A mass protest movement erupted in Los Angeles on Saturday after aggressive immigration raids led by federal agents resulted in over 100 arrests and the unprecedented deployment of 2000 National Guard troops without the consent of California’s state government.
The raids, targeting undocumented immigrants across workplaces and public areas, were part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration enforcement drive. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the federal response as “unconstitutional” and accused Trump of “manufacturing chaos”. Protesters clashed with riot police and federal agents for three consecutive days, leading to the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and flash grenades. Demonstrations were especially intense outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where many detainees were held.
The protests were initially triggered by raids carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday. Arrests took place at sites including a garment wholesaler, a hardware store, and day labourers’ gathering spots. A particularly distressing episode unfolded outside a school during a graduation ceremony, where the presence of ICE agents reportedly caused undocumented parents to flee in panic, leaving children behind. This emotional scene, involving children crying and clinging to teaching staff, helped galvanise public outrage.
By Monday, over 300 National Guard troops were already deployed in downtown Los Angeles. Trump said “we’re going to have troops everywhere”, suggesting all the 2,000 troops would soon be active. The move to deploy, taken without state authorisation, marks the first such unilateral action since 1965. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,” Governor Newsom wrote on social media, accusing Trump of inciting violence and threatening California’s state sovereignty.
Mayor Karen Bass also criticised the raids, saying, “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.” Legal experts and immigrant rights advocates echoed this concern. Jean Reisz, co-director of the University of Southern California’s Immigration Clinic, said “this is an oversized response from the federal government,” and described the militarised raids as “escalating the situation unnecessarily”.
President Trump has defended the actions, framing them as part of a renewed promise to curb illegal immigration. In various statements, he described the situation in Los Angeles as an “invasion” and labelled the protesters “insurrectionists”. He also criticised Newsom and Bass, saying they had done an “absolutely horrible job”.
According to the Pew Research Center, California is home to about 1.8 million undocumented immigrants – around 17 percent of the state’s total foreign-born population. Immigration advocates warn that public raids and mass deportations not only violate due process but also create lasting trauma in affected communities.
The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, called for restraint, warning, “the phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence.” Californian officials plan to lodge a legal challenge against the troop deployment in the coming days.
