Anti-Ice protesters celebrate in front of a burning car in the middle of the intersection of Atlantic Ave and East Alondra Boulevard. Photo / Getty Images
Anti-Ice protesters celebrate in front of a burning car in the middle of the intersection of Atlantic Ave and East Alondra Boulevard. Photo / Getty Images
US President Donald Trump has ordered the National Guard on to the streets of Los Angeles after a second day of violent protests against his immigration policies.
Protesters today confronted federal immigration officers who had been carrying out raids on local businesses in Paramount, on the outskirts of LA.
BorderPatrol officers in riot gear and masks deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse demonstrators outside an industrial park where federal vehicles were targeted.
Protesters used cement blocks and shopping carts to block the road and jeered at officers, shouting at them to get Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (Ice) “out of Paramount”.
They shouted “we see you for what you are” and “you are not welcome here”.
One handheld sign read: “No human being is illegal.”
On his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “The Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved” if Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, and the Los Angeles Mayor “can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t”.
Newsom said the federal Government was “moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2000 soldiers” and warned that it would only escalate tensions.
“This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,” he said.
Local authorities “are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice”, the governor also said, adding that “there is currently no unmet need”.
Tom Homan, the White House’s border tsar, told Fox News: “American people, this is about enforcing the law – and again, we’re not going to apologise for doing it.”
An anti-Ice protester walks over to a tear gas canister to douse the flames. Photo / Getty Images
It follows a protest outside a detention centre in downtown LA on Friday night (local time) during which dozens of people were arrested as they demonstrated against a series of Ice raids on workplaces earlier in the day.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, provoked fury from Republicans after she claimed that activity by Ice was meant to “sow terror” in the nation’s second-largest city.
Ice acting director Todd Lyons attacked Bass for the city’s response to the protests.
“Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,” Lyons said.
“Make no mistake, Ice will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens.”
Ice had taken 40 people into custody earlier on Friday after searching multiple locations including a clothing warehouse in the city’s fashion district.
A tense scene unfolded as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.
Advocates for immigrants’ rights said people had also been taken into detention after being stopped by Ice officers outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.
The action came after a judge found probable cause that an employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers, according to representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the US Attorney’s Office.
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, posted a message on social media addressing “LA rioters” and warning that interference with immigration enforcement would not be tolerated.
“You will not stop us or slow us down,” Noem said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that Ice “will enforce the law” and that “if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
Dan Bongino, the FBI’s deputy director, confirmed multiple arrests had been made on Friday.
He posted on X: “You bring chaos, and we’ll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.”
Homeland Security said in a statement that recent Ice operations in LA resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants.
After the Friday arrests, protesters gathered in the evening outside a federal detention centre, chanting, “Set them free, let them stay!”
Some held signs with anti-Ice slogans, and some people scrawled graffiti on the building.
Among those arrested at the protests was David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union.
Justice Department spokesman Ciaran McEvoy confirmed that Huerta was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in LA before a court appearance on Monday.
It was not clear whether Huerta had legal representation.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, called for his immediate release. In a social media post, Schumer cited a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech”.
The immigration arrests come as Trump and his administration push to fulfil promises of mass deportations across the country.
