Over the weekend, ICE launched sweeping raids across LA—arresting 100, sparking protests, and prompting Trump to deploy the National Guard in a move not seen since 1965. Civil rights groups called it an “oppressive and vile paramilitary” crackdown, as the White House doubled down on workplace arrests to ramp up deportations.
Tell me what happened in LA?
First, the raids: Federal immigration agents conducted a series of “immigration enforcement operations” across Los Angeles on Friday. People suspected of “immigration violations and the use of fraudulent documents” were arrested—without judicial warrants. It was an extraordinary show of force—even by ICE standards:
Dozens of federal agents wearing helmets and green camouflage arrived in two hulking armored trucks and other unmarked vehicles, and were soon approached by a crowd of immigrant activists and supporters. Some agents carried riot shields and others held rifles, as well as shotguns that appeared to be loaded with less-than-lethal ammunition.
This is what they looked like:
Point to note: The optics were part of the plan: “The ACLU described the show of force as an ‘oppressive and vile paramilitary operation’. Civil liberties groups said the tactics used had created panic in local communities and may have violated protocols for civil immigration enforcement.”
The confrontation: As they were leaving, agents “lobbed flash-bang grenades at groups of people who chased alongside the slow-moving convoy.” On their part, some protesters had thrown eggs and other objects at their vehicles. Protesters assembled outside the ICE detention centers as well:
Also arrested: US citizens like union leader David Huerta—who represents 750,000 service workers across the state. He was accused of “interfering” with federal officers—by blocking one of their vehicles. You can see him being brought down below:
The arrests: At the end of the day, around 100 people were swept up by ICE agents in three locations.
The riots: Despite the claims of Homeland Security, local law enforcement said they played no part in the raids. But fresh sweeps in Paramount—a small town outside LA—sparked new protests that extended into Saturday:
That’s when the state police intervened:
Sheriff's officials said in a statement Saturday that "as the situation escalated, the crowd of protesters became increasingly agitated, throwing objects and exhibiting violent behavior toward federal agents and deputy sheriffs. In response, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) requested additional resources countywide, deploying additional deputies to maintain order."
In one case, they had to “rescue” ICE agents cornered in an LA parking garage by angry activists:
Umm, haven’t they been doing this for a while?
Nope, not with this kind of intensity—or focus:
The Trump administration released a flurry of executive orders and instituted mass arrests across the country that changed the immigration landscape, sometimes in a single day… Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported a wave of arrests, with the agency on Wednesday detaining over 2,200 people — which a senior DHS official, who was granted anonymity to disclose the data, said was the largest single-day arrest total in agency history, only to be topped by over 2,300 on Thursday in a cross-country spree.
The White House is targeting at least 3,000 detentions per day—which explains these Home Depot raids.
A new ‘workplace’ strategy: The raids targeted locations that are likely to employ great numbers of migrants:
This included two Home Depot stores in the Westlake District of Los Angeles, a doughnut shop and the clothing wholesaler, Ambiance Apparel in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles. Other locations in which raids were carried out included day labour centres and one other Ambiance facility near 15th Street and Santa Fe Avenue in south Los Angeles.
In recent days, ICE has arrested workers at construction sites in Florida, Louisiana, and Massachusetts.
The rationale: The plan is to target the very reason why desperate migrants cross the US border—to find work. It is a significant expansion of the sweeps—which until now targeted criminals and more recently foreign students. And this is just the beginning, according to the White House’s ‘border czar’: “You’re going to see more work site enforcement than you’ve ever seen in the history of this nation. We’re going to flood the zone.”
Quote to note: Workplace raids offer more bang for the buck—and offer a real shot at mass deportations:
“Goosing the numbers is a big part of this because it’s so much more efficient in manpower to raid a warehouse and arrest 100 illegal aliens than it is to send five guys after one criminal,” said [anti-immigration guru] Mark Krikorian… Workplace raids also send a warning to a far broader group of undocumented people, most of whom have not committed crimes. “If you want to get people packing up and leaving, that isn’t going to happen if you’re just focusing on the criminals,” Mr. Krikorian said.
But, but, but: These raids hit industries like construction, food production and hospitality. Areas most visible to Americans—both customers and business owners. Undocumented workers account for 4% of the American work force—but are concentrated in a few industries—19% of workers in landscaping, 17% in farming and 13% in construction. Many of these are small businesses that will go out of business if they lose a big chunk of their staff.
The ultimate hypocrisy: They have even been paying taxes thanks to a “special” government scheme—created just for ‘illegal’ migrants:
In 1996, the Internal Revenue Service created an alternative to a Social Security number that allowed immigrants to file federal tax returns on their earnings. Unauthorized immigrants often do so because it can be beneficial on citizenship applications down the line and also count toward Social Security benefits if they are able to naturalize. Their payments generate tens of billions of dollars in tax revenue each year.
Okay, what’s with the National Guard move? Is it like martial law?
It’s not that extreme… at least for now. OTOH, this is Trump.
What Trump did: He issued a memorandum "deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness" in California. These are among 430,000 civilian soldiers—who can be called up for military duty in an emergency—either by the state or federal government. The National Guard is the only arm of the US military that can be called in for law enforcement at home.
The justification: is that the LA police did not protect federal agents from “violent” protesters. In the ICE director's words:
Our brave officers were vastly outnumbered, as over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building. It took over two hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond, despite being called multiple times. The brave men and women of ICE were in Los Angeles arresting criminal illegal aliens including gang members, drug traffickers and those with a history of assault, cruelty to children, domestic violence, robbery, and smuggling.
OTOH, the LAPD says the worst of the violence involved a "small group of violent individuals" throwing large pieces of concrete—and they got them quickly under control. In any case, this is a ‘we said, they said’ situation.
Why this is a big deal: Most times, the Guard is deployed by state governors—to deal with disasters like floods etc. But the President can call in the Guard if “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” And he can deploy “the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws.”
The directive signed by Trump specifically says: “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” That’s a huuuuge stretch.
Also this: A President usually calls in the National Guard on the request of the state governor. In this case, Gavin Newsom vehemently opposed the move. This is the first time a US president has activated the Guard—without a state request—since 1965. In fact, the last time it happened, Lyndon Johnson sent in the National Guard to protect civil rights activists in Alabama. OTOH…
Wait, there is more: The Trump directive also threatens to deploy the US military against its own citizens:
Mr. Trump’s directive authorized the secretary of defense to “employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion.” In Mr. Hegseth’s post on X, he said that active duty Marines were “on high alert” at Camp Pendleton, about 100 miles south of Los Angeles, and could also be mobilized.
A timely reminder: Trump has long been eager to use the military to put down dissent at home. In his previous term, he used military helicopters “to rout peaceful protesters demonstrating against police violence near the White House.” And he came very close to using troops to put down the Black Lives Matter movement. This is not unprecedented. George Bush Sr sent in 2,500 Army infantry soldiers and 1,500 marines to help quell LA riots—after the Rodney King trial—where LA police officers were acquitted of beating him.
So where are we now?
On Sunday, there were fresh confrontations between protesters and law enforcement—who included officers from Homeland Security, ICE and the LAPD. Interestingly, the National Guard troops did their best to “largely refrain from engaging with the demonstrators.” But Trump continues to paint LA as a war zone:
Mr. Trump offered a grim portrayal of the protests, claiming that the city had been “invaded and occupied.” In a post on Truth Social, he asserted that “violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations.”
As for the Dems: Governor Newsom has been courting the Republican base to lay ground for his presidential run in 2028. But buckling down to Trump on this one may carry greater consequences, according to political pundits: “He has no choice but to fight back directly — the base is demanding it. I think his tone, direction, strategy will adjust.” For now, the always intrepid Newsom has turned the moment into a fund-raising strategy.
The bottomline: It may seem ugly and chaotic. But this is the first show of real resistance to Trump’s immigration policies in America. Likely because it comes from the working class—who have far more experience in the trenches than middle class liberals.
Reading list
Al Jazeera and New York Times offer an overview of the raids. Politico lays out Trump’s ‘flood the zone’ immigration campaign. New York Times explains the rationale for targeting workplaces. Reuters and LAist are best on the riots that followed the raids. ABC News and The Guardian have details on the National Guard order. Council on Foreign Relations offers a primer on the National Guard.
