Los Angeles, CA - June 06: LAPD clear the street outside the Metropolitan Detention Center as demonstrators gather in response to ICE raids in Los Angeles on Friday, June 6, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Los Angeles, California – The Trump administration has ordered 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles following escalating confrontations between protesters and immigration agents conducting workplace raids across the city. The deployment marks one of the most significant uses of military force on U.S. soil during a peacetime domestic protest in recent years, drawing comparisons to past deployments during periods of profound civil unrest.
Protests broke out Friday and intensified Saturday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, backed by other federal forces, raided several sites including the L.A. fashion district and a Home Depot in Paramount. Demonstrations turned violent in some instances, with protesters throwing objects and federal officers responding with flash-bang grenades and pepper balls. At least two people were arrested for assaulting officers, and both protesters and agents were injured.
The White House framed the move as necessary to restore law and order. “California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
California officials sharply disputed the federal characterization of events and condemned the move as politically motivated. “There is currently no unmet need,” said Governor Gavin Newsom, calling the decision “purposefully inflammatory” and a threat to public trust. He confirmed that the federal government was taking control of the state’s National Guard, invoking the rarely used Insurrection Act of 1807.
Legal experts expressed alarm. “This is a troubling use of federal authority,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law School. “Deployments of this kind typically follow sustained violence or natural disasters, not as preemptive responses to civil protest.”
The protests began peacefully, with demonstrators chanting slogans like “ICE go home” and “No justice, no peace.” But tensions escalated Saturday afternoon in Paramount. Video from the scene shows agents from Border Patrol and Homeland Security firing flash-bangs into the crowd, while some protesters threw rocks and set a vehicle on fire. The Sheriff’s Department said it was preparing for “long-term civil unrest.”
Federal and local officials traded blame throughout the weekend. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons accused Mayor Karen Bass and the LAPD of “siding with chaos,” claiming that officers delayed their response as agents were attacked. LAPD officials rebutted, noting that ICE had deployed chemical irritants without coordination, complicating the police response.
