LOS ANGELES – Four days of unrest in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump’s push for increased immigrant arrests and deportation have led to at least 56 arrests, clashes between protesters and law enforcement officials and deployment of the National Guard and Marines in the country’s second largest city.
How did this happen?
Tensions began Friday when immigrants, customs enforcement officers and others arrested more than 40 migrants in raids targeting workers and workers at Home Depot parking lots and Amviance apparel clothing manufacturers in search of “fictional employee documents.”
As news of the attack spread fear and panic, relatives and protesters arrived to confront federal agents wearing camouflage and bulletproof vests.
Some protesters either tried to stop vehicles carrying detained migrants or use other methods to block arrests.
The clash quickly became violent, with officers using pepper spray and batons, pushing the crowd back with riot shields as some protesters fled and retaliated. Prominent labor leaders were among those arrested. The protests spread from downtown Los Angeles to the Paramount and Compton communities, where rumors of arrests also joined fiery tensions.
Trump, acting without agreement from state leaders, was convened by the California State Guard on Saturday. By Sunday, the heavily military-equipped troops had moved to downtown Los Angeles towns with a show of state forces with the largest immigrant population.
On his social media site, True Social, he has directed Homeland Security and Defence Secretary and Attorney General Pam Bondy to “take all the necessary actions to free Los Angeles from immigrant invasions and put an end to these immigrant riots.”
However, the collisions are dragged into the night during the day, with looting and unmanned cars burning.
The families of the arrested immigrants have accused the government of their loved ones of “invitations.” Meanwhile, the presence of the military set a fight between the Trump administration and lawmakers in a state known for its liberal immigration policy.
“I don’t know where they took him.”
About 20 members of the family of detained workers competed in rally and press conferences outside the atmosphere on Monday, holding pictures of their loved ones next to the birthday cake, hugging the child and holding homemade signs with smiles.
“It was extremely painful to witness the arrests of my father and his colleagues,” he said his father, Jose Ortiz, was among those arrested.
“My father gave the company 18 years of life,” she said at a press conference off the premises of Friday’s attack. “He was always here. He was a loyal worker.”
At least four people at the press conference said they had not received updates from immigration authorities or were able to communicate with their families in detention.
Geronimo Martinez, 39, said in an interview through an interpreter that he was worried about his nephew, Lazaro Maldonado.
“I don’t know where they took him,” Martinez said. “I’m worried because I don’t know where he’s going.”
The young man who identified himself as Carlos said he thought his brother was “invited.” Because his brother is taken with strength to the atmosphere attack and is detained without contacting his relatives or lawyers.
“The only crime he committed was to live a better life and try to move forward and work. For that dream I had to witness him chained up like a dangerous animal. The whole process wasn’t inhumane. It was illegal,” Carlos said.
Trump will also mobilize about 700 Marines on Monday to assist the National Guard in protecting federal personnel and property, the U.S. Northern Command said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has denounced anarchists and troublemakers for fires and violence, not peaceful protesters, but for the fires and violence, but he said “Donald Trump is the sponsor of these terms at the end of the day.” “Trump didn’t inherit the crisis – he created it,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement from X.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration for deploying the state’s National Guard forces to federalize and suppressing protests against California leaders’ objections.
The attack was a surprising start from the administration from Trump’s campaign statement that a massive deportation scheme would focus on violent immigrant criminals.
The attack continues for weeks as ice officers and other federal agents appear in immigration courts nationwide, including California, to arrest those who left the courts where their cases were dismissed.
These arrests either come with social media videos or some families have been arrested, and news outlets of young children standing nearby as parents have been arrested.
More and more people are seeing ice arrests and deprive immigrants who have lived and worked in the United States for years, or who have been part of their community, including those seeking asylum and other temporary legal protections.
NBC News reported last week that Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was angry at what he thought was a low number of arrests and deportations, and ordered senior ICE officials to detain or fire 3,000 immigrants a day.
Amidst the chaos, the ice had already been called a “massive operation,” and had already stepped up arrests by using thousands of federal law enforcement and up to 21,000 National Guard troops, NBC News reported.
Before the clashes in Los Angeles, smaller conflicts between protesters and law enforcement had begun to erupt in other cities across the country. Chaos unfolded in Chicago Wednesday as protesters confronted ice officers with arrests during scheduled check-in with immigration officers.
In San Diego, a surprising attack by a federal officer armed at a popular Italian restaurant protested. Officers dispersed what was identified as flash bang renades among the crowd.
Protests and tensions continued in Los Angeles.
Tyler Kingcade was reported by Suzanne Gamboa of San Antonio from Los Angeles.
