California Immigration Protests: LAPD Issues Assembly Ban as National Guard Deploys to Los Angeles

By John Gittelsohn and Alicia A. Caldwell

Source Bloomberg News

Demonstrations over U.S. immigration raids escalated for a third day in the Los Angeles area, as thousands of protesters clashed with security forces and tear gas filled the air outside a downtown federal detention center.

President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to the city over the weekend, overriding objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local officials. On Sunday afternoon, Newsom said he had formally requested the White House to rescind the “unlawful” deployment and return the troops to his command, warning it would only inflame tensions.

He also urged people in the streets to stay peaceful. “Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm,” he said on X. “Do not use violence and respect the law enforcement officers that are trying their best to keep the peace.”

In a Truth Social post late Sunday, Trump described the unrest as an attack on immigration enforcement efforts. “A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals,” he wrote.

Trump called the demonstrations “migrant riots” and said federal agencies were directed to take “all such action necessary” to restore order and continue deportation operations.

Federal law enforcement officials clashed briefly with a smaller group of demonstrators earlier on Sunday when a crowd gathered outside a federal building in downtown L.A.

The Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly in the area surrounding the federal facility, using less than lethal munitions, like tear gas and batons to chase the crowd back. The LAPD said some people in the crowd threw bottles, chunks of concrete and other objects, and that arrests have been made.

The tense demonstration follows two days of protests sparked by sweeping U.S. immigration raids across the region. Trump directed U.S. Northern Command to assume control of the National Guard and dispatch 2,000 soldiers to the area “for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense,” the White House said in a statement.

About 300 soldiers from the California National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team have been deployed to three locations in greater LA, according to U.S. Northern Command. The Guard is focused on “safety and protection of federal property and personnel,” the command said in a post on X.

The 79th IBCT is primarily a combat unit, though it has previously been called up to support civilian authorities, and a unit most recently responded to the LA-area wildfires earlier this year.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Marines could be sent next if protests intensify. Newsom called Hegseth’s suggestion of deploying the Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton “deranged.”

Hegseth on Sunday countered that Newsom had allowed violence to get out of hand.

“Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE.”

Facing mounting pressure from the White House, ICE has ramped up arrests in recent weeks, averaging about 2,000 detentions per day nationwide — still falling short of the administration’s goal of at least 3,000 daily arrests. The stepped-up enforcement is part of Trump’s vow to carry out the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history. In the L.A. area, ICE reported 118 arrests this week, though the agency has not released updated figures as of Sunday morning.

Los Angeles police said on Sunday that officers were actively monitoring protests and guarding civic buildings alongside the Guard. LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell has stressed they’re not working with federal agents on civil immigration enforcement, and said the department follows a long-standing policy that bars officers from stopping people for the sole purpose of determining their immigration status.

“Everyone has the right to peacefully assemble and voice their opinions,” the department said in a statement on X. “However, vandalizing property and attempting to seriously injure officers, whether Federal or LAPD, is not peaceful.”

The protests were triggered in part by federal immigration raids that swept through the city from late Friday. Demonstrators gathered outside the federal building downtown, including outside a detention center. Other protests broke out in Compton and in Paramount, south of the city, where a crowd formed near a Home Depot as raids were reportedly underway.

Tensions escalated when some protesters threw objects at officers, prompting the LAPD to declare an unlawful assembly and order the crowd to disperse, according to local media reports. Riot police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades.

U.S. Representative Nanette Barragan, a Democrat whose district includes Paramount and other parts of Los Angeles County, accused the Trump administration of using federal troops to suppress dissent. By the time the more violent skirmishes broke out Saturday night, the original protesters had already cleared out and the “unruly folks” had arrived, she said.

“It’s going to escalate the situation,” she said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “People are going to protest because they’re angry about the situation. And we have to just reiterate the people to do it peacefully.”

Barragan described ICE agents stopping “anybody at a bus stop that’s going to shop” and said she was warned to expect 30 days of stepped-up enforcement.

"Form of rebellion"

Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut off federal funding to cities and states that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities — so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions — including LA. California law bars local law enforcement from using resources to assist in most federal immigration actions.

In response to past federal crackdowns, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has defended the state’s sanctuary policies and sued the Trump administration over attempts to force local compliance, arguing that California has the right to set its own public safety priorities.

In an interview with NBC News, Trump border czar Tom Homan said Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass should be thanking the president for helping to restore order. Homan warned the leaders could face arrest if they obstruct immigration enforcement efforts.

The White House said the National Guard was being deployed to protect federal personnel and property, including immigration detention centers, citing what Trump described as credible threats of violence that could obstruct enforcement efforts and “constitute a form of rebellion” against the U.S. government.

But the legal basis for the decision could face challenges. Federal law strictly limits the deployment of federal troops within U.S. borders.

The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, along with amendments and supporting regulations, generally bars the use of the active-duty U.S. military — the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — from carrying out domestic law enforcement. The law doesn’t apply to state-controlled National Guard forces.

With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres, Laura Curtis and Catherine Lucey.

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