White House sends National Guard to protests against LA immigration raids
Protesters clash with US authorities over California crackdown on immigration
In short:
Protesters have rallied against immigration raids in Los Angeles for the second day after ICE agents arrested more than 40 people.
A rift appears to be emerging between the state government and the White House, which has condemned the rallies as an “insurrection”.
What\\\’s next?
President Donald Trump\\\’s border czar said 2,000 National Guard troops would be deployed despite the California governor deeming it the “wrong mission”.
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Protests against immigration raids across Los Angeles have spilled to a second day in what the White House has labelled an anti-US “insurrection”.
The rallies first kicked off in the Paramount area on Friday, local time, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 44 people from locations across the city on alleged immigration violations.
ICE agents executed search warrants at three locations, including a clothing warehouse in LA\\\’s fashion district where a tense scene unfolded as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.
The Associated Press was told people were also detained outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.
By Friday evening, protesters had gathered outside a federal detention centre where lawyers said the arrested people had been taken, chanting “set them free, let them stay”.
Anti-ICE protesters march after federal immigration authorities conducted raids in Los Angeles on Friday. (AP: Jae C. Hong)
Other protesters held signs that said “ICE out of LA!” and led chants and shouted from megaphones. Some scrawled graffiti on the building facade.
The demonstration outside the centre prompted a police response that included tear gas, flash-bangs and the arrest of a union leader.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that “1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer-funded property”.
The claims were not independently verified.
National Guard deployment \\\’wrong\\\’, California governor says
Confrontations continued into Saturday, with Reuters video showing dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds.
The officers, who appeared to be from Border Patrol, not local LA police, stood guard outside an industrial park in Paramount and deployed tear gas to disperse crowds.
A protester places debris in a fire as Border Patrol personnel in riot gear stand guard in an area of Paramount, south-east LA on Saturday. (AP: Eric Thayer)
“ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,” a woman announced through a megaphone.
“You are not welcome here.”
One hand-held sign said, “No Human Being is Illegal.”
The Trump administration indicated on Saturday evening that it would deploy the National Guard, a military reserve force activated by a state governor as part of an emergency response.
“We\\\’re already mobilising. We\\\’re gonna bring National Guard in tonight and we\\\’re gonna continue doing our job. This is about enforcing the law,” Donald Trump\\\’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox News.
However, California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared to have been against the call, saying on X that the federal government was “taking over” the California National Guard.
“That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions … there is currently no unmet need,” he said.
“This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
In a post to his social media platform Truth, Mr Trump hit out at Mr Newsom over what he claimed was his failure to control the rallies.
“If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” the president said.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote on X that the demonstrations constituted an “insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States”.
ICE representatives did not immediately respond to AP inquiries about weekend enforcement activities.
Immigration enforcement hotspot
Arrests by immigration authorities in LA come as the Trump administration pushes to fulfil promises to carry out mass deportations across the country.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the ICE raids were meant to “sow terror” in the nation\\\’s second-largest city.
Speaking to NBC4 later, she threw her support behind the LA community.
“We are going to fight for all Angelenos, regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not,” Ms Bass said.
“We are a city of immigrants, and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos.”
Border Patrol personnel deploy tear gas at crowds in LA\\\’s south-east on Saturday. (AP: Eric Thayer)
California is home to the United States\\\’ largest immigrant population, having 10.6 million foreign-born residents.
That accounts for 22 per cent of the total foreign-born population across the country.
According to the Pew Research Center, 1.8 million immigrants in California, or about 17 per cent of the total number, were undocumented in 2022 and 83 per cent either held US citizenship or another legal residency status.
That data, based off information from the US Census Bureau, also found that from 2019 to 2022, California was the only one of seven US states whose unauthorised immigrant population did not increase.
Since Mr Trump\\\’s return to office, ICE agents have been particularly active in California, Illinois, and New York, all historically blue states, according to analysis published by Axios last week.
Protesters kick the side of a Border Patrol vehicle during a demonstration over the dozens detained in Friday\\\’s ICE operation. (AP: Eric Thayer)
Those are also states whose respective legislations prohibit local law enforcement authorities from assisting in federal immigration arrests.
In a statement on Saturday, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons chided the LA mayor for the city\\\’s response to the protests.
“Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,” he said.
“Make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation\\\’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens.”
The LA Police Department did not take part in the immigration enforcement.
It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and gathered outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were reportedly being held.
ABC/wires
White House says it\’s deploying 2,000 national guards in LA after two days of violence amid ICE raids; Gov. Newsom says Trump wants a \’spectacle\’
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the move \’purposefully inflammatory.\’ Saturday was the second day of violence amid raids on undocumented migrants in Los Angeles.You can share an article by clicking on the share icons at the top right of it. The total or partial reproduction of an article, without the prior written authorization of Le Monde, is strictly forbidden. For more information, see our Terms and Conditions. For all authorization requests, contact [email protected]. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/06/08/in-los-angeles-second-day-of-clash-between-protesters-and-federal-immigration-agents_6742119_4.html
A Los Angeles County Sheriff\’s deputy holds back protesters following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, California, on June 7, 2025. BARBARA DAVIDSON / REUTERS
US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 troops on Saturday, June 7, to handle escalating protests against immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area, a move the state\’s governor termed “purposefully inflammatory.” Gov. Gavin Newsom posted Saturday evening on social media: The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles – not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle. Don\’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out.”
Federal agents clashed with angry crowds in a Los Angeles suburb as protests stretched into a second night Saturday, shooting flash-bang grenades and shutting part of a freeway amid raids on undocumented migrants.
A destroyed car sits on the road during a standoff between police and protesters following multiple detentions by ICE in Paramount, California, on June 7, 2025. DANIEL COLE / REUTERS
The standoff took place in Paramount, where demonstrators had gathered near Home Depot, a home improvement retailer, that was being used as a staging area by federal immigration officials, Fox 11 news local TV outlet reported.
They were met by federal agents in riot gear and gas masks, who lobbed flash-bang grenades and tear gas at the crowd, according to news reports and social media posts, including footage broadcast by CNN, and Capital & Main reporter Jeremy Lindenfeld, who was hit by a canister.
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Since taking office in January, Republican Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants, who he has likened to “monsters” and “animals.”
It \’will only escalate tensions\’ for Gov. Newsom
Late Saturday, Trump signed a memo deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen “to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs.”
About an hour before the White House confirmed the deployment, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he opposed the move. “That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions,” he said on social media. “We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need.”
The protests came a day after masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs.
LA Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged that some city residents were “feeling fear” following the federal immigration enforcement actions. “Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable,” she said on social media.
Roadblocks and chants
“FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday\’s clashes. “You bring chaos, and we\’ll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail,” he said on X.
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On Saturday, amid chants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to get out, some protestors waved Mexican flags while others set a US flag on fire, the Los Angeles Times reported. Cement blocks and overturned shopping carts served as crude roadblocks.
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A crowd swarmed a US Marshals Service bus exiting a nearby freeway, with authorities later closing on and off ramps to keep protesters from taking over the highway and to stop new people from flowing in.
A firework explodes after being thrown at police during a standoff with protesters following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, California, on June 7, 2025. BARBARA DAVIDSON / REUTERS
The tense standoff came a day after masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs. “An insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States,” White House deputy chief of staff and anti-immigration hardliner Stephen Miller said on X, sharing a video of protesters marching Friday outside Los Angeles\’s federal detention center.
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Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the United States, is one of the most diverse metropolises in the country. The suburb of Paramount, home to about 50,000 people, is 82% Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data.