A wave of protests erupted in Los Angeles following a series of raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting undocumented immigrants. These actions were ordered by President Donald Trump as part of his hardline stance on illegal immigration.
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The raids began in predominantly Latino neighborhoods such as Westlake and Paramount in the southern part of the city, where Latinos make up more than 82% of the population.
Within a single day, ICE announced the arrest of 44 immigrants at a worksite and another 77 individuals across various locations in Los Angeles.
Escalating Protests and Curfew in Downtown Los Angeles
As public anger intensified, city authorities imposed a nighttime curfew in downtown Los Angeles, declaring the gatherings there “unlawful.” Mayor Karen Bass announced a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. within a one-square-kilometer zone.
The area witnessed violent confrontations, including attacks on buildings, looting of stores, cars being set ablaze, and roads being blocked.
Police responded with flashbang grenades and rubber bullets. The federal building in downtown became a flashpoint after reports emerged that detainees were being held inside, prompting hundreds of protesters to surround it. Similar clashes took place at a Home Depot store in Paramount.
Protests Spread to Other U.S. Cities
The protests soon expanded beyond Los Angeles to multiple cities across the U.S. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott deployed the National Guard in San Antonio, while scattered clashes occurred in Austin and Dallas. In New York, thousands of protesters joined mass marches that resulted in several arrests. San Francisco saw over 150 people arrested after violent protests near an ICE office. Demonstrations also reached Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and other cities.
Trump Escalates by Deploying National Guard and Marines
In an unprecedented move, Trump ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, bypassing state authorities by invoking a rarely used federal law that allows the president to respond to what he called a “rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government.”
This marked the first time since 1965 that the National Guard was deployed without a request from a state governor—prompting sharp criticism from California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who warned that militarizing the situation would only heighten tensions and fail to resolve the crisis.
Fierce Political Confrontation Between Trump and Democrats
The dispute between Trump and Newsom intensified into a sharp political clash. Newsom accused the president of attacking democracy and exploiting the crisis for political gain through security escalation. In response, Trump accused Newsom of weakness and failure in managing the crisis, even hinting at the possibility of having him arrested.
Amid this political turmoil, polls show Americans deeply divided over Trump’s immigration and deportation policies.
Despite the wide deployment of federal forces, their role is limited to protecting federal buildings and ensuring the safety of federal agents such as those from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security during raids. Local law enforcement, namely the LAPD, remains responsible for arrests and daily security operations.
So far, Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act, despite previously threatening to do so during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
The Largest Deportation Campaign in U.S. History
These developments are part of Trump's broader plan to carry out what he called “the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history.” With more than a third of Los Angeles residents born outside the country, the city has become a primary target of this effort.
In May, ICE announced the arrest of 239 immigrants in a single week-long operation. The Trump administration later raised its target to 3,000 arrests per day.
The raids expanded to workplaces such as restaurants, stores, and construction sites. The campaign also included deportations to large detention centers in El Salvador, with some deportees reportedly holding legal U.S. residency.
These actions have sparked a wave of legal challenges and opposition from human rights organizations and political opponents.
An Escalating Constitutional Crisis
As both security and political tensions continue to rise, observers warn that the current situation represents one of the most serious constitutional and political challenges facing the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming elections.
Amid growing debates over the president’s authority to deploy military forces domestically and the autonomy of state governments, the future of U.S. immigration policy—and the fate of thousands of migrants—remains at the heart of this escalating confrontation.
— Agencies
