US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen in Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.
His border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News on Saturday: “We are making Los Angeles safer.”
The Californian city saw a second day of unrest on Saturday as residents of a predominantly Latino district clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agents. Tear gas and batons were used to disperse crowds in the Paramount district.
As many as 118 arrests were made in LA this week as a result of ICE operations, including 44 on Friday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned the raids as “cruel”.
Newsom called Trump on Saturday and they spoke for about 40 minutes, a spokesperson for the governor told CBS News, the BBC’s media partner in the US. No other details of the conversation were immediately known.
Paramount has calmed considerably but clashes between protesters and law enforcement are still happening.
The air is acrid – thick with tear gas and smoke outside the Home Depot where the protests first erupted.
LA county sheriffs are firing flash bangs and tear gas every few minutes trying to clear protesters away.
Neighbours and protesters say there are migrants locked inside local businesses afraid to come out.
Paramount’s population is more than 80% Hispanic.
A White House press release said: “In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California.
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Speaking in Los Angeles, where he had travelled to personally supervise the continuing ICE operations, Homan said: “We’re bringing in more resources as we speak. We gonna bring the National Guard in tonight. We gonna continue doing our job.”
He warned that there would be “zero tolerance” of any violence or damage to private property.
In a post on X, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also issued a warning to protesters: “You bring chaos, and we’ll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.”
He said that “multiple arrests” had been made for “obstructing operations”.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth wrote on X that his department was “mobilising the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles”.
“And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilised – they are on high alert,” he added.
Late on Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) issued a statement saying that “today, demonstrations across the city of Los Angeles remained peaceful, and we commend all those who exercised their First Amendment rights responsibly.”
The statement added that the LAPD remained “fully prepared to respond swiftly and appropriately to any potential acts of civil unrest”.
In a statement on Friday, Governor Newsom said: “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel.
“Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass earlier accused the ICE of “sowing terror” in America’s second largest city.
The FBI and Homeland Security chiefs said the mayor’s comments were endangering federal agents.
Angelica Salas, who leads the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, told a recent rally: “Our community is under attack and is being terrorised. These are workers. These are fathers. These are mothers. And this has to stop.”
The US president has the authority to deploy the National Guard for certain purposes which include “suppressing rebellion”.
But responding on Saturday, California’s governor said the federal government’s move to “take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers” was “purposefully inflammatory” and would “only escalate tensions”.
“LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” Newsom added.
Trump hit out at the governor on his Truth Social platform, saying that if he and Bass could not do their jobs, “then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
By BBC News
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