US national guard troops began to deploy in downtown Los Angeles after an immigration crackdown saw police use teargas on protesters in a move that has sent shockwaves though American politics.
Troops were stationed outside Metropolitan detention center in downtown Los Angeles, one of several sites that have seen confrontations involving hundreds of demonstrators and federal law enforcement in the last two days.
As the guards stood around a federal complex, dressed in tactical gear and carrying long guns, the surrounding streets were largely quiet, with just a handful of protesters gathered on a sidewalk.
The order to deploy the soldiers came from Donald Trump late on Saturday night and marks a stunning escalation in a broad crackdown on immigrants in the United States following raids across the country which have triggered protests.
Trump’s federalization of the guard troops is the first time an American president has used such power since the 1992 LA riots. At that time widespread violence broke out in reaction to the acquittal of four white police officers for brutally beating Black motorist Rodney King.
Trump’s move has been followed by the threat of even more escalation. Earlier Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s controversial and hardline defense secretary, had raised the possibility of deploying US marines onto the streets of the Democrat-run state amid the protests that had erupted in the wake of raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) authorities in the state.
“Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE,” Hegseth wrote on social media.
“If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert,” Hegseth said. Camp Pendleton is a large military base south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego.
Newsom called the potential deployment of US marines in his state “deranged” after the secretary of defense threatened their use in the city if there were further flare ups of conflict.
“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior,” Newsom wrote on X.
Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, criticized Newsom’s stance on ABC’s Face the Nation. “If he was doing his job people wouldn’t have gotten hurt the last couple of days … Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions. The president knows that he makes bad decisions and that’s why the president chose the safety of this community over waiting for Governor Newsom to get some sanity.”
The leftwing senator Bernie Sanders called the situation a threat to US democracy. “We have a president who is moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism,” Sanders told CNN. “He does not believe in the rule of law.”
Tensions in Los Angles had begun on Friday, when protesters clashed with law enforcement officials conducting immigration raids on multiple locations in the sprawling city’s downtown.
On Saturday, US immigration authorities extended enforcement action into Paramount, a majority Latino area south-east of Los Angeles, and were met with more protests outside an industrial park.
A stand-off developed between border patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks and protesters. As demonstrations continued law enforcement deployed teargas and protesters also threw objects at them. At least one car was set alight.
Trump then promised to send in the national guard – a move that many critics have feared might happen during his second administration amid fears that the US is sliding into authoritarianism.
“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles – not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” Newsom said later. “Don’t give them one.”
Bill Essayli, the US attorney for the central district of California, said late Saturday the national guard was expected to arrive in roughly the next 24 hours. He told local TV station told KCBS/KCAL that demonstrators had the right to protest peacefully, but those who were would be subject to federal prosecution.
“We will identify you, we will come find you, and we will get you,” he warned.
On his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised the national guard, even before it was reported that troops had arrived. “Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” he said in a post filled with insults at Bass and Newsom.
“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why???” he added.
Ice officers and police have been wearing face masks during raids and arrests but Noem defended this on Sunday, saying: “It’s for the safety of those individuals.” She did not specify how law enforcement will prevent protesters from wearing masks.
Immigration officers could be in California in heightened numbers for a month, a Democrat congresswoman has been told.
Nanette Barragán, who has Paramount in her constituency, said she has been told to prepare for a large presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers.
“We’ve been told to get ready for 30 days of enforcement. Thirty days of ICE enforcement,” Barragán told CNN, adding that their presence is “going to escalate the situation.”
“We haven’t asked for the help. We don’t need the help. This is [President Trump] escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It’s only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement,” Barragán said.
Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar”, or the White House executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations, warned that immigration enforcement will continue “every day” in Los Angeles.
“I’m telling you what, we’re going to keep enforcing law every day in LA,” Homan told NBC News. “Every day in LA, we’re going to enforce immigration law. I don’t care if they like it or not.”
Homan was asked if his prior warnings to elected state and local officials to not obstruct federal immigration enforcement included California governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass. Homan said he did not believe Bass had “crossed the line yet”.
But, he added, “I’ll say it about anybody. You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”
Trump has long promised mass immigration raids across the US after campaigning in part last year on anti-immigrant sentiment. Since he returned to office Ice raids have increased, in particular targeting some areas traditionally left alone such as court houses where immigrants might be attending hearings.
During afternoon protests at a downtown federal detention facility on Friday, David Huerta, the president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union, was arrested.
Huerta, who was injured and detained, released a statement to the Los Angeles Times from the hospital, saying: “Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice,” he added.
