Trump deploys National Guard to quell protests against ICE in Los Angeles
US President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the city of Los Angeles in California, where an immigration crackdown has triggered protests and clashes for a second day.
The White House said in a statement on Saturday that Trump was deploying the guardsmen to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” in the US’s second most populous city.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilise active-duty troops “if violence continues” in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were “on high alert”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called the Republican president’s decision “purposefully inflammatory”.
He said on X that Trump was deploying the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle”.
He added, “Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”
Second night of protests, clashes
During Saturday’s protests, security personnel in riot gear confronted hundreds of protesters in the Paramount area of southeast Los Angeles, deploying tear gas on a street strewn with overturned shopping carts, as the crowds called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave their city.Some of the protesters waved the flag of Mexico and had their faces covered with respiratory masks. They hurled rocks, bottles and fireworks at security forces, while a car was set ablaze.
The confrontations followed reports of continued immigration raids near a home improvement shop in the area.
Following the arrests, protesters gathered outside a federal detention centre, where the detainees were being processed, chanting, “Set them free, let them stay!”
Some held signs with anti-ICE slogans, and some scrawled graffiti on the building.
The White House, announcing Trump’s move to deploy the National Guard, described the protesters as “violent mobs” who have attacked ICE officers and federal agents “carrying out basic deportations” in Los Angeles.
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens.
“That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
