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The Sun
42 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump Deploys Troops to LA Amid Immigration Protest Clashes
LOS ANGELES: Security forces clashed with protesters outside a detention center in Los Angeles on Sunday as National Guard troops deployed by President Donald Trump fanned out across the city following two days of unruly protests over raids by immigration agents. Trump on Sunday vowed the troops would ensure 'very strong law and order,' while appearing to leave the door open to deploying soldiers in other cities. 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 guns were stationed at a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, where they joined Department of Homeland Security forces. Pepper spray and tear gas were fired into a small crowd -- including journalists -- as forces moved protesters back to allow a convoy of vehicles to enter the detention center. Trump, asked about the use of troops, appeared to leave the door open to a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country. 'You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it,' he told reporters. 'I think you're going to see some very strong law and order.' Responding to a question about invoking the Insurrection Act -- which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force -- Trump said: 'We're looking at troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country.' The deployment in California -- the first over the head of a state governor since the Civil Rights era -- was 'purposefully inflammatory,' Governor Gavin Newsom said. '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. 'He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful.' Newsom's warning came after Los Angeles was rocked by two days of confrontations that saw federal agents firing flash-bang grenades and tear gas toward crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants. 'Intimidation' Republicans lined up behind Trump to dismiss the pushback by Newsom and other local officials against the National Guard deployment. 'I have no concern about that at all,' Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told ABC's 'This Week', accusing Newsom of 'an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary'. As for threats by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday to send in active-duty Marines on top of the Guard troops, Johnson said he did not see that as 'heavy-handed.' 'We have to be prepared to do what is necessary,' he argued. Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops was not necessarily to keep order. 'I think it's an intimidation tactic,' Thomas Henning said. 'These protests have been peaceful. There's no one trying to do any sort of damage right now and yet you have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our first amendment rights.' Estrella Corral said demonstrators were angry that hard-working migrants who have done nothing wrong were being snatched by masked immigration agents. 'This is our community, and we want to feel safe,' she told AFP. 'Trump deploying the National Guard is ridiculous. I think he's escalating, he's trying to make a show for his agenda.' Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said the move demonstrated 'Trump's authoritarianism in real time.' 'Conduct massive illegal raids. Provoke a counter-response. Declare a state of emergency. Call in the troops,' he wrote on social media, adding: 'Unacceptable.' 'Good men and women' The National Guard -- a reserve military -- is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities. Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on undocumented migrants -- who he has likened to 'monsters' and 'animals' -- since taking office in January. Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in other US cities have triggered small-scale protests in recent months, but the Los Angeles unrest is the biggest and most sustained against Trump's immigration policies so far. A CBS News poll taken before the Los Angeles protests showed a slight majority of Americans still approved of the immigration crackdown. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday defended migrants living north of the border. 'Mexicans living in the United States are good men and women, honest people who went to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and to support their families. They are not criminals! They are good men and women!' she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
National Guard arrives in Los Angeles as fallout from immigration raids continues
California National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday in a show of force following scattered clashes between immigration agents and protesters and amid a widening political divide between California and the Trump administration. The move by President Trump to activate nearly 2,000 guardsmen marked the first time since 1965 that a president has deployed a state's National Guard without a request from that state's governor. The decision was met with stern rebukes from state and local officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom who said the deployment was "not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis." Newsom's office on Sunday afternoon sent a formal letter to the Trump administration asking them to rescind their deployment of troops. "There is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation, while simultaneously depriving the state from deploying these personnel and resources where they are truly required," the letter reads. On Sunday afternoon, there were tense moments outside a federal detention center in downtown L.A., with officers firing tear gas and nonlethal rounds at protesters. But other areas that had seen unrest over the last few days, including the Garment District, Paramount and Compton, seemed calm. It was unclear exactly how many troops were deployed to Los Angeles as of Sunday afternoon. The National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in San Diego, said Sunday that 300 personnel were on the ground to protect federal property and personnel. Trump administration officials have seized on the isolated incidents of violence to suggest wide parts of L.A. are out of control. On Sunday, Trump took to social media to claim 'violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking' federal law enforcement. "A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals," he wrote, blaming Democratic politicians for not cracking down earlier. While officials have not said how long the immigration enforcement actions will continue, Trump told reporters Sunday, 'we're going to have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country." Many California officials, who have long been at odds with Trump, say the president was trying to exploit the situation for his political advantage and sow unneeded disorder and confusion. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the deployment of federalized troops a "chaotic escalation" and issued a reminder that "Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home." While most demonstrators have gathered peacefully, some have hurled objects at law enforcement personnel, set garbage and vehicles on fire and defaced federal property with graffiti. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Los Angeles over the past week has resulted in the arrest of 118 people, including some who have been convicted of drug trafficking, assault, child cruelty, domestic violence and robbery, according to the agency. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin and Republican politicians who support Trump's immigration actions have characterized the protests as riots intended to "keep rapists, murderers and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets." On Sunday morning, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) addressed roughly two dozen National Guard soldiers posted outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street. She had arrived at the center to inquire about Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta, who was injured and detained while documenting an immigration enforcement raid in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. "Who are you going to shoot?" Waters asked the solders. "If you're going to shoot me, you better shoot straight." Remnants of tear gas used by law enforcement during protests Saturday lingered in the air around the building, at times forcing Waters to cough. Waters, an outspoken critic of the president, called the deployment of National Guard troops an unnecessary escalation of tensions and accused Trump of "trying to make an example" out of Los Angeles, a longstanding sanctuary city. Leonard Tunstad, a 69-year-old Los Angeles resident, rode his bike up to the edge of the loading dock where troops were stationed and asked them if they really wanted to be loyal to a president that "had 34 felony convictions." He said he felt compelled to shout facts about Trump at the guardsmen because he feared the young men have been 'indoctrinated against their own citizens.' Tunstad said he believed the deployment was a gross overreaction by the Trump administration, noting the city has been home to far more raucous protests that were handled by local police. 'This is just a show. This is just a spectacle," he said. A Department of Homeland Security officer approached one of the louder demonstrators saying that he 'didn't want a repeat of last night' and didn't want to "get political." He told protesters as long as they stick to the sidewalk and don't block vehicle access to the loading dock there wouldn't be any problems. Later, DHS and California National Guard troops shoved dozens of protesters into Alameda Street, hitting people with riot shields, firing pellets into the ground and deploying tear gas to clear a path for a caravan of DHS, Border Patrol and military vehicles to enter the detention center. Jose Longoria struggled to breathe as clouds of tear gas filled Alameda Street. He pointed to a white scuff mark on his shoe, saying that a tear gas canister had hit him in the foot, causing him to limp slightly. "We're not armed. We're just peacefully protesting. They're acting out,' Longoria said of the officers. Julie Solis, 50, walked back and forth along Alameda Street holding a Mexican flag and urging the crowd to make their voices heard, but to keep the scene peaceful. She said she believes the National Guard was deployed solely to provoke a response and make Los Angeles look unruly to justify further aggression from federal law enforcement. 'They want arrests. They want to see us fail. We need to be peaceful. We need to be eloquent," she said. National Guard troops were last summoned to Los Angeles and other Southern California cities in 2020, during the George Floyd protests. Those deployments were authorized by Newsom. However, the last time the National Guard was called on by a president without a request from a state governor was 60 years ago, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators. Antonio Villaraigosa, former speaker of the California Assembly and a former L.A. mayor, said Trump's move was "meant to incite more fear and chaos in our community." 'Trump's military-style mass deportation ICE raids in California have gone too far, tearing families apart and threatening public safety," he said in a statement. "The raids at stores and workplaces are wrong, just as it's wrong to separate families with raids at schools, graduations, and churches." In Paramount, a group of camouflaged National Guard troops were stationed in a business park with armored vehicles where a Department of Homeland Security office is located. Jessica Juarez walked along Alondra Boulevard with a trash bag full of spent tear gas canisters on Sunday morning. Her voice grew hoarse as she helped a group of volunteers clean up after clashes between protesters and law enforcement the day before. United States Attorney Bill Essayli told NBC in an interview that an officer suffered a broken wrist and others were injured by rocks and cement block pieces that were thrown at them during Saturday's protest. He said it was "an extremely violent crowd," but officials are "undeterred." An acrid odor still hung in the air from the gas and flash bang grenades law enforcement fired on protesters Saturday, while scorched asphalt marked the intersection outside a Home Depot where federal authorities had staged. "I'm proud of our community, of the strength we showed," said Juarez, 40. "It's like they put so much fear into Paramount and for what? These guys didn't even clean up after themselves." The images of Paramount shrouded in smoke and flanked by police in riot gear are unusual for this community of about 50,000 residents. In many ways, the city became the starting point for the escalating federal response. "What else do you call it but an attack on Paramount and the people who live here?" said resident and union organizer Alejandro Maldonado. "People in the community were standing up to unjust immigration policies." For some, the fight between Los Angeles residents and the federal government is akin to David and Goliath. "It really does seem like they wanted to pick a fight with the little guy," union organizer Ardelia Aldridge said. Staff writer Seema Mehta and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
National Guard deploys in LA as Trump warns of 'troops everywhere'
LOS ANGELES: Security forces clashed with protesters outside a detention centre in Los Angeles on Sunday as National Guard troops deployed by President Donald Trump fanned out across the city following two days of unruly protests over raids by immigration agents. Trump on Sunday vowed the troops would ensure "very strong law and order," while appearing to leave the door open to deploying soldiers in other cities. 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 guns were stationed at a federal detention centre in downtown Los Angeles, where they joined Department of Homeland Security forces. Pepper spray and tear gas were fired into a small crowd – including journalists – as forces moved protesters back to allow a convoy of vehicles to enter the detention centre. Trump, asked about the use of troops, appeared to leave the door open to a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country. "You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it," he told reporters. "I think you're going to see some very strong law and order." Responding to a question about invoking the Insurrection Act – which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force – Trump said: "We're looking at troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country." The deployment in California – the first over the head of a state governor since the Civil Rights era – was "purposefully inflammatory," Governor Gavin Newsom said. "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. "He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful." Newsom's warning came after Los Angeles was rocked by two days of confrontations that saw federal agents firing flash-bang grenades and tear gas toward crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants. Republicans lined up behind Trump to dismiss the pushback by Newsom and other local officials against the National Guard deployment. "I have no concern about that at all," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told ABC's "This Week", accusing Newsom of "an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary." As for threats by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday to send in active-duty Marines on top of the Guard troops, Johnson said he did not see that as "heavy-handed." "We have to be prepared to do what is necessary," he argued. Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops was not necessarily to keep order. "I think it's an intimidation tactic," Thomas Henning said. "These protests have been peaceful. There's no one trying to do any sort of damage right now and yet you have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our first amendment rights." Estrella Corral said demonstrators were angry that hard-working migrants who have done nothing wrong were being snatched by masked immigration agents. "This is our community, and we want to feel safe," she told AFP. "Trump deploying the National Guard is ridiculous. I think he's escalating, he's trying to make a show for his agenda." Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said the move demonstrated "Trump's authoritarianism in real time." "Conduct massive illegal raids. Provoke a counter-response. Declare a state of emergency. Call in the troops," he wrote on social media, adding: "Unacceptable." The National Guard – a reserve military – is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities. Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on undocumented migrants – who he has likened to "monsters" and "animals" – since taking office in January. Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in other US cities have triggered small-scale protests in recent months, but the Los Angeles unrest is the biggest and most sustained against Trump's immigration policies so far. A CBS News poll taken before the Los Angeles protests showed a slight majority of Americans still approved of the immigration crackdown. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday defended migrants living north of the border. "Mexicans living in the United States are good men and women, honest people who went to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and to support their families. They are not criminals! They are good men and women!" she said.--AFP
France 24
2 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump warns of 'troops everywhere' in LA if immigration raid protests escalate
Security forces clashed with protesters outside a detention center in Los Angeles on Sunday as National Guard troops deployed by President Donald Trump fanned out across the city following two days of unruly protests over raids by immigration agents. Trump on Sunday vowed the troops would ensure "very strong law and order," while appearing to leave the door open to deploying soldiers in other cities. 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 guns were stationed at a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, where they joined Department of Homeland Security forces. Pepper spray and tear gas were fired into a small crowd -- including journalists -- as forces moved protesters back to allow a convoy of vehicles to enter the detention center. Trump, asked about the use of troops, appeared to leave the door open to a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country. "You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it," he told reporters. "I think you're going to see some very strong law and order."" Responding to a question about invoking the Insurrection Act -- which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force -- Trump said: "We're looking at troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country." The deployment in California -- the first over the head of a state governor since the Civil Rights era -- was "purposefully inflammatory," Governor Gavin Newsom said. "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. "He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful." Newsom's warning came after Los Angeles was rocked by two days of confrontations that saw federal agents firing flash-bang grenades and tear gas toward crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants. 'Intimidation' Republicans lined up behind Trump to dismiss the pushback by Newsom and other local officials against the National Guard deployment. "I have no concern about that at all," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told ABC's "This Week", accusing Newsom of "an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary". As for threats by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday to send in active-duty Marines on top of the Guard troops, Johnson said he did not see that as "heavy-handed." "We have to be prepared to do what is necessary," he argued. Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops was not necessarily to keep order. "I think it's an intimidation tactic," Thomas Henning said. "These protests have been peaceful. There's no one trying to do any sort of damage right now and yet you have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our first amendment rights." Estrella Corral said demonstrators were angry that hard-working migrants who have done nothing wrong were being snatched by masked immigration agents. "This is our community, and we want to feel safe," she told AFP. "Trump deploying the National Guard is ridiculous. I think he's escalating, he's trying to make a show for his agenda." US Democratic governors on Sunday slammed President Donald Trump's deployment of troops to quell protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, saying that authority should rest with state leadership. "President Trump's move to deploy California's National Guard is an alarming abuse of power," the governors said in a joint statement. "It's important we respect the executive authority of our country's governors to manage their National Guards." Protesters rally against immigration agents for second day in LA 01:59 'Good men and women' The National Guard -- a reserve military -- is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities. Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on undocumented migrants -- who he has likened to "monsters" and "animals" -- since taking office in January. Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in other US cities have triggered small-scale protests in recent months, but the Los Angeles unrest is the biggest and most sustained against Trump's immigration policies so far. A CBS News poll taken before the Los Angeles protests showed a slight majority of Americans still approved of the immigration crackdown. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday defended migrants living north of the border. "Mexicans living in the United States are good men and women, honest people who went to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and to support their families. They are not criminals! They are good men and women!" she said.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
National Guard face protesters hours after arriving in LA on Trump's orders
The confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Centre in central Los Angeles, as a group of demonstrators shouted insults at members of the federal guard lined shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields. There did not appear to be any arrests. About 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday on orders from Mr Trump, in response to clashes in recent days between federal immigration authorities and protesters seeking to block them from carrying out deportations. Members of California's National Guard had mobilised at the federal complex in central Los Angeles that includes the Metropolitan Detention Centre, one of several sites that have seen confrontations involving hundreds of people in last two days. The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defence that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armoured vehicle. Mr Trump has said he is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell the protests, which he called 'a form of rebellion'. California — Don't give Donald Trump what he wants. Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm. Do not use violence and respect the law enforcement officers that are trying their best to keep the peace. — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 8, 2025 The deployment was limited to a small area in central Los Angeles. The protests have been relatively small and limited to that area. The rest of the city of four million people is largely unaffected. Their arrival follows clashes near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles. As protesters sought to block Border Patrol vehicles, some hurling rocks and chunks of cement, federal agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls. Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement. On Sunday, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said the National Guard would 'keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order'. In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, defence secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty marines 'if violence continues' in the region. The move came over the objections of governor Gavin Newsom, marking the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor, according to the Brennan Centre for Justice. In a directive on Saturday, Mr 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'. Mr Newsom, a Democrat, said Mr Trump's decision to call in the National Guard was 'purposefully inflammatory'. He described Mr Hegseth's threat to deploy marines on American soil as 'deranged behaviour'. In a statement on Sunday, assistant homeland security secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California's politicians and protesters of 'defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans' safety'. A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @ICEgov will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. — Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) June 7, 2025 'Instead of rioting, they should be thanking Ice (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer,' Ms McLaughlin added. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said the order by Mr Trump reflected 'a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism' and 'usurping the powers of the United States Congress'. Mr Trump's order came after clashes in Paramount and neighbouring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back. Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in central Los Angeles, including a detention centre, where police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people.
