Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after an immigration crackdown erupted into mass protests on Saturday.
Footage has shown the protesters throwing rocks at law enforcement vehicles and others trying to get in the way of a Marshals Service bus after more than a hundred arrests were made.
Here, the Independent breaks down what you need to know about the unrest in LA.
How did the protest start?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducted search warrants at multiple locations on Friday.
One search was executed outside a clothing warehouse in the Fashion District, after a judge found probable cause that the employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers, according to representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the US Attorney’s Office.
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Crowds tried to stop ICE agents from driving away following the arrests.
Another protest was sparked outside a federal building in downtown LA, after demonstrators discovered detainees were allegedly being held in the basement of the building.
Protests then erupted in Paramount, LA, after it appeared federal law enforcement officers were conducting another immigration operation in the area.
The protests also spread to the nearby city of Compton.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna stated that as many as 400 people were involved in the demonstration.
The ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrests of 118 immigrants this week, including 44 people in Friday’s operations, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrests sparked protesters to gather outside a federal detention center, chanting, “Set them free, let them stay!”
Why is Trump deploying the National Guard?
On Saturday, Trump ordered the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard troops to LA.
“If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also wrote on social media that the “federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
He added deployment is “the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
However, it is unclear if Trump can call in the National Guard without his approval.
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