ICE raids, protests and everything else going on in LA right now
After ICE agents arrested immigrants in LA's fashion district, protests began, and Donald Trump called in the National Guard.
A wave of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and counterprotests resulted in a tense, heated weekend for the city of Los Angeles. As scenes from the workplace raids, street marches, cars on fire, and the National Guard’s presence flashed across social media and news stations nationwide, other cities with large immigrant communities wonder: Who’s next?
The clashes began Friday, when federal ICE agents arrested immigrants in LA’s Fashion District, a Home Depot parking lot, and other locations across the city. The raids were immediately met with backlash. Protests began downtown that same day before spreading Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city in Los Angeles County neighboring Compton.
By Sunday, demonstrators’ attempts to block Border Patrol agents, hurling rocks at them in some cases, were met by a wave of National Guard troops — who were called into action by President Donald Trump — wearing riot gear, unleashing tear gas, flash-bang explosives, and pepper balls. Police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities, including a detention center where some immigrants were taken in recent days
Scenes from the standoff have taken off nationwide, including a viral instance where a news reporter was shot at close range from behind with a rubber bullet by a police officer wearing riot gear.
LA Mayor Karen Bass says the actions were isolated to small area and that those who committed crimes will be prosecuted, but that it does not reflect the entire city’s status, calling Trump’s actions “inflammatory.”
“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” Bass said in an afternoon news conference. “This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”
As of Monday, the city is calmer, officials say, but civilians are processing the aftermath with a mounting number of arrests, immigrant detainments, and hundreds of National Guard members still on the scene, with Marines reportedly on standby. Here’s what we know.
Where are the LA protests happening?
Most of the protests were concentrated near a detention center where ICE was holding immigrants it had arrested as well as near the Los Angeles Federal Building. As the weekend progressed, the conflicts spread to neighboring areas, including Paramount and Compton.
Why did the National Guard end up in LA?
Guard members arrived specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated.
They stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted “shame” and “go home.” After some approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group of protesters, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon.
Trump said in a directive Saturday that he was invoking a legal provision that allowed him to bring the National Guard to LA. He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members. Three hundred were deployed as of publication time.
Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, N.J., on Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles, “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”
What is the Insurrection Act? Is that what Trump invoked?
Generally, federal military forces are not allowed to carry out civilian law enforcement duties against U.S. citizens except in times of emergency.
An 18th-century wartime law called the Insurrection Act is the main legal mechanism that a president can use to activate the military or National Guard during times of rebellion or unrest.
But Trump didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act on Saturday.
What is the National Guard in Federal service call?
Instead, Trump relied on a similar federal law that allows the president to federalize National Guard troops under certain circumstances.
The National Guard is a hybrid entity that serves both state and federal interests. Often it operates under state command and control, using state funding. Sometimes National Guard troops will be assigned by their state to serve federal missions, remaining under state command but using federal funding.
The law cited by Trump’s proclamation places National Guard troops under federal command. The law says that can be done under three circumstances: When the U.S. is invaded or in danger of invasion; when there is a rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or when the President is unable to “execute the laws of the United States,” with regular forces.
In a memorandum published Saturday, Trump said the protests in LA “directly inhibit the execution of the laws” and “constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
Trump federalized part of California’s National Guard under what is known as Title 10 authority, which places him, not the governor, atop the chain of command, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
Does Gov. Gavin Newsom agree with Trump?
Not at all. From the start, the Democratic governor has objected to the National Guard’s deployment.
On Sunday, Newsom, a Democrat, requested that Trump remove the guard members in a letter, calling their deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty.”
Newsom said Trump’s actions were “purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
When was the last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission?
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
How many immigrant detainments and arrests have there been in LA?
The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader — David Huerta — who was accused of impeding law enforcement.
About 40 people were arrested over the weekend according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, mainly protesters who didn’t leave the area when directed by officers, he said.
Who is David Huerta?
Huerta, 58, is the president of a statewide janitors’ union and of the Service Employees International Union California. He was among those arrested by federal agents on Friday outside a garment warehouse where protesters gathered to oppose a raid.
Video footage showed Huerta being pushed by a federal agent and falling to the ground surrounded by several agents. In a news release issued Friday evening, SEIU California said Huerta was treated at a local hospital for injuries he suffered during his arrest. He was released on a $50,000 bond on Monday.
“David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people,” Newsom said in a statement. “No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action.”
What happens next?
Asked whether he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.” He didn’t elaborate.
On Monday, several hundred Marines based at Twentynine Palms were deployed, the U.S. Northern Command announced. The troops — 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division — have been trained in deescalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force, and they will be armed with the weapons they normally carry.
Meanwhile, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment. Newsom said he believed Trump was acting out of turn when he invoked the emergency law, and that the president is required to coordinate with the state’s governor before ordering such a deployment.
“Donald Trump is putting fuel on this fire. Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom wrote on X. “California will be taking him to court.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.