National Guard troops arrive in LA after Trump’s orders to quell immigration protests
Usa today news
National Guard troops have begun arriving in Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump to stamp out protests that have broken out in recent days against federal immigration authorities seeking to carry out deportations in the region.
The members of California’s National Guard were seen staging early Sunday at the federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes the Metropolitan Detention Center, where confrontations occurred the last two days.
Trump says he is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles — over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.
Protestors try to block a US Marshal vehicle on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
A woman who was hit with tear gas it lead away as protestors gathered on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
A US Marshal runs past a transport bus as protestors gathered on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Protestors attack a US Marshal prisoner transport on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Protestors attack a US Marshal prisoner transport on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
A flash-bang grenade is thrown from a US Marshal transport at protestors gathered on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
A flash-bang grenade explodes near a U.S. Marshal transport as protestors gathered on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
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Protestors try to block a US Marshal vehicle on the Alondra Avenue overpass of the 710 Freeway on June. 7, 2025 in Paramount, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
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.
In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military.
Law enforcement help a person out of a car as a fire burns during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A person carries an injured protester to cover during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A man, center, stands with others after law enforcement helped him out of a car during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Demonstrators move an object as a makeshift shelter during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A demonstrator waves an U.S. and Mexican flag during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Spectators watch during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Los Angeles County Sheriffs stand during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A flash bang canister lies in the street Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Compton, Calif., following an immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)
A man views a vandalized donut shop Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Compton, Calif., following an immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)
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Law enforcement help a person out of a car as a fire burns during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
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.
