Los Angeles immigration protests: National Guard troops arrive after Trump order
National Guard troops have arrived in Los Angeles amid escalating tensions between federal agents and protesters demonstrating against immigration raids.
The White House announced it would deploy 2,000 troops from its military reserve force to intervene in the protests, after violent clashes spilled into a second day.
The first troops arrived Sunday morning local time.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster, VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to handle the task” he continued.
In a later post, Mr Trump said he was directing Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi to take “all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles...and put an end to these Migrant riots.”
“Order will be restored, the illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,” he added.
Members of California’s National Guard were seen on Sunday staging at the federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes the Metropolitan Detention Centre, one of several sites of confrontations involving hundreds of people in the last two days.
The move came over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, marking the first time in decades that a states National Guard was activated without a request from its Governor, according to the Brennan Centre for Justice.
Early on Sunday, the deployment was limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles, with the rest of the city of four million people largely unaffected.
#USNORTHCOM can confirm that elements of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the California National Guard have begun deploying to the Los Angeles area, with some already on the ground. Additional information will be provided as units are identified and deployed. — U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) June 8, 2025
Their arrival follows two days of relatively small protests that began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighbouring Compton.
As federal agents staged near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators sought to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement.
In response, federal agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the week-long tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100.
A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
On Sunday morning, Ms Noem said the National Guard would “keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order”.
The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armoured vehicle.
In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.
Mr Newsom, a Democrat, described Mr Trump’s decision to call in the National Guard as a “provocative show of force” that would only escalate tensions, adding that Hegseth’s threat to deploy Marines on US soil was “deranged behaviour”.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said the order by Mr Trump reflected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the United States Congress”.
Several Republicans, meanwhile, have voiced support for the involvement of the National Guard.
Among them was Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who stopped short of backing Mr Hegseth’s threat to send in active-duty military personnel.
“My guess is the National Guard ought to take care of the situation,” Mr Johnson said.
- With AAP
