By Bastien Inafpzaurralde and Gilles Clarenne, AFP
A protester waves the Palestinian flag (R) as law enforcement clashes with demonstrators during a protest following federal immigration operations, in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on June 7, 2025. Photo: RINGO CHIU / AFP
National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles early on Sunday (local time) after being ordered there by US President Donald Trump, a rare deployment against the state governor's wishes after sometimes violent protests against immigration enforcement raids.
Trump took federal control of California's state military to push soldiers into the country's second-biggest city, an extraordinary move not seen for decades and deemed "purposefully inflammatory" by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Helmeted troops carrying automatic weapons and with camouflaged vehicles could be seen in the Compton neighbourhood of the California city early Sunday, ahead of more protests, including a call by organisers for a "mass mobilisation" at City Hall at 2pm local time (9am Monday NZT).
The development came after two days of confrontations during which federal agents fired flash-bang grenades and tear gas toward crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants in a city with a large Latino population.
Republicans lined up behind Trump on Sunday to dismiss warnings by Newsom and other local officials that the protests had been largely peaceful, and that the deployment was against their wishes and would exacerbate tensions.
"I have no concern about that at all," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told ABC's This Week when asked, adding that Newsom "has shown an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in".
As for threats by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday to send in active-duty Marines on top of the Guard troops, Johnson said he did not see that as "heavy-handed".
"We have to be prepared to do what is necessary," he argued.
Federal authorities "want a spectacle. Don't give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully," Newsom had posted on X late on Saturday. He branded Hegseth's threat "deranged".
Members of the National Guard stand guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, MDC in downtown Los Angeles, California. Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP
"We agree that if you're being violent, you should be arrested ... But this is not what's happening," California Congresswoman Nanette Barragan told CNN Sunday.
"We are having an administration that's targeting peaceful protests ... The president is sending the National Guard because he doesn't like the scenes," the Democrat said.
Overnight, an AFP photographer saw fires and fireworks light up the streets during clashes, while a protester holding a Mexican flag stood in front of a burnt-out car that had been sprayed with a slogan against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
"It's up to us to stand up for our people," said a Los Angeles resident whose parents are immigrants, declining to give her name as emergency services lights flashed in the distance.
'Zero tolerance'
Trump had signed a memorandum sending 2000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, the White House said on Saturday.
The National Guard - a reserve military - is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities.
It is the first time since 1965 that a president has deployed a National Guard without a request by a state governor, the former head of Human Rights Watch, US activist Kenneth Roth, posted on X, accusing Trump of "creating a spectacle so he can continue his immigration raids".
But the National Guard are "specifically trained for this type of crowd situation", Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday, refusing to divulge where in Los Angeles they would be deployed.
Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants - who he has likened to "monsters" and "animals" - since taking office in January.
ICE raids in other US cities have triggered small-scale protests in recent months, but the Los Angeles unrest is the biggest and most sustained against the Trump administration's policies so far.
A CBS News poll taken before the Los Angeles protests showed a slight majority of Americans still approved of the immigration crackdown.
Masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs.
Fernando Delgado, a 24-year-old resident, said the raids were "injustices" and those detained were "human beings just like any".
The stand-off demonstrated "Trump's authoritarianism in real time", Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted on X on Sunday.
Trump’s authoritarianism in real time:
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 8, 2025
▪️Conduct massive illegal raids.
▪️Provoke a counter-response.
▪️Declare a state of emergency.
▪️Call in the troops.
Unacceptable.
"Conduct massive illegal raids. Provoke a counter-response. Declare a state of emergency. Call in the troops," he wrote, adding: "Unacceptable."
- AFP
