Tensions flare as national guard arrives in LA to quell immigration protests

California national guard troops clashed with protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday hours after arriving in the city on the orders of President Donald Trump to quell demonstrations against immigration raids carried out as part of Trump's enforcement measures.

About a dozen national guard members, together with department of homeland security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators that amassed outside a federal building in downtown LA, video showed. The confrontation continued on the street outside the facility.

The protesters had earlier chanted “ICE out of LA” at a group of national guard members, referring to US immigration and customs enforcement, which carried out immigration raids in LA beginning on Friday, sparking demonstrations that continued for a third day on Sunday.

The complex is near the LA city hall, where another protest against the immigration raids was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. US northern command confirmed 2,000 national guard troops had started deploying and some were on the ground.

Trump on Sunday characterised earlier demonstrations in the city as “riots”. Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or national guard troops, saying “they spit, we hit”. He did not cite specific incidents.

“If we see danger to our country and citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order,” Trump said.

National guard troops were also seen in Paramount in southeast LA near the Home Depot, the site of altercations between protesters and police on Saturday.

California governor Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of deploying the national guard because he wants “a spectacle”.

“Don’t give Donald Trump what he wants,” Newsom said in a post on X.

“Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm.”

Video showed at least a half dozen military-style vehicles and riot shields on Sunday at the federal building where the department of homeland security said 3about “1,000 rioters” had protested on Friday. Reuters could not verify the account.

Law enforcement faced off with a few hundred protesters in Paramount and 100 in downtown LA on Saturday, with federal officers firing gas canisters in efforts to disperse crowds, according to Reuters witnesses.

The LA police department arrested 27 people on Saturday for failure to disperse from the downtown protest, police spokesperson Norma Eisenman said. She said she could not comment on whether police used less lethal force. Less lethal force refers to crowd control tactics such as pepper balls.

The LA county sheriff's department arrested three people on Saturday on suspicion of assaulting an officer and three deputies received minor injuries. Sheriff's deputies did use “less lethal force” in Paramount, spokesperson Deputy Brenda Serna said, but she could not specify which tactics were used.

While US vice president JD Vance referred to the protesters as “insurrectionists” and senior White House aide Stephen Miller described the protests as a “violent insurrection”, Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act.

Asked on Sunday whether he would invoke the 1807 law, which empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events such as civil disorder, he replied: “It depends on whether there's an insurrection.”

The protests pit Democratic-run LA, where census data suggests a significant part of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made immigration enforcement measures a hallmark of his second term.

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth has warned  the Pentagon was prepared to mobilise active-duty troops “if violence continues” in LA, saying marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were “on high alert”.

“There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but zero tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The national guard, and marines if need be, stand with ICE,” Hegseth said in a social media post on Sunday.

Democratic Congresswoman Nanette Barragan, whose California district includes Paramount, on Sunday criticised the president's decision to deploy national guard troops, arguing that local law enforcement has adequate resources to respond.

“We don't need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It's only going to make things worse in a situation where people are angry over immigration enforcement,” Barragan told CNN's State of the Union.

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement.

ICE operations in LA on Friday arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations.

Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the US-Mexico border, setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day.

But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included people legally residing in the country, some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday criticised the US government over the immigration raids and deployment of the national guard.

“We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue,” Sheinbaum, who has sought to cultivate a positive relationship with Trump, said at a public event.

“The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform.”

Trump's justification for the national guard deployment cited a provision of the US Code on the Armed Forces. However, it also says the “orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the states”.

It was not immediately clear if the president had the legal authority to deploy the national guard troops without Newsom's order.

The provision allows for national guard deployment by the federal government if there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the US”. The troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities.

Trump's memo said the troops will “temporarily protect ICE and other US government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property at locations where protests against the functions are occurring or are likely to occur”.

Reuters