After a week of unrest, more protestors took to the streets against the Trump administration’s ongoing nationwide workplace raids.
A string of ICE raids in Los Angeles last week sparked a wave of demonstrations, which saw Trump deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines. By Friday morning, the flare-ups have spread to more than 40 cities across the U.S., The Independent has uncovered.
More marches are scheduled for Friday, with Saturday set to become a flashpoint for the nationwide protests. A total of 1,900 “No Kings” rallies are planned across all 50 states, coinciding with a D.C. parade for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, which critics contest is an extravagant birthday bash for Trump.
Tens of thousands of Los Angelenos buckled in for their third evening of curfew in the downtown area on Thursday as Mayor Karen Bass continued her crackdown on looters and vandals. The city said they may last “a few more days.”
Here, The Independent breaks down what you need to know as LA – and other major cities – experience further unrest.
How did the protest start?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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, representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S Attorney’s Office said.
Crowds tried to stop ICE agents from driving away following the arrests.
Another protest was sparked outside a federal building in downtown, after demonstrators discovered detainees were allegedly being held in the basement of the building.
Protests then erupted in Paramount after it appeared federal law enforcement officers were conducting another immigration operation in the area. Hundreds of people joined demonstrations as they spread to the nearby city of Compton.
The White House said on Wednesday that 330 immigrants have been arrested in LA in the past week, including 44 people in last Friday’s operations.
Why did Trump first deploy 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 Truth Social.
Newsom responded 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.”
The state National Guard had not been federalized by a president, thereby overriding a governor, since 1965.
How have things progressed since?
The first National Guard troops arrived in areas of Los Angeles on Sunday, including Paramount and the downtown area.
Footage shared online showed an escalation in the clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, with police in riot gear using tear gas to disperse people.
Fireworks and other projectiles were lobbed at officers, while vehicles were set ablaze, and “f*** ICE” graffiti was sprayed in multiple locations.
By Sunday morning, the LAPD had already made dozens of arrests, with law enforcement braced for “several more protests” in the city throughout the day.
Police first reported that there had been reports of looting in the city in the evening.
After sharply criticizing Newsom and Bass, Trump continued his rebuke against protestors on the ground. Late Sunday, he wrote on Truth Social that it’s “looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!”
By Monday, Trump ordered the Defense Department to take control of an additional 2,000 California National Guard members to join the 2,000 troops already stationed throughout Los Angeles.
About 700 Marines were also mobilized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with Newsom deploying an additional 800 law enforcement officers in a bid to “clean up President Trump’s mess.”
Protests on Monday were mostly quelled by the evening and remained less violent than Sunday’s fiery clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.
On Tuesday, authorities enforced the first curfew in a portion of downtown LA between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Wednesday, with Bass warning that anyone who failed to comply would be detained. The LAPD said that it made “mass arrests” after the restriction was imposed.
Police officers on foot and horseback dispersed crowds on Wednesday evening in downtown LA before Bass enforced a second curfew in as many days.
Thursday’s protests appeared more peaceful, though Bass enforced a third curfew in downtown.
In a major blow to Newsom on Thursday, Trump maintained control of the National Guard following a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in response to a federal judge ruling that the president’s decision to deploy troops was “illegal.”
Protests spill into other U.S. cities
Anti-ICE protests began spreading to parts of California and other major U.S. cities, from Seattle to New York City.
Approximately 60 protesters, including juveniles, were arrested Sunday in San Fransico after a group began to vandalize property. Over on the East Coast, around 20 anti-ICE protesters were also led away by police in New York, following demonstrations in lower Manhattan.
On Monday, multiple people were arrested near San Francisco’s City Hall after two small groups broke off from thousands of protestors marching peacefully to commit “vandalism and other criminal acts,” police said.
A peaceful protest in Santa Ana developed into violence with rocks thrown and fireworks set off at law enforcement officers, officials say.
By Tuesday, clashes broke out between police and protesters near the ICE office in New York. Protesters were thrown to the ground as police tried to handcuff them. Others lobbed water bottles at officers.
After a protest Wednesday afternoon outside an ICE office in Spokane, Washington, Mayor Lisa Brown imposed a curfew in the city’s downtown area. Thirty arrests were made, according to police.
Protests against Trump’s immigration raids continued for another day in Chicago on Thursday, with hundreds of demonstrators displaying signs and chanting that the president is “a clown” through the streets.
By Friday morning, 40 cities had experienced protests against Trump’s immigration raids, The Independent uncovered. What has the reaction been?
Newsom and Bass have both continued to speak out against the president’s decision to deploy the troops, describing it as “unnecessary” and an attempt by the administration to create “chaos.”
Speaking to KTLA on Sunday, Bass said that Trump’s action was unnecessary and “just political.”
By Monday, Newsom rebuked Trump’s “blatant abuse of power” and said that the state “will sue to stop this.”
In a televised address Tuesday, Newsom lambasted Trump for “fanning the flames” of the LA protests, stating he had “inflamed a combustible situation.”
Wednesday, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has peddled the White House’s theory that some protestors in LA are being “clearly paid.”
On Thursday, California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference after asking a question, causing fury among Democrats.
Other Democrats, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New Jersey Senator Corey Booker, backed Newsom and Bass, with Booker describing the president’s actions as “hypocritical at best.”
