Los Angeles: Curfew, mass arrests amid wave of protests in the US
Several US cities on June 11 braced for protests against President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown.
Meanwhile, parts of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States, just spent the night under curfew to quell five days of unrest.
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said he would deploy the National Guard this week ahead of planned protests. Protesters and police in Austin clashed on June 9.
President Trump's unusual measures, including deploying the National Guard and Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles, have sparked a national debate about the use of military force on U.S. soil and pitted the Republican president against California's Democratic governor.
"This blatant abuse of power by a sitting president ignited a potentially explosive situation that put our citizens, our police, and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a videotaped address on June 10. "He chose escalation. He chose to use more force. He chose drama over public safety... Democracy is under attack," he said.
Newsom, who is widely seen as preparing for a presidential run in 2028, and the state of California sued Trump and the Department of Defense on June 9 to block the deployment of federal troops. In response, Trump suggested that Newsom should be arrested.
Hundreds of US Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on June 10 at the behest of President Trump, who also ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops to the city. The Marines and National Guard will be used to protect government employees and buildings, not to engage in policing.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the deployment was unnecessary because police were able to manage the protests, which were largely peaceful and limited to about five city blocks.
However, due to looting and violence at night, she imposed a curfew on a one-square-mile (2.6 km) area.2) in the city center, starting from the evening of June 10. The curfew will last for several days.
Police said groups remained on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and “mass arrests” were made. Police had previously said 197 people were arrested on 10 June – more than double the total number of arrests so far.
Democratic leaders have expressed concern about a national crisis amid the Trump administration's most intense efforts to deport immigrants living in the country illegally, and then crack down on protesters who took to the streets.
Mr Trump, who won re-election last year largely on a promise to deport undocumented immigrants, used a speech honoring troops on June 10 to defend his decision.
"Generations of military heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to see our country destroyed by third world aggression and lawlessness," he told troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
'All-out attack'
"What you are witnessing in California is a total assault on the peace, public order and national sovereignty, carried out by rioters carrying foreign flags," Mr Trump said, adding that his administration would "liberate Los Angeles".
Protesters waved Mexican and other national flags in solidarity with migrants detained in a growing series of raids.
The US Department of Homeland Security said on June 9 that its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division has apprehended 2,000 immigrants for violations per day recently, much higher than the average of 311 people per day in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
Protests also took place in other cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago, where protesters shouted and scuffled with officers. Some protesters climbed on the Picasso statue in Daley Square, while others chanted that ICE should be abolished.
Texas Governor Abbott said late on June 10 that he would deploy the National Guard, which "will use every tool and strategy to help law enforcement maintain order."
"The Texas National Guard will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace and order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming people or property is illegal and will result in arrest," Abbott posted on X.
Organizations in South Texas are planning to hold anti-ICE rallies on June 11 and June 14, CNN reported, citing local media sources.
About 700 Marines were at a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Los Angeles on June 10, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a US official said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect employees, saying there was a risk it could violate an 1878 law that generally bars the US military, including the National Guard, from engaging in civilian law enforcement activities.
“Protecting staff would likely mean accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighborhoods, and protective functions would likely mean protecting ICE’s function of enforcing immigration laws,” Bonta said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted photos on X on June 10 of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers during an immigration raid. Trump administration officials have vowed to double down on immigration raids in response to street protests.
The last time the military was used for direct policing action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the then-governor of California asked President George H. W. Bush to help respond to riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of the police officers who beat black motorist Rodney King.
