Violent protests erupted for a second consecutive day in Los Angeles following large-scale immigration raids, prompting the Trump administration to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops. The unrest, centred around the city’s Paramount neighbourhood, witnessed tense confrontations between demonstrators and federal agents on Saturday.
The protests stem from a sweeping immigration enforcement operation on Friday which led to the arrest of at least 44 individuals across Los Angeles. According to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the arrests triggered a crowd of over 1,000 protesters to gather outside a federal facility, with incidents of vandalism, tyre slashing, and assaults on law enforcement personnel reported.
On Saturday, heavily armed agents from the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returned to Paramount, donning tactical gear and gas masks. They faced a determined group of protesters chanting “ICE out of Paramount”, waving flags, and recording the confrontation on mobile phones. Federal officers deployed tear gas and flashbang grenades to disperse the gathering. Streets were cordoned off as tensions escalated.
President Donald Trump, posting on his Truth Social platform, lashed out at California officials. “If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” he wrote.
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The White House confirmed the deployment of 2,000 National Guard personnel. “This is a response to an escalating law and order crisis,” Trump’s border czar Tom Homan stated.
Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticised the move, calling the deployment “purposefully inflammatory”. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, likewise, condemned the raids and tactics used by federal officers. “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this,” she said.
The federal government, meanwhile, accused local officials of enabling hostility against law enforcement. Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at DHS, stated: “From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller described the protests as “an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States”, adding that the administration was committed to deporting “record numbers” of undocumented migrants. He said the new target was “at least 3,000 ICE arrests per day”.
A live video feed circulating online showed officers in formation behind overturned shopping carts, forming a military-style perimeter as protesters hurled slogans and refused to disperse. One protester was seen waving a Mexican flag, while others covered their faces with cloth masks.
The FBI confirmed it is jointly reviewing video and evidence from the protests with the US Attorney’s Office to identify potential criminal conduct.
The Los Angeles immigration crackdown is part of President Trump’s broader national campaign to increase deportations of undocumented migrants, a key pledge in his re-election campaign.
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