President Donald Trump issued a stark warning in response to escalating protests in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, declaring, “We are going to have troops everywhere.”
The statement, made after landing in New Jersey aboard Air Force One, underscored the administration’s aggressive stance on quelling unrest tied to its immigration enforcement policies.
The deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, authorized by Trump on Saturday, has sparked intense controversy, with critics accusing the president of overreach and authoritarian tactics.
The protests erupted following a series of ICE raids targeting undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, a city with a significant Latino population and a history of sanctuary policies.
The raids, which intensified on Friday, June 6, included operations at workplaces such as a clothing warehouse and a Home Depot in Paramount, a heavily Hispanic area.
Federal agents, clad in riot gear, used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse crowds, some of whom threw rocks and vandalized federal vehicles.
The Department of Homeland Security reported arresting 118 immigrants in recent operations, while local authorities noted dozens of protesters were detained.
The unrest, now in its third day, has seen thousands take to the streets, blocking freeways and setting self-driving cars ablaze.
Protesters, chanting slogans like “ICE out of LA” and “No human being is illegal,” have clashed with law enforcement outside federal facilities, including the Metropolitan Detention Center.
The situation has drawn comparisons to past civil unrest in Los Angeles, though it remains smaller than the 1992 Rodney King riots or the 2020 protests against police violence.
In a rare move, Trump invoked a legal provision under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, allowing him to federalize the California National Guard without the approval of Governor Gavin Newsom.
This marks the first time since 1965 that a president has activated a state’s National Guard without a governor’s request, a precedent set when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama.
The 2,000 troops, including 300 already deployed by Sunday morning, are tasked with protecting federal agents and facilities, not conducting immigration raids or regular policing.
Trump justified the deployment, stating, “We are not going to let this happen to our country.” He praised the National Guard’s efforts on Truth Social, claiming Los Angeles “would have been completely obliterated” without their intervention.
The president also criticized Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, calling them “incompetent” and accusing them of mishandling the protests.
In a provocative escalation, Trump suggested his border czar, Tom Homan, could arrest Newsom for obstructing federal efforts, prompting Newsom to retort, “This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.”
