Demonstrations escalated in Los Angeles on Sunday as US President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard triggered scuffles with police and widespread outrage, particularly in neighborhoods with large Latino populations. Protesters clashed with law enforcement for a third consecutive day, reacting to immigration raids that have resulted in dozens of arrests.

The unrest stems from large-scale operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which began in broad daylight on Friday. Officials claim the raids targeted undocumented migrants and suspected gang members. However, local voices say the move is politically charged and designed to provoke a response in one of the most liberal cities in the US.

California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of bypassing state authority, calling the National Guard deployment “a serious breach of state sovereignty.” In a statement on X, Newsom wrote, “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”

Immigration raids provoke backlash in Latino-majority city

Protests erupted near a downtown Los Angeles detention center where federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security initially clashed with demonstrators. As tensions escalated, law enforcement resorted to crowd control measures, deploying flashbangs and smoke grenades to disperse people from key roadways. The California Highway Patrol briefly shut down a major freeway as demonstrators blocked traffic.

In the heart of the city, protesters set fire to at least three self-driving Waymo cars and vandalized two more. Police officials confirmed 56 arrests across two days of clashes, with at least three officers sustaining minor injuries.

By Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles Police Department officers had set up containment lines separating demonstrators from the National Guard troops, who were equipped with helmets and military gear. The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team formed visible patrols across federal buildings downtown.

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Criticism of Trump’s actions extended beyond California. Former Vice President Kamala Harris described the deployment as “a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos,” recalling that the last time a president overrode a governor’s authority to deploy the Guard without consent was in 1965 during the civil rights movement.

The Associated Press (AP) reported in March that federal agents who are typically assigned to law enforcement tasks such as combating child trafficking or money laundering are now being reassigned to crack down on immigrants, leading to civil unrest.

Despite the backlash, Republican leaders defended the move. House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed Governor Newsom’s concerns and accused him of "an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary."

US President Trump, speaking to reporters, remained defiant. “You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it,” he said. When asked about the possible use of the Insurrection Act, Trump replied, “We’re looking at troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country.”

Troops’ presence stirs fear and accusations of intimidation

While officials insist the presence of troops is meant to ensure public safety, many on the ground see it differently. Protesters argue that the deployment serves primarily as a show of force intended to silence public dissent.

“I think it’s an intimidation tactic,” said protester Thomas Henning. “These protests have been peaceful. There’s no one trying to do any sort of damage right now, and yet you have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights.”

Marshall Goldberg, a 78-year-old resident, told Agence-France Presse (AFP) the decision to deploy Guardsmen made him feel “so offended.”

“We hate what they’ve done with the undocumented workers, but this is moving it to another level of taking away the right to protest and the right to just peaceably assemble.”

Insurrection Act looms as federal forces remain on standby

The Department of Defense confirmed that approximately 500 Marines under US Northern Command remain in “prepared-to-deploy status,” ready to support the federal crackdown if needed. The strategic signal suggests the White House is considering broader use of military force should protests continue or spread to other cities.

Meanwhile, small-scale demonstrations have taken place in other parts of the country following ICE operations, but none have matched the scale or intensity of the unrest now gripping Los Angeles. A recent CBS News poll, conducted before the violence began, found a slight majority of Americans still supported the immigration crackdown.