The U.S. National Guard is now active on the streets of Los Angeles as protests against immigration raids continue.
President Donald Trump ordered the deployment after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 118 people in LA throughout the week, sparking widespread protests across the city.
Here’s what you need to know.
ICE
ICE is the federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws and deporting people who are in the U.S. without legal permission.
Last week, ICE conducted a series of raids on businesses in LA. According to officials, more than 100 people were arrested on Friday across the state.
The raids are part of President Trump's broader immigration crackdown. Last month, the Trump administration set a target to arrest 3,000 people a day over alleged immigration violations.
Protests
Amid these ongoing arrests, demonstrators started gathering in parts of LA on Friday to protest the actions of ICE.
Over the course of the weekend, the protests grew in numbers, with many demonstrators holding signs that read “ICE out of LA” and “education not deportation”.
One protester told local news: “The whole thing about going after immigrants and people who are undocumented, the most vulnerable of our populations… that is so wrong.”
The LA Police Department (LAPD) said in a press conference that 60 people had been arrested during the protests.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell claimed the unrest had become "increasingly worse and more violent."
National Guard
On Saturday, Trump signed an order deploying 2,000 National Guard members to LA.
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The National Guard is a reserve military force, typically comprising part-time soldiers who often hold civilian jobs but can be called to active duty.
In a statement, Trump said: “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
Typically, state governors control their state's National Guard and use them for emergencies like natural disasters.
The President can also activate them, but this typically occurs with the governor's consent.
Trump is the first president since 1965 to deploy the National Guard without a governor’s request.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "In the wake of this violence, California's feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens."
Raids
At the time of writing, at least 300 National Guard troops have arrived in LA. Trump says the remaining 1,700 will arrive in the coming days, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has also placed 500 Marines on standby.
Tom Homan, Trump's immigration enforcement chief, warned ICE raids would continue "every day" for the next month, saying state officials who block operations could face charges.
Police have now declared Downtown LA an unlawful assembly area.
Response
In response to the events of the weekend, California Governor Gavin Newsom said: “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilised country behaves."
A coalition of Democratic governors (including Newsom) issued a statement that called Trump’s move “an abuse of power”.
Newsom has threatened to sue Trump over the use of the National Guard without the state governor’s consent.
