National Guard troops sent by Trump to quell immigration protests reach Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES: Hundreds of National Guard troops took up positions in Los Angeles Sunday on US President Donald Trump's orders, a rare deployment against the state governor's wishes after sometimes violent protests against immigration enforcement raids.
The US military said 300 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had been sent to three separate locations in the greater Los Angeles area, and were "conducting safety and protection of federal property & personnel."
Helmeted troops in camouflage gear and carrying automatic weapons could be seen in front of a federal complex -- including a detention center -- with the phrase "Our City" spray-painted on it in downtown Los Angeles.
The deployment overrode the protests of local officials, an extraordinary move not seen in decades and deemed "purposefully inflammatory" by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
It came ahead of more planned protests in the city, which has a large Latino population, including a call by organizers for a "mass mobilization" at City Hall at 2:00 pm local time (2100 GMT).
"Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into LA County -- not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis," Newsom posted on X Sunday.
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Indian Express
21 minutes ago
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Los Angeles burns as Trump deploys National Guard amid immigration crackdown
Protests erupted across Los Angeles over the weekend as thousands gathered to oppose the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the unprecedented federal deployment of National Guard troops without the state's consent. Here are the key developments: 1. On the third day of protests over the US administration's crackdown on immigration, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets Sunday in response to President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. 2. About 300 federal troops were deployed in the city—reportedly the first time in decades that the National Guard was activated without a governor's consent. 3. Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing US immigration authorities, gathered in multiple areas around the city. 4. As protests turned violent near the Metropolitan Detention Center, demonstrators blocked the 101 Freeway and Alphabet's Waymo self-driving vehicles were on fire. Demonstrators shouted 'Shame on you!' at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. In return, law enforcement responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to disperse the crowd. 5. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama. 6. Federal authorities said the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the Los Angeles area surpassed 100. Many more were arrested during protests, including a prominent union leader accused of impeding law enforcement. 7. Calling the deployment unlawful, California Governor Gavin Newsom requested the Trump administration to withdraw the order. Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating the state's sovereignty. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,' he wrote on X. The White House dismissed Newsom's comments, saying in a statement, 'Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness.' 8. In a social media post Sunday, Trump called the demonstrators 'violent, insurrectionist mobs' and said he had directed Cabinet officers 'to take all such action necessary' to stop what he called 'riots'. Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump threatened violence against protesters: 'They spit, we hit.' 9. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticised the US government over the immigration raids and National Guard deployment. 'We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue,' Sheinbaum said at a public event. 'The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform.' 10. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out the largest single-day immigrant arrest operation in its history this week, detaining more than 2,200 people, according to NBC News. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of undocumented immigrants and set a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants a day. –With inputs from AP and Reuters
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
California governor calls Trump's National Guard deployment in Los Angeles ‘unlawful'
California National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday to help quell a third day of protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement, a step the state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, called unlawful. Police were making more arrests after at least 10 on Sunday and 29 the previous night, Los Angeles police officers told a news briefing. National Guard troops guarded federal government buildings, as police and protesters clashed in separate demonstrations over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles. Los Angeles police declared several rallies to be "unlawful assemblies", accusing some protesters of throwing concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police. Video images showed several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening. Los Angeles police officers on horseback attempted to control the crowds. Demonstrators shouted "Shame on you!" at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare. Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing U.S. immigration authorities, gathered in spots around the city. The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized speakers outside City Hall for an afternoon rally. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he requested the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles county, calling it unlawful. In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom said he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Trump "has created the conditions" around the protests. Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty. "These are the acts of a dictator, not a president," he wrote in a post on X. However, Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing on Sunday night that the protests were getting out of control. Asked if the National Guard was needed, McDonnell said police would not "go to that right away," but added, 'Looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment.' In a social media post, Trump called on McDonnell to do so. "He should, right now!!!" Trump added. 'Don't let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!' The White House disputed Newsom's characterization, saying in a statement, "Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness." Earlier, about a dozen National Guard, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed. U.S. Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property. In a social media post on Sunday, Trump called the demonstrators "violent, insurrectionist mobs" and said he was directing his cabinet officers "to take all such action necessary" to stop what he called 'riots.' Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or National Guard troops, saying, "They spit, we hit." He did not cite any specific incidents. "If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order," Trump said. The FBI offered a $50,000-reward for information on a suspect accused of throwing rocks at police vehicles in Paramount, injuring a federal officer. Despite Trump's rhetoric about the demonstrations, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events like civil on Sunday whether he was considering doing so, he said, 'It depends on whether or not there's an insurrection.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has 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." U.S. Northern Command said about 500 Marines were prepared to deploy if ordered. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard, but also condemned protesters who became violent. "I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily," Bass told a press conference. Vanessa Cárdenas, the head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of 'trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration.' On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting ICE a goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants a day. Census data suggests a significant part of the population in Democratic-run Los Angeles is Hispanic and foreign-born. But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included legally residents, some with permanent residence, spurring legal challenges. On Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the U.S. government over the immigration raids and National guard deployment. "We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue," Sheinbaum, who has sought to cultivate a positive relationship with Trump, said at a public event. "The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform." Trump's justification for the National Guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the U.S. Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the 'orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States.' It was not immediately clear if the president had the legal authority to deploy the National Guard without Newsom's order. Title 10 allows for National Guard deployment by the federal government if there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.' Those troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities. Trump's memo says the troops will 'temporarily protect ICE and other United States government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring, or are likely to occur.'
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops amid protests in Los Angeles
Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump's extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd. Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and making arrests of people who don't leave. Some of those remaining threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier that spanned the width of a street and others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound 101 Freeway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover. Sunday's protests in Los Angeles, a sprawling city of 4 million people, were centered in several blocks of downtown. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents. The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were 'overwhelmed' by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble. Starting in the morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted 'shame' and 'go home." After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon. Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Trump remove the guard members in a letter Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a 'serious breach of state sovereignty.' He was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials. The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration's mass deportation efforts. Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the increasingly aggressive protests on Trump's decision to deploy the Guard, calling it a move designed to enflame tensions. They've both urged protesters to remain peaceful. 'What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration," she said in an afternoon press conference. 'This is about another agenda, this isn't about public safety.' But McDonnell, the LAPD chief, said the protests were following a similar pattern for episodes of civil unrest, with things ramping up in the second and third days. He pushed back against claims by the Trump administration that the LAPD had failed to help federal authorities when protests broke out Friday after a series of immigration raids. His department responded as quickly as it could, and had not been notified in advance of the raids and therefore was not pre-positioned for protests, he said. Newsom, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that California authorities had the situation under control. He mocked Trump for posting a congratulatory message to the Guard on social media before troops had even arrived in Los Angeles, and said on MSNBC that Trump never floated deploying the Guard during a Friday phone call. He called Trump a 'stone cold liar.' 'It's a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. Deployment follows days of protest The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton. Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA's fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot. The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement. The protests did not reach the size of past demonstrations that brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops. The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Trump says there will be 'very strong law and order' In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard. Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were 'violent people' in Los Angeles 'and they're not gonna get away with it.' Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: 'We're gonna have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country.' He didn't elaborate. About 500 Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Los Angeles were in a 'prepared to deploy status' Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Northern Command.
