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.
Advertisement
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.
There had been clashes in Los Angeles the night before, too, when ICE agents raided several locations in the city and arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations.
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.”
Advertisement
The president’s move came shortly after he issued a threat on his social media network, warning Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass that if they didn’t “do their jobs”, then “the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
It is not clear when the National Guard troops will be sent in.
Trump’s border chief, Tom Homan, however, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Legal challenges
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington, DC, said Trump’s move to deploy the National Guard has prompted concern and raised legal questions.
“There has not been a deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles since 1992, during the riots after the police beating of Rodney King. So, this is a significant step,” she said.
According to the California governor’s office, Trump federalised part of the California’s National Guard under what is known as Title 10 authority, which places him, not the governor, atop the chain of command, to deploy the troops.
Robert Patillo, a civil and human rights attorney, called the president’s move to bypass the governor and call in troops as “unprecedented” in recent history.
“Normally, if federal troops are going to be used inside of states, it’s going to be at the invitation of the governor of that state. For example, in 1992, the California governor invited federal troops in to put down the LA riots. But if the governor, such as Gavin Newsom, has not asked for federal troops to come in, and these troops are coming in against his will, then there will be challenges,” he said.
Advertisement
“Soldiers are not cops, and that’s why you do not use them as a law enforcement, law for law enforcement. This has grave danger for the people of that area.”
Patillo also described Trump’s move as a crackdown on free speech and said it was detrimental to the US’s constitutional norms.
“We are a republic. We are made up of a union of 50 states, and the president does not have direct authority over every state. We’re now seeing President Trump going to New York, saying he wants to end to congestion fees and using federal powers there. He’s going into Harvard [University] to say he wants to change curriculums there. He’s suing law firms to change their values. He’s going up to corporations. He’s now saying he’s sending direct federal troops into Los Angeles to put down speech,” Patillo said.
“At what point in time do people realise exactly what’s going on a macro level within this administration? And when are those small government conservatives going to come back and say, maybe this is too much power in the hands of one man?” he asked.
Pledge of mass deportations
The immigration crackdown is part of Trump’s pledge to deport record numbers of people in the country without documentation and lock down the US-Mexico border.
The White House has set a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day.
But people living in the country legally, including some with permanent residence, have also been caught up in the sweeping immigration crackdown, leading to legal challenges.
Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle, reporting from Compton, Los Angeles, said that scenes like these are inevitable given Trump’s platform during last year’s presidential race.
Advertisement
“Donald Trump won this election [in 2024] talking about starting the biggest deportation programme in history,” said Lavelle. “He is known to loathe cities that are referred to as sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles where they do not loan their assistance to the federal authorities who are trying to deport undocumented migrants.”
Furthermore, “Los Angeles, the US’s second largest city, has a massive Latino immigrant population, many of whom are undocumented, you can see this was inevitably going to happen at some point along the line,” said Lavelle.
ICE has said that more raids are on the way, so there are undoubtedly going to be more scenes like this throughout the country in the coming hours, concludes Lavelle.
