National Guard comes in response to anti-ICE protests

National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday on the order of President Trump after protests roiled the city in recent days as federal officers carried out immigration operations in the region.

California’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team sent 300 soldiers to 3 locations in the greater Los Angeles area to protect federal agents and property.

The confrontation broke out as hundreds of people protested in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where several of the newly-arrived National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.

The move appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

The deployment followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.

As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls. 

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

Will this lead to more conflict and chaos? It’s impossible to know for sure. Anything is possible in the Trump era.