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Los Angeles Times
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Will mom get detained? Is dad going to work? Answering kids' big questions amid ICE raids
By the time Josefina and her husband sat down to talk, the immigration raids had been going on for days, and protests over the federal actions had turned violent in parts of downtown Los Angeles. At night, they could hear the helicopters from their Boyle Heights home. The couple couldn't afford to put off the conversation any longer — fear was mounting over the potential separation of their family. Josefina's husband, a garment worker, is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided the Ambiance Apparel garment factory June 6, the couple's 15- and 19-year-old children had texted their father in a panic. He, too, works at a garment factory. Should he go to work? That's what they had to hash out Tuesday night. The couple was seated in the dining room. Their children were engrossed in a movie in the living room. The parents had not wanted their kids to hear the conversation — and figured they were out of earshot. They weren't. 'Dad should just stay home,' the teenagers insisted. And with that, the whole family was part of a difficult conversation. It was not how the couple had scripted it, but Josefina came to terms with keeping the kids in the know. 'I've done my best to shield them, but they have a lot of questions,' said Josefina, who like others in this report asked that she and her family not be fully identified over safety concerns. 'They're trying to understand what happens after this. So what I've been offering them is that this isn't how things are going to be forever, that there's power in community.' Conversations like the one in Josefina's dining room are unfolding across the Los Angeles region, as families with undocumented members grapple with fraught questions pushed to the fore by the Trump administration's chaotic crackdown on what he has called a 'Migrant Invasion.' Could mom be arrested? What happens if dad can't go to work? These and other queries are sparking excruciating — and potentially life-altering — discussions centered on planning for the possible deportation of a family member. Parents are often conflicted about how much to tell their children — even when dealing with ordinary issues. But the intense anguish some feel at this moment has exacerbated the dilemma. Child psychologists and counselors said children should be brought into the fold for these crucial conversations in age-appropriate ways. Doing so, said licensed clinical social worker Yessenia O. Aguirre, will help kids reckon with a moment suffused with anxiety. 'I would counsel people to have the conversations from early on,' said Aguirre, who is co-developing a coloring book for parents to help them navigate fears and anxieties related to immigration. 'Kids can know about real dangers and still have a joyous childhood. We don't have to protect our kids from things they are already going to hear from the news, social media, and from just going to school.' If there was ever a week in which children might have heard about issues related to immigration, it was this past one in L.A. Aggressive sweeps by ICE were met with fierce resistance by protesters and others beginning June 6. A Home Depot in Paramount became a flash point after border patrol agents began massing there early on June 7. Eventually, the scene erupted, with demonstrators clashing with authorities, leading to multiple arrests. The episode was one of the triggers that led the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to L.A. over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom. ICE forays deep into neighborhoods have continued, sparking new outrage. On Wednesday, The Times reported that a 9-year-old Torrance Elementary School student and his father were deported to Honduras. The cascading events have made it a profoundly uncertain time for immigrant families. And that can spawn anxiety, said psychologist Melissa Brymer, a director at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. But there are, she said, simple actions parents can take to help children, such as organizing a comforting family meal or arranging for other relatives to check in on a youngster to increase their sense of security. Even asking kids if they are getting a good night's sleep can spark a wider discussion about how they are faring. 'Kids are usually willing to talk about it from a sleep perspective,' Brymer said. Crowded around the dining room table, Josefina and her husband told their children that they would decide whether he'd return to work by Friday. Even though the kids were now part of the conversation, it was still going to be the adults' decision. They had to weigh the risk of a workplace raid and the husband's possible arrest against the financial implications of losing a vital source of income. The family was trying to save money to pay for a legal defense, Josefina said, should her husband be detained. 'We don't have the money to be like, 'Oh yeah, quit your job,'' Josefina said. Until the teenagers overheard their conversation, Josefina hoped they knew enough to draw comfort from the family's plans. She said, for example, that the kids know what to do if ICE officers come to their house and which lawyers to call if their father is detained. That, experts said, is the right instinct. Aguirre said that preteens and teenagers 'pick up on our moods,' and may understand more than parents realize. 'They are sensing our anxiety, they are looking at our behaviors,' she said. 'They may want to listen in and see what's underneath if we aren't speaking up.' When broaching a tough topic, older kids should be given 'space to vent,' Aguirre said, and parents should resist the urge to immediately tell their children not to be scared or worry. Instead, they can empathize, telling them, 'It makes sense — we are all so scared.' Parents can also convey that they have a plan, and clue the kids in on it. 'At that age,' Aguirre said of teenagers, 'it is more of a family dynamic — where they are included.' Some scenarios — such as detainment of a parent — are dark. But kids should be made aware of them, Brymer said. 'I think it's truly important that we talk to kids about potential separation,' she said. 'Kids are worried about that, and so let's make sure we talk it over with them. How may a potential separation impact them?' As for Josefina's family, they decided that her husband — who immigrated from Mexico when he was in elementary school about 40 years ago — would return to work. 'He decided, 'I still have a responsibility, and I still want to help provide,'' she said. For their 15-year-old daughter, having a plan has made her feel safer. 'I feel like out of my whole family, I'm the least afraid of the stuff that's happening,' she said. 'I think it's because I have hope in our people in L.A.' Ana's son was set to graduate from eighth grade on Tuesday, and amid the ongoing ICE sweeps, her family had wrestled with whether to attend the celebration at his Mid-Wilshire area school. Her husband is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. And she is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the 2012 policy that provides protection from deportation to immigrants without lawful status who came to the U.S. as children. The program has been the focus of a lengthy legal challenge and could eventually be ruled illegal. Their 14-year-old son knew the stakes. 'He understands what's happening — that there are arrests,' Ana said. Still, the family decided to attend the graduation. Even so, on the morning of the event, their son wanted to revisit the decision, asking his parents if they were comfortable with it. He even suggested they could watch the ceremony from home on a livestream the school had arranged. 'I told him, 'No, we're going to accompany you,'' Ana said. 'And we did. In the end it was worth it to be with him and applaud his successes.' Experts could understand her decision. Maintaining a sense of normalcy — when it is safe to do so — helps kids stay on an even keel. Brymer recommends encouraging them to continue to go to school and summer activities if possible, and to participate in their typical social events. 'Kids do better with routines,' she said. 'They should be allowed to play and interact.' Aguirre, however, noted that children crave 'a sense of safety and connection with loved ones' more than they desire a 'sense of normalcy.' She added: 'It might not be the best time to keep that normalcy — that puts a lot of pressure on parents.' If attending a public event or milestone celebration presents a big risk, Aguirre said, parents might consider opting out, and making plans to ensure their presence is felt from afar. 'Prep the child ahead of time and say, 'We are not able to physically be there, but we are so proud of this accomplishment,'' Aguirre said. She said parents might tell their child, 'We are going to ask [a friend at the event] to blow this whistle, and when they blow it, know that we are there.' 'For eighth-graders, there would be heartache around not having parents there, but I can also imagine if anything were to happen, they would feel a lot of guilt,' Aguirre said. On the day of Ana's son's graduation, the school auditorium opened hours early, so that families did not have to wait on the sidewalk. But the celebration was bittersweet, she said. Fear was palpable among both the students and the crowd. And familiar faces were absent. 'It's a little hard to face sometimes,' Ana said. 'But at the same time we have to be with them in these important moments in life.' Paige and her 8- and 11-year-old daughters stood in front of Long Beach Civic Center on Tuesday evening, alongside roughly 400 other protesters. They chanted slogans near the Port Headquarters building amid signs and swirling American and Mexican flags. 'Seeking safety is NOT a crime,' one sign read. 'Humans are not illegal,' said another. The family isn't new to protesting. Paige and both daughters took to the streets in 2020 after George Floyd's murder sparked outrage. But this time the issue is personal: The girls' father is an undocumented Mexican immigrant. 'Now that it's impacting our family significantly, it's a bit harder for her,' Paige said of her younger daughter. 'She's fighting for her family.' Paige is separated from the girls' father, and he lives elsewhere. It's been difficult for the kids to spend nights apart from him, she said. To allay their worries, he's stayed over a couple of nights. And attending the protest provided additional comfort, because it showed the children that they were part of a supportive community. In times of crisis, giving kids the chance to express themselves by participating in the moment helps them process their feelings, Brymer said. 'People are out protesting because they love their culture, and they're trying to advocate for their rights and for rights of' others, she said. But participating doesn't necessarily have to mean protesting, which may not feel appropriate for some, Aguirre said. Instead, children can help in other ways, such as helping to deliver groceries for a vulnerable neighbor, she said. It's important, Brymer said, to acknowledge that children 'really want to be those agents of change.' Sequeira reports for The Times' early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump lied about LA protests to deploy the National Guard. He wants violence.
Donald Trump, the president who glibly pardoned the men and women convicted in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, wants you to believe that the second most populated city in America is in ruins, destroyed by 'insurrectionist mobs.' That's nonsense. Trump inhabits an imaginary, dystopian America spun from his opportunistic lies. The president wants you to believe, because it's politically expedient for him, that predominantly peaceful protests in Los Angeles over intentionally provocative raids by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are vast and violent. He wants you to believe that Los Angeles has burned. He wants you to believe that, as he posted on social media June 8, 'violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents,' and that the city is under siege from a 'Migrant Invasion.' I'll say it again: Our president inhabits an imaginary, dystopian America spun from his opportunistic lies. After promising to target 'criminals,' Trump's administration, to make up for the paltry number of actual criminals ICE agents have been able to find and deport, has resorted to going after immigrants waiting for work in Home Depot parking lots. It's targeting immigrants who are properly following the immigration process, posting ICE agents outside courthouses to snatch noncriminals who are seeking a better life. It's making a point of hitting a liberal city with a large immigrant population for one reason and one reason alone: Trump wants violence. He wants you to believe there are hordes of murderous immigrants making America dangerous and unlivable. He used that baseless imagery to justify ordering National Guard troops to Los Angeles, against the wishes of the California governor. Trump wants to normalize this kind of power grab. Opinion: Manufacturing down, food expensive and ICE is deporting moms. Happy now, MAGA? Because that's the kind of power you want if you exist in an imaginary version of America spun from opportunistic lies. Republican leaders want all of this as well. Trump is living, breathing evidence that the GOP wants power at any cost, and Republican lawmakers are more than happy to parrot their leader's xenophobic fearmongering. Despite years of screaming about 'government overreach,' they'll sit back and gladly watch Trump sic U.S. soldiers on American citizens and use a blue-state city as a test model for tyranny. Why? Because our president and members of his party inhabit an imaginary, dystopian America spun from their opportunistic lies. Opinion: Republicans, be so for real. This embarrassing government is what you wanted? California officials, from Gov. Gavin Newsom to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, have made clear they don't want or need the National Guard in the city. Over the weekend, there were isolated incidents involving property damage, vehicles burned and, as KLTA-5 reported, "LAPD said officers encountered demonstrators throwing 'concrete, bottles and other objects.' " Police responded with sizable force, from tear gas to rubber bullets and flash bangs. But overall, officials have said, and widespread reporting has supported, that the protests have been small and predominantly peaceful. Still, Trump told his millions of social media followers that he was sending federal forces to 'liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.' I repeat, because it bears repeating: Trump inhabits an imaginary, dystopian America spun from his opportunistic lies. On June 8, the same day Trump and Republicans were telling Americans that Los Angeles was a chaotic war zone, the Los Angeles Pride Parade went off in Hollywood without a hitch. And The New York Times reported: 'The chaotic demonstrations that consumed social media and cable news in recent days were concentrated around only a couple parts of the region ‒ the working-class suburb of Paramount, where federal agents clashed with protesters near a Home Depot, and downtown Los Angeles.' Opinion: Trump's mass deportation scheme is an insult to all of us The city is immense. The chaos, in terms of people and the extent of any damage, has been minimal. Yet Trump and his Republican enablers choose to live in an imaginary, dystopian America spun from their opportunistic lies. Making all of this worse, of course, is that the supposed need for mass deportations is built on lies. Lies about a 'migrant crime wave.' Lies about America being unsafe because of immigrants. If the ICE raids targeting Los Angeles are necessary, why aren't they also necessary in the red states one would assume Trump is more inclined to protect? Why are ICE agents not searching for undocumented workers on farms in Nebraska or in meat-packing plants in Indiana? Why are anti-ICE protests in red states not being met with equal federal force? Why go to one of the bluest cities in one of the bluest states? Why doesn't Trump simply let those Democrats deal with the alleged 'migrant crime' and focus on the 'real Americans' he claims to care about? Perhaps because this is all nonsense. Or a distraction from Trump's recent clash with Elon Musk or the criticism of his deficit-ballooning tax bill making its way through Congress. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Newsom was asked late June 8 what he wanted to say to Trump about the situation in Los Angeles and the decision to federalize the National Guard and send soldiers in. The governor said: 'Where's your decency, Mr. President? Stop. Rescind this order, it's illegal and unconstitutional, and I said it, I'll say it again, it's immoral. You're creating the conditions that you claim you're solving, and you're not. And you're putting real people's lives at risk.' One last time: Trump inhabits an imaginary, dystopian America spun from his opportunistic lies. And that, unlike fabricated 'migrant riots,' puts every American in danger. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump is using LA as a testing ground for tyranny | Opinion
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsom Slams Trump as ‘Stone-Cold Liar' Over Phone Call
California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Donald Trump as a 'stone-cold liar' in an MSNBC interview on Sunday, insisting the president's angry public posturing doesn't match the tone he struck during a Friday phone call. Trump has been attacking the Democrat on Truth Social after deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles—against the governor's wishes—to intervene in protests in the city. The troops arrived Sunday, and clashes between protesters and law enforcement grew increasingly fraught throughout the day. Newsom said he and Trump spoke late on Friday night—about 1.30 a.m. Saturday in D.C.—but Trump never brought up the National Guard. The protests broke out on Friday after a series of federal immigration raids on workplaces across Los Angeles. 'We talked for almost 20 minutes and he barely, this issue never came up,' Newsom said on MSNBC. 'I tried to talk about L.A., he wanted to talk about all these other issues. We had a very decent conversation.' 'He never once brought up the National Guard. He's a stone-cold liar,' he added. 'He said he did. Stone. Cold. Liar. Never did.' 'There's no working with the president. There's only working for him, and I will never work for Donald Trump,' he said. 'You're creating the conditions that you claim you're solving,' he later added. The governor said he's suing the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard and the lawsuit will be filed tomorrow. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. Earlier, Newsom had slammed Trump's order to deploy the troops as unlawful and formally called for it to be rescinded. He has said the move was 'purposefully inflammatory.' It's been about six decades since a president last sent in the National Guard without a governor's request or approval. 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty—inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed,' Newsom wrote on X earlier Sunday. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has echoed that sentiment, saying that the situation had been under control before the federal intervention sparked a 'chaotic escalation.' 'Angelenos — don't engage in violence and chaos. Don't give the administration what they want,' she posted on Sunday night. Ignoring calls for de-escalation from local leaders, Trump amped up the rhetoric throughout Sunday, even calling the protesters 'insurrectionists' on Truth Social. He said he'd directed administration officials to 'liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion.' The president, who in January pardoned hundreds of rioters who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, also attacked Newsom and Bass and called on them to 'apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done.'
Leaders
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
LA Protests: Marines Deployed, California Sues Trump amid Growing Unrest
The US President, Donald Trump, on Monday ordered additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to be deployed to Los Angeles (LA) to protect federal property and personnel. The move followed days of clashes between authorities and demonstrators protesting against the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. The troop deployment has caused a dispute between Trump and California Governor, Gavin Newsom, who decided to sue the administration. US Marines to LA As protests in Los Angeles entered its fourth day, Trump ordered the deployment of another 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to support the nearly 300 National Guard troops who arrived in the city to help quell the protests. Trump had ordered the deployment of an initial 2,000 troops in response to violent protests that swept LA over immigration crackdown. He said the deployment aims to thwart what he called 'Migrant Invasion' and end riots. California Rejects Troops Trump's orders have caused a dispute with California officials, who reject the increased military presence and consider it 'inflammatory' and a 'serious breach of state sovereignty.' The California Governor, Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, said that sending more military personnel was putting public safety at risk as the police said they don't need the help. Newsom also described the deployment as 'Reckless. Pointless. And Disrespectful to our troops,' he wrote on X. Moreover, Los Angeles Police Chief, Jim McDonnell, expressed confidence in his forces' ability to handle the protests. In a statement, he said that the lack of coordination between the Marines and the police department presented a 'significant logistical and operational challenge.' LA Protests The protests broke out on Friday in downtown Los Angeles after federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement agencies conducted raids across LA, arresting over 100 immigrants and sparking protests. Protests intensified on Sunday, as thousands of protesters took to the streets, blocking off a major freeway and burning self-driving cars, while law enforcement responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs, declaring several rallies 'unlawful assemblies.' More protests against immigration crackdown erupted across other cities, including San Francisco and Santa Ana in California and Dallas and Austin in Texas. Protests in LA were significantly calmer on Monday morning, as thousands peacefully demonstrated at City Hall and hundreds protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center holding immigrants. But as evening fell, officers grew more aggressive, sometimes rushing to arrest protesters who came too close. Trump vs. Newsom The US President has taken aim against California Governor, accusing him of being 'very incompetent' and doing a 'horrible job.' Trump defended his decision to send the National Guard troops, saying that otherwise, 'Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.' Furthermore, Trump backed the 'Border czar' Tom Homan threats of arresting Newsom and Mayor Bass if they obstructed troop deployment efforts. In response, Newsom called this 'an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.' Lawsuit against Trump In a further escalation of the dispute between Trump and Newsom, California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the use of National Guard troops, saying that the move 'trampled' the state's sovereignty. 'We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops,' Bonta said during a virtual news conference on Monday. The court filing said that Trump's extraordinary deployment of troops to Los Angeles violates the 10th amendment in an 'unprecedented usurpation' of state powers. 'The Governor of the State of California and the State of California bring this action to protect the State against the illegal actions of the President, Secretary of Defense, and Department of Defense to deploy members of the California National Guard, without lawful authority, and in violation of the Constitution,' it said. Short link : Post Views: 22
10-06-2025
- Politics
Trump says LA is under siege, but the mayor and governor paint a different picture
President Donald Trump defended his decision to send the National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quash protests that turned violent, saying in a social media post on Sunday that "if we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated." Trump alleged the nation's second largest city, which covers more than 500 square miles, had been "invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals" and that he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi to coordinate with all relevant agencies to "take all such actions necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots." While Trump has painted Los Angeles as being under siege and out of control, most of the demonstrations this past weekend over his administration's crackdown on illegal immigration has been concentrated in downtown Los Angeles near the federal building and federal detention center. Other protests have also occurred outside of the downtown area, one in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, about 14 miles from downtown, and another in Compton, which is next to Paramount, and about 12 miles from downtown LA, according to local law enforcement. Meanwhile the rest of Los Angeles appeared to go about life as normal over the weekend. The city's annual Pride Parade even took place on Sunday without incident in Hollywood about 7 miles from downtown. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have accused Trump of making sensational public claims about how widespread the violence has been, and both have said the Los Angeles police and sheriff's departments could handle the unrest on their own. "He flamed the fires and illegally acted" by mobilizing the National Guard go LA without the conscent of local and state officials, Newsom said of the president in a statement on Monday posted on social media. "The order he signed doesn't just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We're suing him." On Monday, a U.S. official confirmed that 700 Marines in California have been ordered to assist in Los Angeles and they're expected to arrive over the next 24 hours, a U.S. official confirmed. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has decried the escalation of violence during the protests, saying officers had been targeted with Molotov cocktails, fireworks and rocks. But he also said Monday that the arrival of the military troops in Los Angeles "presents a significant logistical and operation challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city." "The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, has decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively. That said, our top priority is the safety of both the public and the officers on the ground," McDonnell said. At a news conference Monday evening, as the protests entered their fourth night -- with some tense confrontations between protesters and police leading to the firing of less lethal munitions by police -- Bass insisted the city could handle the unrest on its own. Asked about the deployment of the Marines, Bass responded incredulously. "We didn't need the National Guard," she told reporters. "Why on earth -- What are they going to do? Do you know what the National Guard is doing now? They are guarding two buildings. They're guarding the federal building here in downtown and they're guarding the federal building in Westwood. That's what they're doing. So they need Marines on top of it, I don't understand that." Trump bypassed Newsom and activated 2,100 California National Guard troops, including 1,700 on the ground in Los Angeles as of Monday night and the remainder on standby to be sent there, the U.S. Northern Command said in a social media post lafe Monday night. It marks the first time a president has mobilized troops without a governor's consent since President Lyndon B. Johnson did so in 1965, when he sent National Guard troops to Alabama to protect civil rights activists marching from Selma to Montgomery. Protest erupts The protests erupted on Friday in downtown Los Angeles after word filtered into the community that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting raids on multiple locations in the downtown area without the consent of city officials, including a Home Depot in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown. The raids resulted in the arrests of 40 people, 35 of them Mexican citizens, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Sunday. Dozens of protesters began gathering in the Fashion District of downtown, where one of the raids occurred at an apparel business, officials said. Around 3 p.m. local time on Friday, aerial footage taken by ABC Los Angeles station KABC, showed what appeared to be ICE agents loading two white vans with people in handcuffs. As the vans left the apparel business, protesters tried unsuccessfully to stop them, including one individual who was seen lying down the road in the path of one of the vans. As the raids were unfolding on Friday, Mayor Bass, issued a post on X, condemning ICE's actions, writing, "we will not stand for this." Around 6 p.m. on Friday, crowds gathered outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and the U.S. Courthouse downtown and began vandalizing the buildings, spay painting profanities directed at ICE on the facade and clashing with ICE agents. Federal authorities asked the LAPD to assist around 6:30 p.m., but it took city officers about an hour to arrive at the scene due to "significant traffic congestions, and the presence of demonstrators, and notably, by the fact that federal agents had deployed irritants into the crowd prior to LAPD's arrival." The LAPD declared the protest an "unlawful assembly" soon after officers arrived on scene on Friday night, writing on social media that "officers are reporting that a small group of violent individuals are throwing large pieces of concrete" and warning protesters that "the use of less lethal munitions has been authorized by the Incident Commander" to disperse the crowd. "Within 55 minutes of receiving the call, we began to disperse the hostile and riotous crowd," the LAPD said. Video showed police in riot gear confronting protesters with batons and firing what appeared to be tear gas canisters and flash bangs at the demonstators. Around the same time, a protest broke out in neighboring Compton, where a vehicle was set ablaze in the street near the iconic Dale's Donuts sign, according to video taken at the scene. Demonstration moves to Paramount On Saturday, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department received calls around 10:15 a.m. that a "significant" crowd was gathering in Paramount and obstructing traffic and that deputies observed the presence of federal agents in the area. "As the situation escalated, the crowd of protesters became increasingly agitated, throwing objects and exhibiting violent behavior toward federal agents and deputy sheriffs," the sheriff's department said in a statement. "In response, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) requested additional resources countywide, deploying additional deputies to maintain order." The sheriff's department said it responded to the scene to protect federal agents under attack, but emphasized, "This does not mean that we are assisting with their immigration actions or operations." Bass said that there were no ICE raids in Paramount or anywhere else in Los Angeles County on Saturday. She said the building that protesters gathered near was being used as a staging area for federal resources. The LAPD said 29 people were arrested during Saturday's protest, mostly for failing to disperse, but overall it said in a statement that demonstrations across the city of Los Angeles on Saturday "remained peaceful, and we commend all those who exercised their First Amendment rights responsibly." Trump deploys National Guard On Saturday night, Trump signed a presidential memorandum authorizing the deployment of National Guard members to Los Angeles, saying it was necessary to "address the lawlessness" in Los Angeles. Newsom called Trump's move, "purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions." Bass agreed and issued a plea to the White House to reverse the decision. "Deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids is a chaotic escalation," Bass said in a statement posted on social media on Saturday afternoon. "The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real -- it's felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk. This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protestors to remain peaceful." Newsom called the president's decision "an alarming abuse of power." Around 2:18 a.m. local time time on Sunday, the LAPD issued a traffic advisory, reporting that demonstrators were approaching the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles and warned that the unlawful assembly order declared on Friday was still in effect. Around the same time, the LAPD said it received reports that demonstrators were jumping onto the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation tracks near the Little Tokyo Train Station downtown, causing all trains to be halted as officers reponded. The National Guard began arriving in Los Angeles around 4 a.m. on Sunday, taking up a position outside the Roybal federal building. Protesters who defied the order to stay away, assembled in front of the Roybal federal building and detention center, heckling National Guard members and police within earshot. Around 3:30 p.m., the LAPD issued another traffic advisory that a group of demonstrators was marching into the downtown area. Later Sunday, demonstrators began approaching to 101 Freeway and eventually got onto the southbound lanes of the freeway, prompting authorities to close the freeway in both directions, police said. The protest soon devolved into demonstrators standing on an overpass throwing concrete, bottles and other objects at officers attempting to remove demonstrators from the freeway. As the protest grew more rowdy, several Waymo autonomous vehicles were set on fire in the downtown area, prompting the company to halt service to downtown LA. Police said protesters threw fireworks at officers during the standoff and police said stores were looted in the downtown area. Officials said two LAPD officers were injured by motorcyclists attempting to breach a skirmish line police had established. The LAPD said 21 people were arrested on Sunday on charges ranging from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail to looting to failure to disperse. The California Highway Patrol said 19 people were arrested for disobeying orders to disperse from the 101 Freeway. The LAPD announced on Monday that the police force was going on "Tactical Alert," meaning all personnel are to remain on duty as the city braced for another evening of protests. As protests in Los Angeles entered their fourth night, photos from the scene showed tense moments as demonstrators confronted authorities. At one point, police said protesters near Temple Street and Los Angeles Street in downtown LA began throwing objects at police and police authorized the use of "less lethal munitions" in response.
