday. 'But I certainly haven't given up on the prospect of getting these tariffs removed, and every opportunity I get, I'll continue to pursue that argument with the United States.' Mr Albanese has flagged he expects to meet Mr Trump for the first time on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada next weekend. The Government is in the final stages of a review of the rules around American beef imports, with Trump administration figures repeatedly raising Australia's 'ban' on US meat as one of their trade gripes. Australia has biosecurity restrictions on the import of Canadian and Mexican beef that is slaughtered in the US and Mr Albanese has insisted his Government will not risk the safety of local agriculture by relaxing rules. The UK has secured exemptions from some of the US tariffs by striking a new deal that in part allows greater market access for American beef. Shadow finance minister James Paterson pointed to the UK deal as a measure of the success of Mr Albanese's imminent meeting with Mr Trump. '(UK Prime Minister) Keir Starmer has now achieved a partial exemption from the steel and aluminium tariffs, and Australia is at least as good an ally of the United States as the United Kingdom is and so there's no reason why the Prime Minister shouldn't at least be able to secure that exemption,' Senator Paterson told ABC's Insiders. 'I'm just saying that Keir Starmer proves that it is possible to get an exemption. It is not an impossible task.' Senator Farrell said the main topic of discussions with counterparts at the WTO and OECD was ensuring other countries didn't increase their protectionism in the face of the US moves. He pointed out Australia hadn't his China with counter-imposts when it imposed trade barriers on goods such as wine, barley and lobster, and nor had it retaliate against the US. 'I think there's a move around the world to push the case for less protectionism and more free and fair trade,' he said. 'I'm hopeful that those countries around the world who do believe in free and fair trade can reach agreement to extend free trade agreements across the globe so that, irrespective of what the Americans might choose to do, we have a greater diversity of trading partners.'
9 News
29 minutes ago
- 9 News
The Washington power couple straddling the Trump-Musk feud
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here They're the Washington couple at the centre of power in the Trump administration. They're also straddling opposing sides of an explosive breakup between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk . CNN reported last week that Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff, would be departing her senior role at the White House as a top spokesperson and adviser for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. She was on her way to work for Musk as he went back to running his companies, helping the tech titan manage and arrange interviews unrelated to his time in government. Washington power couple - Katie Miller and her husband Stephen Miller. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty/CNN) But days later, amid the smoldering ruin of Musk and Trump's epic meltdown on Thursday over social media, that job suddenly took on a whole new layer. Among the attacks both men lobbed at each other was Musk endorsing the possibility of impeaching Trump and installing Vice President JD Vance in his place. Trump, in turn, raised the possibility of terminating federal contracts for Musk's companies. The episode has left the Millers on conflicting sides of the biggest breakup of Trump's second term, spawning gossip among White House aides and rounds of speculation about how the fallout could impact the political fortunes of one of the most powerful couples in Trump's Washington, where loyalty reigns. Elon Musk, centre, and Stephen Miller, right, during a meeting in the Oval Office in February. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg/Getty/CNN) "Everyone is talking about it," a former Trump staffer told CNN. Katie Miller was in Texas last week for the series of interviews Musk held with space and technology journalists as SpaceX's Starship had its ninth test flight. It was there that Musk first delicately expressed he was "disappointed" in the Republican's domestic policy bill in an interview with CBS News. Her X account is now a steady stream of laudatory posts about Musk and his companies, with a banner photo of a SpaceX rocket launching into space and a biography that says, "wife of @stephenm." Her only social media post on Friday was a reply with laughing emojis to an altered photo of her husband as a Home Depot employee attached to a post about immigration raids on the chain's stores. Elon Musk and his son X Æ accompanied by Katie Miller at the US Capitol Building in May. (via CNN) One former colleague told CNN that she will ultimately need to make a choice. "She has a choice between Elon and Trump, but it can't be both," the administration official said. Musk unfollowed Stephen Miller on X on Thursday, although both Millers continued following Musk on the platform into Friday. There are divided views on how the situation will impact Stephen Miller's ascendance. Stephen Miller was a part of Trump's first administration. (AP) Among Trump's closest advisers, many believe he is surpassed in power only by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, fueling speculation among some over whether he could take over should Wiles decide to move on. "This whole thing will definitely make that more complicated," one senior White House official told CNN. "Katie being paid by Elon is not good for Stephen." Another senior White House official strongly pushed back on the idea that this episode with Musk would impact Miller in any way with the President. "Next to Susie, Trump trusts and relies on Stephen the most," the official said, adding that the President and top brass were understanding that his wife working for Musk had nothing to do with Stephen or the current state of events. Katie Miller declined to comment for this story. The Millers attend a state dinner in Washington to honour then-Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. (Alastair Pike/AFP/Getty Images via CNN) Deeply connected and influential in Republican circles and at the highest levels of government, Stephen Miller and Katie Miller (née Waldman) met during Trump's first term in 2018. He was a senior adviser and speechwriter at the White House; she was on the Department of Homeland Security's public affairs team and on her way to becoming then-Vice President Mike Pence's communications director. He developed a reputation as the architect of some of the administration's most hardline immigration policies, becoming an influential and trusted aide in the Trump orbit. She developed her own reputation as a staunch supporter of those policies, once reflecting on a trip to the US-Mexico border as the administration came under fire for its child separation policy. "My family and colleagues told me that when I have kids I'll think about the separations differently. But I don't think so … DHS sent me to the border to see the separations for myself – to try to make me more compassionate – but it didn't work," Miller told NBC News journalist Jacob Soboroff in an interview for his book, "Separated." The pair married at Trump's Washington, DC, hotel in February 2020. Trump attended the wedding. In the four years after Trump left office, both set their sights on a Trump return to the White House. Stephen Miller launched a conservative nonprofit group, America First Legal Foundation, that served in part as a prelude to the policy of Trump's second term. Katie Miller headed to the private sector, where she consulted a number of major companies, including Apple. They were also raising three young children. Stephen Miller returned to the White House in January with a vast mandate, deeply involved in many of the president's signature policy initiatives and further empowered from the first term. Katie Miller joined the administration as well, working on behalf of DOGE and Musk, who had become a new figure in the Trump orbit after being an active campaign surrogate and 2024 megadonor. Like Musk, Katie Miller was working at the White House as a "Special Government Employee", which limits the number of days one can work within the administration. As their professional lives intertwined, the couple also became personally close with Musk, socialising outside of work. In the heat of the Thursday afternoon social media showdown, Stephen Miller had been scheduled to appear on Larry Kudlow's show on Fox Business Network – an appearance that was canceled. "We lost Mr Miller to a meeting in the Oval Office. Perfectly understandable. When I was in government, it would happen all the time. We'd have to kill a TV show. You're at the president's beck and call," Kudlow said during his eponymous broadcast. This is not the first time Trump has divided a marital relationship. During his first term, Trump lashed out at the husband of one of his top advisers, Kellyanne Conway. Her husband, George Conway, had been intensely critical of Trump on social media. "He's a whack job. There's no question about it. But I really don't know him," Trump said at the time of George Conway. "I think he's doing a tremendous disservice to a wonderful wife." In 2023, the couple announced they were filing for divorce. George Conway, a prolific user of Musk's X platform and ardent anti-Trump figure, posted dozens of times about the Trump-Musk spat. "Does anyone have any updates on Katie Miller?" he asked Thursday evening. Donald Trump elon musk US POLITICS USA World CONTACT US Property News: The last inner Sydney suburbs where houses cost under $2m.
