National Guard deployed in Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies hold non-lethal weapons during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson
Smoke rises from a burning car on Atlantic Boulevard, during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson
Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies stand guard, during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson
A car burns on Atlantic Boulevard during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson
A man on a motorcycle waves a Mexican flag as smoke rises from a burning car on Atlantic Boulevard, during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson
LOS ANGELES - California National Guard arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday, deployed by President Donald Trump after two days of protests by hundreds of demonstrators against immigration raids carried out as part of Trump's hardline policy.
About a dozen National Guard members were seen in video footage on Sunday morning lining up at a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, where detainees from immigration raids on Friday were taken, sparking protests that continued on Saturday.
The complex is near Los Angeles City Hall, where another protest against the immigration raids is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. U.S. Northern Command confirmed National Guard troops had started deploying and that some were already on the ground.
"These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of deploying the National Guard because he wants "a spectacle."
Footage showed at least a half dozen military-style vehicles and riot shields on Sunday at the federal building where the Department of Homeland Security said about "1,000 rioters" had protested on Friday. Reuters could not verify the DHS account.
On Saturday law enforcement faced off against a few hundred protesters in Paramount in southeast Los Angeles and then later on Saturday with about 100 people in downtown Los Angeles, according to Reuters witnesses. Federal law enforcement was seen firing gas canisters in Paramount and downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to try and disperse protesters.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 27 people on Saturday for failure to disperse from the downtown protest, police spokesperson Norma Eisenman said. She said she could not comment on whether LAPD used less lethal force. Less lethal force refers to crowd control tactics such as pepper balls.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrested three people on Saturday on suspicion of assaulting an officer. Sheriff's deputies did use "less lethal force" in Paramount, spokesperson Deputy Brenda Serna said, but she could not specify which exact tactics were used.
'ZERO TOLERANCE'
The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where census data suggests a significant part of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made an immigration crackdown a hallmark of his second term.
Trump in a presidential memorandum on Saturday said he was deploying at least 2,000 National Guard personnel following what he described as "numerous incidents of violence and disorder" in response to the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as "credible threats of continued violence."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active-duty troops "if violence continues" in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were "on high alert."
"There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE," Hegseth said in a social media post on Sunday, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Democratic Congresswoman Nanette Barragan, whose California district includes Paramount, on Sunday criticized the president's decision to deploy National Guard troops, arguing that local law enforcement has adequate resources to respond.
"We don't need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It's only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement," Barragan told CNN's "State of the Union."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings, to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Los Angeles on Friday arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations.
Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day.
But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also included people legally residing in the country, some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
What to know about the immigration protests in Los Angeles
The National Guard, police and protesters stand off outside of a downtown jail in Los Angeles on June 8. PHOTO: AFP Los Angeles police officers arrest a person during protests near the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 8. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Protesters are blanketed in smoke along Alondra Boulevard during a standoff with law enforcement in the Los Angeles County city of Compton. PHOTO: REUTERS Demonstrators kneel with their hands raised in front of Los Angeles Metro Police during a protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 8. PHOTO: REUTERS What to know about the immigration protests in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES - The first of at least 2,000 National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles on June 8 morning, ordered in by President Donald Trump to deal with protests against workplace immigration raids after two days of unrest. Any demonstration that got in the way of immigration officials would be considered a 'form of rebellion,' Mr Trump said in his order, issued June 7. The dispatch of troops was an extraordinary escalation that put Los Angeles squarely at the centre of tensions over his administration's immigration crackdown. An expert said it was the first time since 1965 that a president had bypassed a state governor to activate that state's National Guard force for law enforcement or civil unrest purposes. Governor Gavin Newsom of California called Mr Trump's order 'purposefully inflammatory'. He said there was no shortage of law enforcement resources to deal with the protests, and that the federal government was sending the troops because it wanted 'a spectacle'. Protests broke out in Los Angeles on June 6 against a series of raids that appeared to be part of a new phase of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, in which officials say they will focus increasingly on workplaces. Protesters continued demonstrating downtown and in nearby cities on June 7 as law enforcement officers made arrests and in some cases used crowd-control munitions, tear gas and flash-bang grenades against the protesters. Hundreds of National Guard troops had arrived in Los Angeles by June 8 afternoon, and protests flared up again in the city's downtown. Here's what to know: How have the protests developed? The demonstrations began on June 6 after camouflage-clad federal agents began combing the garment district in Los Angeles in search of people suspected of being immigrants in the country without legal permission. The raid, which spread alarm among workers in the city, incited chaotic scenes between protesters, who chanted and threw eggs, and law enforcement officers, who fired pepper spray and crowd-control munitions. Demonstrations continued on June 7, both downtown and in the greater Los Angeles area, including the largely Latino and working-class city of Paramount, about 24km to the south. Protests there were some of the most volatile in the region, with law enforcement officers using flash-bang grenades and firing crowd-control munitions. A firework sent by protesters explodes near by the Los Angeles Sheriff Department officers during immigration protest in Paramount, California, on June 7. PHOTO: AFP Mr Bill Essayli, the Trump administration's top law enforcement official in Southern California, said more than 100 people were arrested on June 6 and at least 20 more were arrested on June 7, mostly in Paramount. A Department of Homeland Security official added Sunday that US officials had arrested eight people in Paramount on June 7 on federal obstruction charges. Two of the eight were minors and have been released from custody, the official said. The streets of Los Angeles were largely quiet on the morning of June 8 as the first National Guard troops began to arrive downtown at the Metropolitan Detention Centre, where the Los Angeles Police Department had detained a number of protesters on June 7. By early afternoon on June 8, hundreds of demonstrators outside the detention centre were facing off with federal law-enforcement officials in riot gear. The officials – including from DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – fired canisters of tear gas into the crowd. National Guard troops were also gathered in Paramount, near a Home Depot where protesters had clashed with agents on June 7. Who calls in the national guard? The National Guard is the only branch of the military that can be deployed both by state governors and by the president. Governors almost always control deployment in their states. The Guard operates similarly to the Army Reserve force. Most of its members do not serve full time. They generally hold civilian jobs and attend regular training sessions, and are called into active service only when needed. The National Guard is most often called upon during extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods and wildfires. Troops have sometimes been used to quell civil disturbances at the state governor's request. The National Guard is the only branch of the military that can be deployed both by state governors and by the president. PHOTO: AFP One example was in 1992, when Governor Pete Wilson of California asked President George H.W. Bush to deploy the Guard after riots erupted in Los Angeles over the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Mr Rodney King, a black man. Before Mr Trump's move, the last time a president activated a state's National Guard troops for such a purpose without being asked to do so by the state's governor was in 1965, according to Ms Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Centre for Justice, an independent law and policy organization. On that occasion, she said, President Lyndon B. Johnson used troops to protect civil rights demonstrators in Alabama. What have officials said? Trump administration officials have criticised the state's political leadership over their handling of the protests, while California's Democratic leaders blasted Mr Trump's order as unnecessary and an inappropriate use of power. Ms Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement on the night of June 7 that Mr Trump was deploying the National Guard in response to 'violent mobs' that she said had attacked federal law enforcement and immigration agents. The 2,000 troops would 'address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,' she said. A protester walks through smoke from flash-bang smoke grenades fired by federal agents near a Home Depot in Paramount, California, on June 7. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Mr Trump described the demonstrations, which have been largely peaceful, as 'insurrectionist' on social media on June 8. He did not rule out invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy the US military domestically, and told reporters that there were 'violent people' at the protests and that 'we're not going to let them get away with it'. State and local authorities in California and Los Angeles County have not indicated any need for federal assistance. State attorney general Rob Bonta said on social media that local law enforcement 'have the resources they need to meet the moment' and that Mr Trump's order was 'counterproductive'. Governor Newsom called the president's order 'purposefully inflammatory' and said that Trump had activated the National Guard only because his administration wanted 'a spectacle.' Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said the National Guard's presence would 'not be helpful'. She said the city was capable of handling protests, adding that she had been in contact with White House officials and Mr Tom Homan, Mr Trump's 'border czar'. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Runaway zebra recaptured in US' Tennessee County
A runaway zebra is airlifted by helicopter back to its owner following its capture after a week on the loose, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, US on June 8, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tennessee - The search for a runaway pet zebra that had evaded capture for nearly a week in Rutherford County, Tennessee, came to an end. The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, which had been searching for the animal that residents named Ed, said in a statement on June 8 that the zebra had been recaptured and returned to its owner. In a video the sheriff's office posted on Facebook, the zebra's head and legs can be seen dangling from inside a net as it spun in the sky while being airlifted by a yellow helicopter. Authorities said that the intrepid zebra was found in a pasture near Interstate 24. The owner of the zebra – whose identity has not been released – got the animal May 30 and had it for less than a day before it escaped the next morning, the sheriff's office said in an earlier statement. How the zebra escaped or why the man owned it was still not immediately clear, but dispatchers received a report May 31 that a zebra had been spotted darting in traffic on Interstate 24. 'This is the first zebra to escape in Rutherford County as far as I know in the 43 years I lived here,' Ms Lisa Marchesoni, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said on June 8. The zebra had escaped into a wooded area and disappeared until being spotted on June 5, authorities said. On June 6, a police drone spotted the zebra dashing through a field near Christiana, a community about 40 miles (64km) south of Nashville. Drivers on Interstate 24 also saw him scamper across east and westbound lanes on June 7, the sheriff's office said. On the morning of June 8, deputies worked with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to find the zebra, though it was not immediately clear how authorities captured it. With several sightings of the zebra in the area, social media lit up with memes and images generated by artificial intelligence of the animal, including one that dressed him in a Middle Tennessee State University hat and T-shirt. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Key US-China trade talks set for Monday in London
FILE PHOTO: The American and Chinese flags are photographed on the negotiating table, during a bilateral meeting between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, May 10, 2025. KEYSTONE/EDA/Martial Trezzini/Handout via REUTERS/File photo LONDON - Top U.S. and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the high-stakes trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to export controls over goods and components critical to global supply chains. At a still-undisclosed venue in London, the two sides will try to get back on track with a preliminary agreement struck last month in Geneva that had briefly lowered the temperature between Washington and Beijing and fostered relief among investors battered for months by U.S. President Donald Trump's cascade of tariff orders since his return to the White House in January. "The next round of trade talks between the U.S. and China will be held in the UK on Monday," a UK government spokesperson said on Sunday. "We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks." Gathering there will be a U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and a Chinese contingent helmed by Vice Premier He Lifeng. The second-round of meetings comes four days after Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone, their first direct interaction since Trump's January 20 inauguration. During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary. But Trump said on social media the talks focused primarily on trade led to "a very positive conclusion," setting the stage for Monday's meeting in London. The next day, Trump said Xi had agreed to resume shipments to the U.S. of rare earths minerals and magnets. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. That had become a particular pain point for the U.S. in the weeks after the two sides had struck a preliminary rapprochement in talks held in Switzerland. There, both had agreed to reduce steep import taxes on each other's goods that had had the effect of erecting a trade embargo between the world's No. 1 and 2 economies, but U.S. officials in recent weeks accused China of slow-walking on its commitments, particularly around rare earths shipments. "We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures' on Sunday. "The administration has been monitoring China's compliance with the deal, and we hope that this will move forward to have more comprehensive trade talks." The inclusion at the London talks of Lutnick, whose agency oversees export controls for the U.S., is one indication of how central the issue has become for both sides. Lutnick did not attend the Geneva talks, at which the countries struck a 90-day deal to roll back some of the triple-digit tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's inauguration. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and U.S. indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 Index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18% after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2% below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the U.S.-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. While the UK government will provide a venue for Monday's discussions, it will not be party to them but will have separate talks later in the week with the Chinese delegation. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
