Los Angeles saw its fourth day of immigration protests

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Los Angeles yesterday to protest against recent immigration arrests by federal authorities, marking the fourth straight day of demonstrations that have frequently turned violent.

How we got here

On Friday evening, Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities executed search warrants at four areas across Los Angeles, arresting 44 people on alleged immigration violations.

• Two such immigration raids drew hundreds of protesters and devolved into violent standoffs between the demonstrators, and federal officials combined with the LAPD.
• At one of the sites, the president of the Service Employees International Union, David Huerta, was arrested for allegedly interfering with federal officers.
• Protests against federal immigration officials continued on Saturday and often turned violent, with 29 protesters arrested. Demonstrators lit fires and threw rocks at federal vehicles, while federal agents fired non-lethal munitions and tear gas into crowds.

The Trump admin steps in: On Saturday evening, President Trump authorized the deployment of ~2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, saying the move was necessary to support ICE officers and citing violence and destruction against federal agents and facilities.

• The move came despite objections from LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (both Democrats), who insisted an uninvited federal deployment was “purposefully inflammatory” and risked escalating tensions.
• On Monday, California’s AG said the state will sue the Trump admin over what it says is “a serious breach of state sovereignty.”

Protests further intensified on Sunday. Thousands of demonstrators gathered at several locations around LA, and also shut down a portion of the US-101 freeway. Protesters threw rocks, damaged police vehicles, and also set fire to several Waymo self-driving taxis, per the LAPD.

Looking ahead…The Trump admin is deploying ~700 active-duty Marines to the Los Angeles area to protect federal buildings and personnel, per a statement last night from the Pentagon, which said the troops won’t engage with protesters.