Los Angeles has, yet again, found itself right at the middle of a passionate public demonstration, getting worldwide attention and sparking debate. The protests that ignited recently unfolded at a rapid pace across various neighborhoods, reflecting deeper social issues that have still resonated throughout the city’s diverse communities for many years now.
Rooted in concerns over racial injustice, police conduct, and economic disparities, the current wave of protests represents both a cry for justice and a call for systemic change. To effectively understand what’s happening on the streets of LA today, it is mandatory to explore the historical context, the key events that ignited such a movement, the players involved, and the possible implications for the future of the city.
Historical and social context of these protests
The ongoing protests in Los Angeles shouldn’t be seen as a sudden phenomenon but more as a small part of a broader continuum of activism that has efficiently shaped the city’s identity. For many years, LA has been a stage for social movements that seek to confront systemic inequalities, all the way from civil rights marches of the 1960s to the uprising following the Rodney King verdict back in 1992.
The city’s large and super diverse population, which also includes immigrant communities and people of color, has often borne the brunt of social and economic marginalization. All these inequalities have often been compounded by disparities in education, housing, and law enforcement practices. The overall accumulation of grievances has also created an environment where frustration and demands for justice could easily ignite with powerful force.
Why are people protesting in LA?
The protests started this weekend after ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers started carrying out raids in specific areas of the city with prominent Latino populations. Raids also stepped up after Trump returned to the White House, pledging to crack down on illegal immigration.
The BBC’s US partner, CBS News, declared that the most recent operations took place in the Westlake district but also in Paramount, south of LA, where the population is over 82% Hispanic. There were also various reports of an ICE raid at a Home Depot shop in Paramount, which officials told the BBC were actually false.
Later on, ICE told CBS that 44 unauthorized immigrants were arrested in only one operation at a job site on Friday. Another 77 were arrested in the greater LA area on the very same day.
Where are these protests, and what has happened?
The protests have so far been limited to downtown LA, which has been officially declared an “unlawful assembly” area by police after days of clashes. Vehicles were set alight on Sunday, and police accused the protestors of using incendiary devices against patrols.
In the meantime, officers in riot gear used flash-bang grenades, as well as pepper spray, to subdue crowds. The unrest brought the 101 freeway to a halt, with reports of looting. Moreover, the downtown Federal Building is now a flashpoint, right after the emergence of ICE detainees allegedly taking place there. On Saturday, ICE accused “more than 1,000 rioters” of surrounding and attacking the building.
Also, a Home Depot shop in Paramount, which is roughly 20 miles south of downtown LA, has become yet another key protest site. Tear gas and flash-bangs were instantly deployed against protesters who gathered there on Saturday, and armed National Guard troops surrounded a nearby business park on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Police Department declared it had made 29 arrests on Saturday. A further 27 people were arrested on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Police Department made 29 arrests on Saturday. Another 27 people were arrested on Sunday. On a separate note, around 60 people were arrested and three other officers injured after a series of unrest in San Francisco on Sunday, as police have declared.
On Monday, protests continued, and police fired stun grenades to try and disperse people. Elsewhere in the sprawling city of LA, life kept its normal pace, and some areas were even closed off over the weekend for the LA Pride parade.
What exactly is the National Guard, and why did Trump deploy it?
Only a day after the protests ignited, Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members to the L.A. area, triggering a full-blown political row with various state politicians. On Monday evening, he ordered yet another 2,000 National Guard members to the west coast city.
The Pentagon called up 700 Marines to assist with their own efforts. The National Guard acts as some form of hybrid entity that’s meant to serve both state and federal interests. As a general rule, a state’s force is activated when the governor requests it.
Trump then circumvented that particular step by invoking a rarely-used federal law and arguing that the protests represent a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.
This is perhaps the first time the National Guard has been activated without the request of the state’s governor since 1965. Ever since, the move has been condemned by California Governor Gavin Newsom and LAW Mayor Karen Bass, who think local police would have been able to handle the situation.
Then, Newsom accused Trump of “illegal” acts that only “put fuel on this fire,” then sued Trump’s administration.
In the aforementioned lawsuit filed two days later, California argued that Trump goes against the US Constitution, which has protections for states’ rights, in deploying the guard against the governor’s wishes.
The 10th Amendment also says that any power that is not specifically delegated to the federal government in the Constitution automatically goes to the states. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the deployment an “inflammatory escalation, wildly unsupported by conditions on the ground,” which “exceeds the federal government’s authority.”
What are all the other agencies involved?
The role of the National Guard is to protect its federal agents, such as ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel, as they carry out their own duties. The troops will no longer be conducting their own immigration raids or performing regular policing, which is still under the umbrella of the LAPD.
The law also prohibits the domestic use of federal troops for civilian law enforcement, outside certain exceptions such as the Insurrection Act. Even if Trump repeatedly threatened to invoke that act before, during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, for instance, he hasn’t.
Trump’s allies repeatedly defended his decision to gather the National Guard. In fact, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that active-duty US Marines stationed very close to Camp Pendleton were staying on “high alert” 24/7.
Who is ICE deporting?
The most recent raids are somehow part of the president’s aim to enact the “biggest deportation operation” in the entire US history. Los Angeles, where more than one-third of the population is born outside of the United States, has been a major target for operations.
In early May, ICE declared it had arrested 239 undocumented migrants throughout a week-long operation in the LA area, especially since overall arrests and deportations lagged behind Trump’s initial expectations.
The next month, the White House increased its goal for ICE officials to make a minimum of 3,000 arrests per day. Authorities have also expanded their search, in order to include workplaces like restaurants and retail shops.
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