Los Angeles, California —(Map)
Los Angeles has seen three days of growing protests and conflicts with police. The protests began after an increase in arrests of immigrants by US ICE agents. The conflict grew after US President Donald Trump sent National Guard soldiers to the area.
One promise Mr. Trump made when he ran for president was to crack down on people who were in the US illegally. Under Mr. Trump’s government, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been going to great efforts to find and arrest illegal immigrants. Some of those arrested by ICE were in the US legally. Mr. Trump’s government is calling all of those arrested “criminals”, even if their only crime is being in the country without permission.
Recently, ICE agents have begun raiding workplaces to try to arrest more people. On Friday, over 100 people were arrested in raids like this in Los Angeles. Protests broke out over the ICE raids. To break up the protests, US agents used tear gas and flash-bangs.
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Los Angeles has seen three days of growing protests and conflicts with police. The protests began after an increase in arrests of immigrants by US ICE agents. The conflict grew after Mr. Trump sent National Guard soldiers to the area. Above, protesters and law enforcement officers in Los Angeles on Sunday.
On Saturday, there were more protests, and they were mostly peaceful. But as the protests grew in size, police and US agents again used tear gas and flash-bangs to break up the protests. Some protesters fought back and there was some damage to property. There were injuries on both sides.
The Los Angeles police said they did not require outside help with the protests, but the White House has presented the situation as being out of control. Mr. Trump described the protests in Los Angeles as “riots”.
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Over the weekend, there were more protests, and they were mostly peaceful. But as the protests grew in size, police and US agents used tear gas and flash-bangs to break up the protests. Some protesters fought back and there was some damage to property. Above, self-driving cars set on fire on Sunday.
Mr. Trump has long been annoyed with California and its governor, Gavin Newsom. The two politicians have very different views on most issues.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump took the highly unusual step of bringing California’s National Guard soldiers into the situation. He put California’s National Guard under US control and sent 300 of its soldiers into Los Angeles to guard buildings belonging to the US government.
(Source: U.S. Northern Command [Public domain], X.)
Many people see Mr. Trump’s move as illegal, since a president can only take control of a state’s National Guard in response to a national emergency.
US National Guard
In general, it’s against the law in the US to use the military to enforce laws. National Guard soldiers are state-based soldiers who are usually under the control of a state’s governor. Typically, a president only makes use of a state’s national guard when the state’s governor requests it.
Politicians in California are very upset by the president’s move. They say it made the situation worse, not better. The protests have grown since the National Guard was brought in. Mr. Newsom said Mr. Trump was “creating fear and terror”. The state of California has now sued Mr. Trump for his actions.
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Politicians in California say Mr. Trump’s actions made the situation worse. The protests have grown since the National Guard was brought in. More soldiers are expected. It’s not clear how that will calm things down. Above, protesters face California National Guard soldiers and police in Los Angeles on Monday.
The protests continue. Though most of the protestors have been peaceful, the level of violence has grown. Cars have been set on fire and protestors have thrown things at police. Police have used tear gas, flash-bangs, and rubber bullets on the crowds. Several reporters have been hurt by rubber bullets.
Mr. Trump says he’s sending 2,000 National Guard soldiers to the area. On Monday night, 700 US Marines were “activated” to help protect US government property and workers in Los Angeles.
The tensions in Los Angeles continue to grow. It’s not clear that using the US military against US citizens will calm things down.
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