Immigration Raid Riotous Protests in the U.S.

"[I've asked the White House to rescind the] unlawful [order federalizing the troops]."

"He [Trump] flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard."

"The order he signed doesn't just apply to California. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing."

"We're suing him."

Governor Gavin Newsom, California

 

"We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California."

"If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated."

"I would do it [arrest state and local officials as threatened by border adviser Tom Homan] if I were Tom. I think it's great."

"I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent, everybody knows that."

U.S. President Donald J. Trump 

 

"[I'm filing a lawsuit over Trump's] unnecessary, counterproductive and, most importantly, unlawful [mobilization of the California National Guard]."

"We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops."

California Attorney General Bob Bonta 

A man shouts into a megaphone outside City Hall during a protest in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Ethan Swope/AP

 

 Immigration-raid protests continue in Los Angeles, California's primary 'Sanctuary City'. The intensity of the protests in downtown LA, and the growing violence accompanying them don't appear to have alarmed either the California governor or the  mayor of L.A., Karen Bass. In an NBC interview on the fourth day of the rioting, Newsom dared Homan to follow through his threat of a arrest: "Arrest me, let's go", he challenged.

 

Looting broke out in several neighbourhoods when demonstrators closed down a major freeway. Police made 31 arrests on Saturday into Sunday. During the day the protests could be characterized as 'mostly peaceful', when night falls, they turn violently ugly. By Wednesday, 400 arrests were made in total. Charges ranged from looting and assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, to attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail. Five officers were injured in the crowds clashing with law enforcement.

 

Five self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, leading the car service to announce it had removed its vehicles from the downtown area and was suspending service there. In a series of posts on Truth Social, President Trump spoke of the protests as 'migrant riots', that Los Angeles had been "invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals". The riots have spread to other states now, as well.  Leading the Trump White House to declare the riots have spiralled and federal forces are required to restore order and support immigration agents.

 

Law enforcement officers clash with demonstrators and detain them during a protest against federal immigration sweeps next to the U.S. immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York on June 11, 2025.   Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

 

Federal agents were ordered to take all action necessary to continue immigration enforcement and restore control. Demonstrators wearing face coverings to be arrested, and if protesters 'spit' in the faces of the National Guard, they will retaliate. The federal immigration raids across L.A. County led to the  demonstrations beginning Friday. Police officers used tear gas and flash-bang grenades. Demonstrators threw bottles and chunks of concrete at police. The LAPD issued dispersal orders, declaring assemblies in several locations unlawful. 

 

Vandals took to shattering storefront windows, painting graffiti across building facades in some areas. In San Francisco, 148 people were arrested on Sunday evening; 60 related to demonstrations that had become violent, close to a downtown ICE office. Local businesses suffered broken windows, and vehicles of the city's municipal transit system were vandalized as well.

 

While defending sanctuary city policies preventing local law enforcement from co-ordinating with immigration authorities, city officials stated they are prepared to prosecute those who take part in destructive behaviour. "We stand united with our immigrant community right now", stated District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. 

 

Los Angeles police officers clear a street near Los Angeles City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Monday.   Jae Hong/AP

 

"This violence that I've seen is disgusting. What we saw the first night was bad. What we've seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent."

"[I believed the Los Angeles police could have handled the initial protests without the National Guard, but] looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment."

"They [organized groups of ‘Black Bloc’-type protesters] come prepared, and they’re very sophisticated." "Anarchists, if you will. They do have radio communications. They do move around. They do monitor police channels, and they’ll create distractions in order to draw us away from a scene we’re about to make arrests [at]."

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell

NYPD officers detain a demonstrator during an anti-ICE protest outside 26 Federal Plaza Building in New York on Tuesday.    Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu/Getty Images

 

There is no Consolation for Devastation Wildfires Produce

"[The Los Angeles area] had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak, and even more Angelenos evacuated due to the northeast expansion of the Palisades Fire."

County supervisor, Lindsey Horvath

"We're not out of the woods yet. We have some very significant fire weather ahead of us." 

"We've prepositioned additional engines, fire crews, helicopters, bulldozers, water tenders across all of Southern California ... all poised to assist and support the additional fire threat."

Nancy Ward, director of the California Office of Emergency Services

 

"There's likely to be a lot more [fatalities in the wildfires devastating the Los Angeles area]."

"We always have to be careful on the death toll." 

"I've got search and rescue teams, we've got cadaver dogs out, and there's likely to be a lot more."

California Governor Gavin Newsom

 

"To all residents, please be assured that we will continue to be here for you until the last fire is completely extinguished."

"We stand alongside all of you as we begin to plan for the repopulation of evacuated areas, establishment of disaster recovery centers, and the rebuilding of your homes, your communities, and your lives."

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone  

"[Curfews remain in place for the Pacific Palisades and Brentwood neighborhoods, which is a] measure that is necessary to ensure public safety, as high winds are expected to pick up again."

"[The Palisades Fire] remains active, and as others have said, this situation is far from over."

"Pacific Palisades still faces dangerous conditions, including downed power lines, broken gas and water pipes and now slide conditions because of water activity."

Los Angeles City Council member Traci Park

Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, in Los Angeles, on January 11.  Jae C. Hong/AP

Spreading wildfires saw firefighters racing to cut them off before the return of howling winds that could shove the flames closer to the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California Los Angeles. More home-owners were left on edge by new evacuation warnings, as a fierce battle was underway in Mandeville Canyon against the flames. Swooping helicopters were seen near the Pacific coast, dumping water on the downhill charging blaze. On the ground, firefighters were using hoses in an effort to beat back flames leaping everywhere, as thick smoke blanketed the hillsides.

CalFire operations chief Christian Litz explained their major focus on the Palisades Fire in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus. "We need to be aggressive out there", he said. The National Weather Service warned strong Santa Ana winds could soon return to replace the light breezes that were fanning the flames on Saturday. Santa Ana winds have been credited for the infernos that the wildfires were transformed into, levelling entire neighbourhoods which have seen no rainfall of any significant for the past eight months.

Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, return to Mantia's fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through in Altadena, California, on January 8.   Ethan Swope/AP

There were fears that the fire threatened to leap over Interstate 405, into the Hollywood Hills and San
Fernando Valley, both highly populated. Teams conducted systematic grid searches on Saturday in the grim work sifting through the devastation with cadaver dogs. A family assistance centre was set  up in Pasadena as Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna urged residents to abide by curfews. "We have people driving up and around trying to get in just to look. Stay away."

The death count now stands at 26. Over 12,000 structures have been burnt to a cinder. Some 145 square miles have been consumed by the fires. Tens of thousands remain under evacuation orders while new evacuations were ordered Friday evening, following a flare-up on the Palisades Fire eastern side.Since the start of the fires on Tuesday north of downtown Los Angeles, structures including homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles have been burned.

No cause  has yet been attributed to the largest fires that have caused the nation's costliest wildfires event in its recorded history. Donation centres on Saturday were overwhelmed by volunteers to the point that many were turned away, although donations of necessities were accepted. Some residents have been returning in hopes of salvaging keepsakes, sifting through what was left of their homes in the rubble.

People were urged by officials to stay away. The ash, they warned, can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other dangerous materials. "If  you're kicking that stuff up, you're breathing it in", advised a spokesman for the  unified command at the Palisades Fire. "All of that stuff is toxic."