LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration has deployed the California National Guard in response to immigration protests in Los Angeles, escalating tensions between federal and state leaders over enforcement operations.
According to a Saturday evening statement by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to deploy 2,000 National Guardsmen to the state. The move follows ongoing demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that began Friday evening and have involved clashes with authorities.
Leavitt said the troops were being sent to “address the lawlessness” amid what the administration sees as widespread unrest linked to the protests.
Governor Newsom Pushes Back
California Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticized the federal action earlier Saturday, saying the administration is trying to “take over the California National Guard”. He described the move as “purposefully inflammatory” and warned it would “only escalate tensions” across the state.
Newsom has been an outspoken opponent of Trump-era immigration enforcement policies and has clashed with the federal government on multiple occasions regarding the role of local and state authorities in cooperating with ICE.
LAPD Detains Protesters After Dispersal Order
Tensions escalated late Friday into early Saturday as the Los Angeles Police Department issued a dispersal order in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters had gathered near the U.S. Department of Justice building, particularly along Alameda Street between Aliso and Temple streets.
According to a statement from the LAPD’s Central Division posted just after midnight, multiple people were detained for reentering a restricted area after an unlawful assembly was declared roughly three hours earlier.
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“Those detained will be arrested and booked for failing to disperse from an area where an unlawful assembly was ordered,” the statement said. Authorities have not confirmed the exact number of arrests.
