In response to escalating protests and clashes triggered by a controversial immigration crackdown, US President Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, California.
The White House said in a statement on Saturday that Trump was deploying the National Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” in California.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also warned, “If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized, they are on high alert.”
During Saturday’s protests, federal agents deployed tear gas against protesters who called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave their city in the Paramount area of southeast Los Angeles.
Some of the protesters waved the flag of Mexico and covered their faces with respiratory masks.
The protests followed reports of continued immigration raids near a home improvement shop in the area.
There had been clashes in Los Angeles the night before when ICE agents raided several locations in the city and arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations.
After the arrests, protesters gathered outside a federal detention center and chanted “Set them free, let them stay!”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounced the immigration raids and said the federal government wanted to “sow terror” in the city.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, posted on X that Trump’s decision is “purposefully inflammatory.”
He wrote Trump was deploying the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.”
He told the protesters “Do not give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”
The crackdown on so-called “illegal” immigrants has been part of Trump’s campaign promise to deport the people who did not have immigration documentation and close down Mexico-US border.
Trump’s administration has set a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 “illegal” migrants per day.
But people living in the country legally, including some with permanent residence have also been arrested for various excuses including foreign students who participated in pro-Palestine protests.
