Army Troops Called In. Emergency Update #2 L.A. VS. ICE

National Guard Being Deployed in L.A. tonite.

June 7 2025

By Marc Cooper

National Guard troops are being sent into Los Angeles, today, Saturday, by the White House as a blitz of ICE raids have provoked growing mass demonstrations and civil disorder.

The deployment of military troops has been confirmed by Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s so-called “border czar.” Protests began yesterday near downtown L.A. as a militarized ICE contingent moved in with armed troop carriers and agents in full battle dress to arrest a reported 44 undocumented workers from an area that is crowded with clothing sweatshops. There are no arrests reported for hiring undocumented workers.

Crowds of protesters were hit with flash grenades launched by the federal agents. Further clashes spread within hours to the detention center to where the undocumented were transported.

A second round of large rowdy demonstrations also broke out today as more raids were conducted outside a Home Depot and other nearby locations in greater Los Angeles.

The ICE raids have been roundly condemned by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Calling in the guard will not only enflame the high social tension but also raises still unanswered questions about command of the Guard troops. The California National Guard is nominally under the command of the Governor who must approve any deployment in the streets.

This reporter suspects but cannot yet confirm the California guard has been “federalized” by Trump administration officials, either from the DHS or directly from the White House.

Indeed, Governor Newsom has condemned the deployment as unnecessary according to The Guardian:

“California governor Gavin Newsom called the move to deploy the national guard “purposefully inflammatory” and said it will only escalate tensions. “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,” he said.

Newsom made assurances that LAPD was available to authorities and that his administration was in close contact with city and county officials. “There is currently no unmet need,” he sas said.”

But the administration is talking tough and taking a very hard line in harmony with its obvious policy of inciting rather than calming public fear.

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem pushed back against the protesters on Saturday, saying: “A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @Icegov will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on social media that Friday’s demonstrations were “an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States”. On Saturday, he described the day’s protests as a “violent insurrection.

The Guardian report continues:

Advocates for immigrant rights say people were detained Friday by immigration authorities outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.

In a post on X, the California representative Jimmy Gomez called the raids “pure intimidation by Trump and his cronies to scare and divide us”.

“You have the right to remain silent. Film everything. Don’t sign anything without a lawyer. Don’t open the door w/o a signed warrant,” Gomez said

Law enforcement has reported no injuries among its officers and agents. Some protesters have thrown eggs and other objects at the large contingents of ICE-led federal officers.

Los Angeles is about 1/3 immigrants and the raids are taking place in some of the poorer districts of L.A. where national guard troops are unlikely to have a warm welcome and could easily pour gasoline on an already spreading political wildfire. Adding to the tension is the arrest yesterday of SEIU state union leader David Huerta who was also injured as he tried to block an ICE troop carrier. Huerta is a major player in the Caifornia Democratic network.

The backlash against ICE was inevitable and is now in full bloom. How the administration could have targeted liberal L.A with millions of immigrants and a general population hostile to Trump can lead one only to conclude it was seeking the confrontation in which it is now embroiled. It’s expected the National Guard will be on the streets of L,A, before nightfall, today Saturday.

Here is my original post on the onset of the conflict from earlier this morning.

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