Fallout from aggressive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in Los Angeles continued Saturday, with fierce pushback from protesters, open sparring between L.A. leadership and federal officials and the Trump administration vowing to send the National Guard to the city to assist with operations.
Border czar Tom Holman told Fox News the Guard would be deployed Saturday night to help with operations. It’s unclear how many Guard members would arrive and exactly what their role would be. It came after a day of clashes between federal agents and protesters at a Home Depot in Paramount that was broadcast nationwide through the day. The raids sparked outrage from state and local leaders.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday condemned the ICE raids in Los Angeles and the response by the Trump administration, and said he has deployed additional CHP officers to L.A. highways to “keep the peace” but not aid the federal actions. “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves,” Newsom said in a statement posted on social media.
Newsom said the Trump administration is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers, which he said was “purposefully inflammatory” and would only escalate tensions. Mayor Karen Bass spoke out a day earlier: “As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” she posted on X on Friday evening. “We will not stand for this.”