Chaos in Los Angeles, Trump Deploys the National Guard

Massive protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, which led to a wave of arrests in the US city, led President Donald Trump today to order the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops.

The events in the California city escalated to a new level. Los Angeles has experienced two days of civil disobedience and clashes, with increased repression by federal riot police who used tear gas against protesters.

The day before, dozens of arrests were made in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation, and this Saturday, the migrant siege was expanded in Paramount, southeast of Los Angeles, where more protests erupted in front of an industrial park.

"If Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles cannot do their jobs, which everyone knows they cannot, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem: RIOTS AND LOOTING, how it should be solved!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Meanwhile, the White House said in a statement that "in recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE officers and federal law enforcement agents conducting basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California."

These operations are essential to stopping and reversing what the Trump administration calls "the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States," added the statement from Executive Mansion Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

"In the wake of this violence, California's incompetent Democratic leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. Therefore, President Trump has signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” he emphasized.

The message came after border czar Tom Homan said in an interview that same Saturday that they will deploy the force. “We will continue to do our job. We will counter these people and we will enforce the law,” he added. Trump will use Title 10 authority for the deployment.

In response to these reports of a possible deployment of the National Guard, Newsom wrote in X that “the federal government is taking steps to assume control of the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 troops.”

This measure, he warned, is deliberately provocative and will only escalate tensions.

“The federal government is sowing chaos to have an excuse to escalate the situation,” Newsom stated. “This is not how any civilized country behaves,” he added.

For her part, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a message on social media: "To the rioters in Los Angeles: You will not stop us or slow us down. The Los Angeles government will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."