AGENCY
NEW YORK, JUNE 8
Los Angeles saw protests over federal immigration raids turning violent on Saturday night local time as the Trump administration mobilised the National Gaurd.
Tom Homan, the acting director of US Immigration and Custom Enforcement, said the National Guard was deployed on Saturday night. “We’re going to push back on these people and we’re going to enforce the law,” Fox News quoted Homan as saying.
Around 2,000 soldiers were deployed, according to AP. Hundreds of protesters were seen clashing with the federal agents to stop apprehensions by Border Patrol in Paramount, California. The armed guards in riot gear used teargas to diperse the protesters. One video showed the US flag burning in the middle of a street.
Another protest in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night saw demonstrators chanting “ICE out of LA”, referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Will Feds send active duty Marines to LA?
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened to mobilise active duty Marines in response to the riots, which he said is a “huge national security risk”.
“If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth wrote on X.
On the other hand, California governor Gavin Newsom accused the federal government of “sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate.”
Donald Trump said if the governor or mayor cannot do their jobs, the federal government will step in to solve the problem.
Vice President JD Vance said the insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers. He slammed the Democrats for calling the border enforcement “evil”.
