Live Updates: Cities Across U.S. Brace for Protests as Marines Prepare to Deploy in L.A.

New York Times

a day ago

Skip to contentSkip to site index
Los Angeles 3:01 a.m. June 11
Cities across the United States were bracing for a new round of immigration protests on Wednesday after the Los Angeles mayor imposed an overnight curfew downtown and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California blamed President Trump for unrest that began with deportation raids last week.
Tensions in Los Angeles, where protests since Friday over the federal immigration raids have occasionally turned violent, were raised by the U.S. military's announcement that 700 Marines would join National Guard troops in the city on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the U.S. military's Northern Command said that the Marines would help protect federal property and personnel, including immigration enforcement agents.
Even as his administration escalated the military response — an exceedingly rare use of active-duty troops on domestic soil — President Trump suggested on Tuesday that the protests in Los Angeles were petering out, and gave himself credit. 'By doing what I did, I stopped the violence in L.A.,' he said in the Oval Office.
The California governor hit back in a nationally televised address that appeared intended to be heard beyond California. Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, warned that Mr. Trump's deployment of nearly 5,000 National Guard and Marine troops to Los Angeles against state officials' advice was a 'brazen abuse of power,' and he warned of a 'perilous moment' for American democracy.
'California may be first, but it clearly won't end here,' Mr. Newsom said. 'Other states are next. Democracy is next.'
On Tuesday, the fifth day of unrest over the immigration raids, protests that began in Los Angeles grew in size and intensity across the country. Some demonstrators in downtown Chicago threw water bottles at police officers and vandalized at least two vehicles. In New York, officers made dozens of arrests near federal buildings in Lower Manhattan, the police said. In Atlanta, they used chemical agents and physical force to drive a few dozen protesters from their foothold on a highway.
More protests were planned in several cities on Wednesday, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, San Antonio and Seattle. Some organizers said that local demonstrations this week were a prelude to nationwide ones planned for Saturday against President Trump and an unusual military parade in Washington, D.C..
Mr. Trump warned on Tuesday that any demonstrators who assembled during the parade would 'be met with very big force,' without elaborating. A U.S. official later told The New York Times that discussions were taking place inside the Trump administration, including at the Pentagon, about deploying National Guard or active-duty troops to cities beyond Los Angeles.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said late Tuesday that he would deploy National Guard troops across the state to maintain order, becoming the first U.S. governor to do so since the unrest began.
Here's what else to know: Arrests: Since protests began last Friday in response to federal immigration raids in Los Angeles's garment district, hundreds of people have been arrested in several cities, including more than 330 in Los Angeles, more than 240 in San Francisco and a dozen in Austin, Texas, officials said. The encounters have turned tense at times, but the protests have remained largely confined to small sections of cities.
L.A. curfew: In Los Angeles, the downtown curfew imposed by Mayor Karen Bass was in effect until 6 a.m. It covered a complex of downtown federal buildings where protesters have clashed with police for days.
Immigration raids: Armed National Guard troops accompanied federal immigration enforcement officers on raids in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a move that the state of California has called unlawful and inflammatory. Read more ›
Court hearing: A federal judge in California has set a hearing for Thursday on the state's request to limit Marines and National Guard troops to guarding federal buildings.
Parade optics: Several current and former Army officials said the military parade on Saturday — which will mark the Army's 250th anniversary and coincide with Mr. Trump's 79th birthday — could risk appearing like a celebration of a crackdown on Americans exercising their right to peacefully assemble. Read more › Protesters gathered outside a federal building in Los Angeles on Monday. Credit... Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times
As images of protests in Southern California have flooded television and social media in recent days, a key question has emerged: Why are so many protesters carrying Mexican flags at an American political protest?
The sea of red, white and green Mexican flags at anti-deportation protests this week in Los Angeles has been seized upon by conservatives who argue that the demonstrations are inherently un-American, causing some protesters to consider leaving them at home.
Photos of masked provocateurs waving Mexican flags atop burning Waymo taxis spread instantly across conservative social media this weekend. Republicans pointed to them as a prime example of why President Trump called in the National Guard and how immigration had gone too far in California.
'Look at all the foreign flags,' Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff and the architect of Mr. Trump's domestic agenda, said Sunday on X. 'Los Angeles is occupied territory.'
To many Americans, including those on the left, it might seem a bad strategy to fight deportations of undocumented immigrants by waving the flag of another country.
But protesters said this week that they see the Mexican flag as a symbol of defiance against Mr. Trump's immigration policies or of solidarity with other Mexican Americans. The flag has become so ubiquitous in recent decades that it is a part of the Southern California landscape, adorning pickup trucks and flapping from bridges. Few mass gatherings occur in the region without a Mexican flag or two, from weekend soccer matches to Los Angeles Dodgers championship parades.
This week, those who kept waving them said that it was important to honor their heritage and not acquiesce to Mr. Trump, even while they recognized the potential political cost. They said that the flag to them was not un-American, that it represented their Chicano roots rather than a national allegiance.
The issue has cut at the heart of what it means to be an American, and whether freedom truly means being able to fly the banner of your choosing.
Bonnie Garcia, 32, a U.S.-born citizen from Los Angeles, said she had briefly considered stopping to buy an American flag before attending a rally on Monday that denounced the deployment of National Guard troops in the city. But she stuck with her original plan to bring two small flags representing the countries her parents came from, Guatemala and Mexico.
'I'm proud to be American, but in these times, being Californian is what makes me proud, and seeing the diversity here, seeing that a lot of people haven't forgotten the roots,' she said. 'I feel like that's why Trump fears diversity and fears representation in people's faces because he doesn't want people to remember, he wants to erase us, and I'm not going to stand for that.'
At protests in Los Angeles, Mexican flags have made up a solid majority, many flown by young Americans whose grandparents or great-grandparents came from Mexico. Among the crowds, there has also been a sprinkling of American flags, flags from Central American countries and Palestinian flags. Some demonstrators brought hybrid flags that had the Mexican colors and coat of arms along with the American stars and stripes.
In a nation of immigrants, Americans break out flags from other countries for cultural celebrations or holidays, like Irish Americans on St. Patrick's Day or Italian Americans on Columbus Day. But in California, where Latinos are a plurality and Mexican Americans are the largest group among them, Mexican flags are flown throughout the year as a matter of cultural pride.
Still, the optics at protests have caused California activists to ask themselves whether their flag choice was only providing more fodder for Mr. Trump as he pursued an immigration crackdown. On social media, some progressives suggested that protesters should replace their foreign flags with American ones, knowing that their rallies were being aired nationally each night.
Some on the left said that even more than optics, it was important to show that the American flag was not a patriotic symbol for the MAGA movement — that the flag belongs to all Americans, including those who oppose Mr. Trump's deportation push.
Lorena Gonzalez, the head of the California Labor Federation, headed to downtown Los Angeles for a rally on Monday with 60 small American flags to hand out.
'Waving the Mexican flag doesn't bother me, but I think it's important to remind people that I'm very proud to be an American,' Ms. Gonzalez, a former Democratic state legislator and the daughter of an immigrant farmworker, said by phone.
California has had this debate before. In the 1990s, Gov. Pete Wilson sought to end public benefits for undocumented immigrants, making arguments similar to those expressed by Mr. Trump today. At the time, white people were the majority in the state, but it was projected to become a Latino plurality, which it did in 2014.
Mr. Wilson championed Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot measure that would have banned public services for undocumented Californians. Mike Madrid, the author of 'The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy' and a Republican political consultant, said the ubiquity of Mexican flags against the measure so alienated the state's voters that it tipped the election.
'You lose the frame of this being about constitutionality and due process and human rights when you start waving a foreign flag,' Mr. Madrid said.
Decades after the Proposition 187 fight, Mr. Madrid sees the potential for the waving of the Mexican flag to help conservatives again this year.
'It hurts Latinos, and it hurts Californians,' he said. 'It's almost so bad that I wonder if it's being orchestrated.'
Kevin de León, a former legislative leader and Los Angeles city councilman, said the number of Mexican flags at the Los Angeles protests reminded him of his days as a labor organizer in the 1990s.
'If we had a redo, back in the day, we would have carried American flags,' he said. 'There should always be American flags. That's one mistake that we made on the left — we allowed the right to co-opt the American flag as if it's their own. But we're as American as anyone else. We shouldn't allow others to call out the flag as if it belonged to them exclusively.'
Fernando Guerra, the head of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, agreed that waving Mexican flags was politically counterproductive this week.
But in a metropolis where roughly half of the population is Latino, he said, it is unlikely that Mexican flags will lose their attraction.
'Strategically, should the Mexican flag be waved the way it has been at these protests? No,' he said. 'But can you prevent that from happening? No.'
Maria Flores, 52, a Mexican-born member of the United Food and Commercial Workers who has been a U.S. citizen for more than two decades, waved the Mexican colors at a rally this week.
Ms. Flores said she also owns an American flag but worried about carrying it at an anti-Trump protest because the stars-and-stripes iconography had become so associated with the MAGA movement.
'Right now, it could look bad to raise the American flag because of the Trump administration,' she said. 'If I put the U.S. flag outside my home, my neighbors would think I'm with Trump.'
She described an otherwise law-abiding undocumented family member who had been trying for years to become legal. The effort had failed so far.
'I carry the flag for my family and everyone who doesn't have papers,' she said in Spanish. 'I speak for them. I am their voice.'

news analysis Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has made little secret of his interest in running for president, and the speech was filled with the trappings of an address by a White House candidate. Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times
When Gavin Newsom stepped in front of a camera Tuesday evening, he was a California governor addressing his constituents as a crisis of civil disorder gripped pockets of Los Angeles.
But by the time Mr. Newsom was finished, it was clear the governor was speaking not only to his state but to his country, and his beleaguered party.
To Democrats looking for direction and leadership, Mr. Newsom used one of the highest profile moments of his political career to lay out the threat he argued President Trump posed to the nation, and how Americans should resist it. And he suggested he was the man to lead that fight.
'Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,' Mr. Newsom said. 'The moment we've feared has arrived.'
The next presidential election is more than three years away. But it was hard to watch the speech, delivered as anti-Trump protests spread from Los Angeles to other cities, and not wonder if the 2028 campaign had already begun. This may well prove to be a turning point both for Mr. Newsom and for the Democratic Party. Protesters being blocked on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Credit... Philip Cheung for The New York Times
Mr. Newsom has made little secret of his interest in running for president, and the speech, posted on his social media channels, was filled with the trappings of a nationally televised address from a White House candidate. He was flanked by an American and a California flag, dressed in a suit and tie, and he read from a prepared speech, which is unusual for the governor, who has dyslexia. A copy of his prepared text was released to the media in advance of its delivery, from a television studio in Los Angeles.
'He gave a kickoff to his 2028 campaign,' said Steve Bannon, a former top aide to Mr. Trump and a critic of Mr. Newsom.
The speech was the culmination of several days of battles between Mr. Newson and Mr. Trump that have captivated much of the nation. The immigration raids carried out by federal agents on Friday set off demonstrations across Los Angeles. Mr. Trump sent in the National Guard and the Marines despite Mr. Newsom's objections, producing days of caustic exchanges.
It was also a reminder of how quickly Mr. Newsom's standing has changed.
A month ago, Mr. Newsom seemed at times in danger of fading to the sidelines. At 57, he was playing out his final years as governor, since he is barred by term limits from seeking a third term.
He was facing the thankless burden of managing a huge state budget deficit, overseeing the rebuilding of Los Angeles after the January wildfires and grappling with Mr. Trump as the president moved to undercut signature California programs, from high-speed rail to clean air measures. For much of 2024, Mr. Newsom had been closely tied to Joe Biden, acting as one of the former president's surrogates and defenders before Mr. Biden was forced out of the race.
Mr. Newsom had sought, in the first days of the Trump administration, to raise his profile and to influence the direction of the Democratic Party. He hosted a podcast — 'This is Gavin Newsom' — in which he gave a platform to some of the leading figures in the Trump movement, including Mr. Bannon. He met Mr. Trump with a handshake at LAX when the president came to tour the damage from the fires. And he broke with many Democrats in saying that he thought that the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports was 'deeply unfair.'
Those actions made Mr. Newsom an unpopular figure with parts of the Democratic Party. It's unclear whether his abrupt change, from saying Democrats needed to work with Mr. Trump to his searing attacks on the president on Tuesday, will feed apprehensions among some Democrats that Mr. Newsom is inauthentic or an opportunist. Mr. Trump with Mr. Newsom in Los Angeles to survey damage from the Palisades fire in January. Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times
But Mr. Newsom's stature, at least in his party, was likely elevated by a barrage of attacks from Mr. Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and other G.O.P. leaders in the aftermath of the demonstrations against the Trump administration's immigration policies. Mr. Trump suggested Mr. Newsom be placed under arrest; Mr. Johnson said he should be 'tarred and feathered.' As a result, the lame-duck governor of California has emerged as arguably the most prominent Democratic foil to Mr. Trump.
For his part, Mr. Newsom has seemed to relish parrying with Republicans on social media, responding to their comments with acid retorts that won him cheers from Democrats who had, not so long ago, been skeptical of Mr. Newsom's friendly podcast banter with right-wing figures.
'It gives Gavin the ability to be a leader of a resistance that is not contrived,' said Rob Stutzman, a political strategist and a senior consultant to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican. 'It's real, because Trump has attacked him and his state.'
For all the plaudits he may be winning from Democrats, Mr. Newsom could face tough going should he decide to run. He comes from California, the symbol of blue America and the home of Kamala Harris, the former vice president who lost to Mr. Trump in November's election. And these next few weeks could prove increasingly difficult, as Mr. Newsom finds his fortunes tied both to what happens on the streets of Los Angeles and to the actions of the man in the White House.
David Axelrod, the former chief political aide to Barack Obama, said Mr. Newsom's 'message was very powerful.' But he warned that it is difficult to at once 'admonish the president for his provocative, escalatory actions,' while at the same time urging 'protesters to show restraint.'
Still, with his bristling attacks on Mr. Trump, Mr. Newsom may have positioned himself this week as the leader of the very resistance he once eschewed. The question is whether he can now do what so many other Democrats have failed to do over these chaotic five months: unite the party behind a strategy to weaken a president who has seemed invincible. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said he would be sending National Guard troops as protests against immigration raids spread. Credit... Eric Lee/The New York Times
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said late Tuesday that he would deploy National Guard troops across the state, making him the first governor to do so as protests against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown spread across the United States.
Mr. Abbott, a Republican and a vocal supporter of President Trump's immigration agenda, said on social media that he would not tolerate violence as protests are planned in San Antonio on Wednesday.
The protests that began in Los Angeles last Friday against federal immigration raids have spread to more than a dozen U.S. cities, including Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. While many of the protests have been peaceful, police have clashed with demonstrators at some of them.
Mr. Trump has threatened to override governors who don't want to send National Guard troops to stop protests, like the president did in California, where he sent nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines over the strong objections of state leaders. That has made California ground zero for Mr. Trump's immigration agenda, which includes ramping up deportations of undocumented immigrants with the help of local law enforcement agencies and, in a rare action, active-duty military forces.
Mr. Abbott's announcement said that the Texas National Guard will 'use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.'
'Peaceful protest is legal,' he added. 'Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.'
The announcement did not specify where and when the troops will be deployed. Mr. Abbott's office, the San Antonio Police Department, the Texas National Guard and U.S. Northern Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Monday night, more than a dozen protesters were arrested in Austin during a demonstration at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Mr. Abbott had said. Law enforcement officials used tear gas and pepper ball projectiles, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Downtown Los Angeles after a curfew went into effect on Tuesday. Credit... Mark Abramson for The New York Times
Marines are expected to be deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday, joining the National Guard troops that are already protecting federal property and immigration agents making arrests.
The 700 Marines, who have been going through training at an unspecified location in the Los Angeles area, will work alongside the National Guard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Northern Command said.
The action will broaden the federal government's rare use of military forces on domestic soil. By tradition and law, American troops are supposed to be used inside the United States only in the most dire and extreme circumstances.
President Trump mobilized the troops even as protests in Los Angeles were relatively muted on Monday and California officials objected to the deployments. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said that the use of troops was unnecessary and counterproductive.
The state of California has filed lawsuits asking the court to restrict the federal government's use of military personnel in Los Angeles. A federal judge in California scheduled a hearing for Thursday afternoon on the state's request to limit the use of troops solely to guarding federal buildings.
California requested a temporary restraining order by 1 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday declaring that the Marines and Guard troops could not accompany immigration raids or perform other law enforcement activities, like operating checkpoints. The judge, Charles S. Breyer, declined to impose the order by the deadline.
Armed Guard troops accompanied federal immigration enforcement officers in Los Angeles, holding rifles and standing next to them as they detained people, images posted on Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed.
Since President Trump mobilized the Marines on Monday, they have been receiving training in de-escalation, crowd control and the rules for the use of force, according to the Northern Command spokeswoman. When they are deployed to the streets, they will join the 2,100 Guard members already there.
Along with the National Guard troops, the Marines will provide security to ICE agents as they do their work, the spokeswoman said. She added that the troops would not be involved in helping them make arrests.
Armed National Guard troops mobilized by President Trump accompanied federal immigration enforcement officers on raids in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a move that the state of California has called unlawful and inflammatory.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Tuesday evening that the National Guard was accompanying Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on their operations.
The Trump administration deployed nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area to stop protests. The deployment enraged officials in California, who filed lawsuits asking the court to intervene in what they said were illegal and provocative moves.
Earlier in the evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a photo of what appeared to be military personnel with rifles standing with ICE officers on social media. 'This We'll Defend,' he wrote.
ICE also posted images on social media of officers detaining individuals while being surrounded by National Guard members who could be identified by the insignia on their uniforms.
A federal judge in California set a hearing for Thursday afternoon on the state's request to restrict the federal government's use of military personnel in Los Angeles in law enforcement, limiting them only to protecting federal property.
The state also demanded an emergency order by Tuesday afternoon declaring that the Marines and other troops could not accompany immigration agents on raids or perform other law enforcement activities, such as operating checkpoints. The judge, Charles S. Breyer, declined to meet the deadline.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California in Sacramento last month. Credit... Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
Gov. Gavin Newsom made the case in a televised address Tuesday evening that President Trump's decision to send military forces to immigration protests in Los Angeles has put the nation at the precipice of authoritarianism.
The California governor urged Americans to stand up to Mr. Trump, calling it a 'perilous moment' for democracy and the country's long-held legal norms.
'California may be first, but it clearly won't end here,' Mr. Newsom said, speaking to cameras from a studio in Los Angeles. 'Other states are next. Democracy is next.'
'Democracy is under assault right before our eyes — the moment we've feared has arrived,' he added.
Mr. Newsom spoke on the fifth day of protests in Los Angeles against federal immigration raids that have sent fear and anger through many communities in Southern California. He said Mr. Trump had 'inflamed a combustible situation' by taking over California's National Guard, and by calling up 4,000 troops and 700 Marines.
'Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles,' Mr. Newsom said. 'Well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals, his agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses.'
The governor is considered a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, and his Tuesday night speech, called 'Democracy at a Crossroads,' sounded national in scope. It aired on some national networks and, after a brief delay because of audio problems, on Mr. Newsom's social media accounts.
The current political standoff has given Mr. Newsom a wider platform, and he has jousted with Mr. Trump and Republicans for several days in interviews and on social media.
After Mr. Newsom's speech, some Republicans ridiculed the governor for the audio issues that occurred during the broadcast of his speech. James Gallagher, the Republican leader of the California State Assembly, responded by pointing to the strict rules the governor imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
'You are the ultimate authoritarian who shut down restaurants and masked our kids while you went to the French Laundry,' Mr. Gallagher said on X, referencing a dinner party at the famed Napa Valley restaurant that Mr. Newsom attended while gatherings were restricted in 2020.
Soon, the feud between Mr. Newsom and President Trump will head to federal court. On Monday, Mr. Newsom sued the president, challenging the military mobilization as an unlawful commandeering of state power. On Tuesday, he filed an emergency motion asking the court to immediately block the military from patrolling city streets or working with immigration agents.
A hearing on that request is scheduled for Thursday.
'Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves,' Mr. Newsom said in his speech. 'But they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control.'
The address was an unusual move for Mr. Newsom, who has dyslexia and dislikes reading from a teleprompter to deliver formal speeches. But he has been using every communication channel possible to raise alarms about the extraordinary measures Mr. Trump has taken to mobilize the military for domestic uses.
Not since the civil rights movement in the 1960s has a president sent National Guard troops to quell unrest without the support of the state's governor.
'I ask everyone to take the time to reflect on this perilous moment,' he said, 'a president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetrating a unified assault on American traditions.'
Mr. Newsom said the president had taken a 'wrecking ball' to the norms of American government by obliterating checks and balances.
'Congress is nowhere to be found,' he said. 'Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The rule of law has increasingly been given way to the rule of Don.' Video Some protesters defied the curfew imposed by Mayor Karen Bass as Gov. Gavin Newsom of California criticized President Trump's deployment of the military to Los Angeles. Credit Credit... Mark Abramson for The New York Times
Shortly before Mr. Newsom's speech aired, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles announced a curfew for the downtown area that has seen the largest demonstrations. While thousands of protesters marched peacefully over the weekend, looting and vandalism spurred the mayor's decision to shut several blocks between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Mr. Newsom implored demonstrators to be peaceful and said those who incited violence or destroy property would be prosecuted. He said 370 people had been arrested so far.
But he called on people to stand up to Mr. Trump, whom he compared to leaders in authoritarian countries. He referenced the military parade scheduled for Saturday in Washington, which will honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army but also fall on Mr. Trump's 79th birthday.
'He's ordering our American heroes, the United States military, and forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past,' Mr. Newsom said. Video Demonstrators in Chicago gathered at Federal Plaza and took to the streets to protest immigration raids. Credit Credit... Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
Protesters by the thousands marched through Chicago on Tuesday, stopping traffic in the downtown Loop and chanting anti-Trump slogans as they denounced immigration raids in Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities.
Marchers, by turns upbeat and defiant, waved Mexican flags and held signs denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Trump, reading 'ICE Out of Chicago,' 'One mustache away from fascism' and 'Immigrants make America great.'
They were also joined by protesters supporting Palestinians, wearing kaffiyehs and calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
'From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go,' the marchers chanted.
Late Tuesday evening, the protest diminished in size but turned tense. Some people spray-painted graffiti denouncing ICE and Mr. Trump on buildings and police cars.
Dozens of protesters faced off with police outside a federal building downtown. Some protesters chanted 'Shame!' at the police officers, saying that they represented ICE and the government, both institutions that were the target of the group's indignation. A few threw half-full water bottles in the direction of the officers, who quickly donned helmets with face shields.
In Chicago, a city with a sizable immigrant population, tensions have been high in predominantly Latino neighborhoods over arrests of undocumented people. In communities like Pilsen, a heavily Mexican neighborhood, some residents have been afraid to go to work or go shopping, worried that they will be detained by federal immigration agents.
On Tuesday, Chicago police officers monitored the protests from the sidelines while clearing parts of downtown to allow marchers to pass. On some streets, motorists honked their horns in support and residents of high-rises took pictures from their balconies. Some protesters streamed onto DuSable Lake Shore Drive in the early evening.
Cheryl Thomas, 26, said that she had joined the march 'because of the injustices being perpetrated against brown and Black people.'
'They are basically being kidnapped,' she said, adding that she doesn't know if the march will make a difference. 'Doing nothing sure won't change anything.'
The marchers tried to reach Trump International Hotel & Tower, a gleaming skyscraper along the Chicago River, but the police department blocked the way with officers and large trucks in the street.
The demonstration in Chicago, a predominantly left-leaning city of 2.7 million, was far larger than the regular protests in the city in opposition to the Trump administration since January. For months, groups denouncing President Trump's policies have held protests downtown, often joined by Democratic elected officials.
'This is cruelty with intent,' Representative Chuy Garcia of Chicago, a Democrat, said at a separate protest this week.
Video Some protesters defied the curfew imposed by Mayor Karen Bass as Gov. Gavin Newsom of California criticized President Trump's deployment of the military to Los Angeles. Credit Credit... Mark Abramson for The New York Times
Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles announced at a news conference on Tuesday evening that the city will begin imposing a curfew in downtown Los Angeles as part of its strategy to quell protests that were entering a fifth night.
The curfew will begin at 8 p.m. Pacific time and lift at 6 a.m. The mayor said the police will arrest anyone who defies the order. The curfew is expected to last for several days.
Protests have broken out in parts of downtown Los Angeles in the daytime and evening hours starting Friday night and continuing on Tuesday. Dozens of demonstrators have attempted to cross U.S. 101 and downtown buildings have received 'significant damage' from graffiti and broken windows, Mayor Bass said. Video
transcript L.A. Mayor Bass Declares Emergency and Enacts Curfew The curfew affects one square mile in downtown Los Angeles, to stop vandalism and looting in the area.
I wanted to let the city know that I have declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting. If you do not live or work in downtown L.A., avoid the area. Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted. The curfew will be in place tonight from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. The city of Angeles is a massive area — 502 square miles. The area of downtown where the curfew will take place is one square mile. I think it is important to point this out, not to minimize the vandalism and violence that has taken place there — it has been significant — but it is extremely important to know that what is happening in this one square mile is not affecting the city. The curfew affects one square mile in downtown Los Angeles, to stop vandalism and looting in the area. Credit Credit... David Swanson/Reuters
The number of daily arrests have increased throughout the week, L.A.P.D. Chief Jim McDonnell said. On Saturday, 27 were arrested; on Sunday, 40; on Monday, 114. On Tuesday, before evening protests began, nearly 200 people had been detained.
California's political leaders have urged the Trump administration to stop the immigration raids that have set off the demonstrations. Activists have become further inflamed by President Trump's decision to send the National Guard and Marines to California over the objection of the state's governor, Gavin Newsom.
'I think it is important to point this out, not to minimize the vandalism and violence that has taken place there, it has been significant,' Mayor Bass said. 'But it is extremely important to know that what is happening in this one square mile is not affecting the city. Some of the imagery of the protests and the violence gives the appearance as though this is a citywide crisis and it's not.'
Los Angeles instituted an overnight curfew when intense protests grew across the country in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd. Still, peaceful demonstrators defied those orders and continued marching. Activists and a city report criticized the Los Angeles Police Department's violent responses to protesters at the time.
There were also partial, intermittent restrictions on gatherings and business operations at night during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most recently, county officials instituted a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in areas where mandatory evacuation orders were in effect because of the catastrophic wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes in January.
That was also the last time National Guard troops were deployed in Los Angeles. In that case, however, it was at the mayor's request.
© 2025 The New York Times Company Manage Privacy Preferences