Tensions flare as National Guard arrives in Los Angeles to quell immigration protests

Japan Times

4 days ago

California National Guard troops clashed with protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday hours after arriving in the city on the orders of President Donald Trump to quell demonstrations against immigration raids carried out as part of Trump's enforcement measures.
About a dozen National Guard members, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators that amassed outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed. The confrontation continued on the street outside the facility.
The protesters had earlier chanted "ICE out of LA," at a group of National Guard members, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which carried out immigration raids in Los Angeles beginning on Friday, sparking demonstrations that continued for a third day on Sunday.
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 2,000 National Guard troops had started deploying and that some were already on the ground.
Trump on Sunday characterized earlier demonstrations in the city as "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.
National Guard troops were also seen in Paramount in southeast Los Angeles near the Home Depot, the site of altercations between protestors and police on Saturday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of deploying the National Guard because he wants "a spectacle."
"Don't give Donald Trump what he wants," Newsom said in a post on X. "Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm."
Video 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 that about "1,000 rioters" had protested on Friday.
Members of the California National Guard in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, California, on Sunday |
REUTERS
Law enforcement faced off with a few hundred protesters in Paramount and 100 in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, with federal officers firing gas canisters in efforts to disperse crowds, according to witnesses.
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 and three deputies received minor injuries. Sheriff's deputies did use "less lethal force" in Paramount, spokesperson Deputy Brenda Serna said, but she could not specify which tactics were used.
While U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance referred to the protesters as "insurrectionists" and senior White House aide Stephen Miller described the protests as a "violent insurrection," Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act.
Asked on Sunday, whether he would invoke the 1807 law, which empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events like civil disorder, he replied "it depends on whether or not there's an insurrection."
'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 immigration enforcement measures a hallmark of his second term.
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."
"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.
A members of the California National Guard looks at nearby protesters, whose reflection is visible in his helmet visor, in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. |
Gabriela Bhaskar / The New York Times
ICE 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 enforcement measures have also included people legally residing in the country, some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday criticized the U.S. government over the immigration raids and deployment of the National Guard.
"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
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 troops 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."