It was a day that will likely be etched deep into California’s collective memory – tear gas, burning cars, arrested union leaders – and now, soldiers. On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would deploy 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles – despite the explicit objections of Governor Gavin Newsom. His reasoning: “The lawlessness that has been allowed to fester in California must be ended.” The Democratic governor’s response came swiftly. On X, Newsom called the move “purposefully inflammatory” and said it would only escalate tensions. “This is the wrong mission and will further erode public trust,” Newsom said. The federal authorities, he added, were taking control of the National Guard – without cause. There was no unresolved security situation that would justify the deployment, he said. Rather, it was a display of political power.
Meanwhile, tensions in the streets of Los Angeles continued to build. For the second day in a row, there were violent clashes between federal officers and demonstrators. The Border Patrol, in full combat gear, deployed tear gas in the neighborhood of Paramount – directly into a crowd that had gathered on medians and sidewalks to protest an ICE raid from the previous day. Some filmed the scene, others shouted slogans. From a megaphone came the cry: “ICE out of Paramount – we see you for what you really are!” One sign read: “No human being is illegal.” The scenes resembled those of civil conflict – smoke rose from burning shrubs, trash blazed by the roadside, a Border Patrol vehicle was kicked, and an entire main road was shut down. And at the heart of it all – a neighborhood where over 80% of residents identify as Hispanic. The federal response came quickly. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took to X to denounce “rioters in Los Angeles,” declaring, “You will not stop us. ICE will enforce the law. If you lay a hand on an officer, you will be fully prosecuted.” The trigger for the unrest – targeted arrests by ICE units in multiple parts of the city. On Friday, a clothing warehouse in the Fashion District was raided, allegedly due to falsified employment documents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Human rights groups also reported arrests outside Home Depot locations and even at a doughnut shop. According to an official statement from the Department of Homeland Security, a total of 118 migrants were arrested – including five said to be linked to criminal organizations.
The response in the streets came swiftly. On Friday evening, hundreds gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The chants: “Set them free! Let them stay!” Some held anti-ICE signs, others sprayed graffiti on the concrete walls of the detention facility. Among those arrested – David Huerta, regional president of the SEIU labor union. According to the Department of Justice, he remains in custody at the MDC and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. It was unclear whether Huerta had legal representation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) immediately demanded his release. On X, he warned of a “disturbing pattern” of U.S. citizens being arrested – simply for exercising their constitutional right to free speech. What President Trump frames as the enforcement of the law, many in California view as a targeted attack on their freedoms. Mayor Karen Bass called it an “attempt to sow fear.” ICE acting director Todd Lyons, meanwhile, accused her of siding “with chaos.” “Make no mistake – ICE will continue to enforce the law and arrest criminal illegal aliens,” Lyons said.
But what is playing out in Los Angeles is more than just a dispute over immigration. It is an open power struggle between an authoritarian president and a democratic city – between the rhetoric of exclusion and the call for human dignity. And with the deployment of the National Guard, Trump has now fully militarized the conflict. The question is no longer whether California will resist – but how long it will endure this president.
(Photos, Eric Thayer)
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