 "Law enforcement officers stand guard as they face off with demonstrators during a protest following federal immigration operations, in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, California early on June 8, 2025. Image- AFP")
National Guard troops have started arriving in Los Angeles following orders from President Donald Trump to control protests against federal immigration enforcement actions in the area.
California’s National Guard members were spotted early Sunday near the federal complex downtown, which includes the Metropolitan Detention Center — a hotspot for clashes over the past two days.
Trump announced the deployment of 2,000 National Guard personnel to Los Angeles, despite opposition from California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Tensions escalated Saturday in Paramount, a predominantly Latino city south of Los Angeles, near a Department of Homeland Security office where federal agents had gathered.
Protesters and federal agents clashed violently , with law enforcement deploying tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and pepper balls, while demonstrators responded by throwing rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke rose from small fires burning in the streets.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA’s fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
The White House announced that Trump would deploy the Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military.
“If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X.
Trump’s order came after clashes in Paramount and neighboring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back.
Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people.
With inputs from agencies