US President Donald Trump has announced that the federal government would deploy 2,000 National Guards troops in Los Angeles, after an immigration crackdown triggered a massive protest with police in riot gear using teargas on bystanders on Saturday as well. The White House in a statement said that President Trump was deploying National Guards to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” in California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, objected to the move by the Trump administration deploying the troops and said that the decision by the Republican president was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
Newsom added that the federal government was “moving to take over” the California national guard, adding “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
“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!!!” –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/om8tGfXoL6
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 8, 2025
The tensions between immigration authorities and demonstrators began on Friday when US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials conducted raids on multiple locations in downtown Los Angeles.
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 peacefully.
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 8, 2025
On Saturday, the enforcement officials expanded the area of investigation to Paramount, south-east of Los Angeles, where they were met with more protests outside an industrial park.
The protests by demonstrators on the second day were met with Border Patrol personnel in riot gear in Los Angeles’ Paramount as White House announced to ratchet up the crackdown response with National Guards.
People react as a Department of Homeland Security officer shoots pepper balls during a protest in Los Angeles on Friday. (Photo: AP)
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated the Trump administration’s aggressive approach in a post on X to deploy the US military. “If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday evening accused California’s Democratic leadership of having “completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens”.
Defending the work being done by immigration officials, Leavitt added the work the immigration authorities were doing when met with protests is “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States.
