Los Angeles has become the epicenter of nationwide tension as President Donald Trump escalated his immigration enforcement campaign. President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the city on Saturday night. The military presence marks the first time this has happened since the 1992 Rodney King riots, when soldiers patrolled the LA streets.
The Guardian reports that massive riots erupted across the city after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted brutal raids. ICE targeted clothing manufacturers in the garment district, a Home Depot in Westlake, and a warehouse in South Los Angeles. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, these operations were executed without judicial warrants. They resulted in over 200 arrests. The administration’s aggressive tactics have sparked outrage among residents.
Thousands are taking to the streets to demonstrate against what many are calling a deliberate attack on immigrant communities in Democratic strongholds. The deployment represents a shocking new phase in Trump’s promised “mass deportations” campaign that began immediately after his second inauguration.
What Is Happening In Los Angeles Right Now?
White House border czar Tom Homan revealed on Fox News that the administration is deliberately targeting “sanctuary cities” like Los Angeles that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. This approach, described as a strategy to “flood the zone,” aims to overwhelm local resistance through sheer force and intimidation.
Immigrant rights advocates report disturbing conditions for those detained in the raids. Immigrant Defenders Law Center alleges that ICE is holding families in the basements of federal immigration facilities, separating children and mothers from fathers. Attorneys have been denied access to detainees, raising serious due process concerns.
Furthermore, the arrest of SEIU leader David Huerta has galvanized union support nationwide. Images of the middle-aged labor leader being shoved to the ground by federal agents have gone viral. This has drawn millions of union workers into the fight against the administration’s tactics.
California Leaders And Communities Push Back
Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the deployment, calling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s suggestion to send in Marines “deranged.” Representative Maxine Waters, who was denied entry to a federal immigration facility, urged protesters to “grow and grow and grow” until Trump reverses course.
“The administration is testing Los Angeles to see if we break under pressure,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “But we won’t back down.” What is happening in Los Angeles right now is not an isolated incident. Similar raids in Newark, Chicago, Nashville, and San Diego have also met with fierce community resistance. These events suggest the backlash is spreading nationwide rather than diminishing.
