Los Angeles and other major cities across the country were inciting widespread demonstrations against the Trump administration Saturday as the federal government calmed its aggressive immigration enforcement to Southern California.
As President Trump prepares to celebrate his 79th birthday in an unprecedented military parade in the U.S. Capitol, many people across the country will gather for the “King No” demonstration to express their opposition to Trump’s administration’s policies.
At least twelve different groups in the Los Angeles area have conducted five-day downtown demonstrations for eight consecutive days that condemned federal actions aimed at chasing and capturing undocumented immigrants on their work and on city streets.
According to government officials, hundreds of Marines and National Guards in the area will defend federal property and immigration enforcement operations. Federal forces arrived in the area earlier this week after protests turned violent and left Waymo automatic cars burned, downtown properties were smashed and covered by anti-Trump and customs law enforcement graffiti.
Tensions between federal immigration officials and California politicians reached new heights when Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly evacuated from a Department of Homeland Security news conference on Thursday. Kristi Noem was speaking.
After the press conference, Padilla addressed reporters, calling on people to peacefully protest the Trump administration’s actions.
“There is a lot of attention, a lot of tension, a lot of anxiety,” Padilla said. “I encourage everyone to protest peacefully, just like I’m listening to the press conference calmly and peacefully and ready to ask questions.”
The raiders target family warehouses, churches, farms, retail centers and other locations. They also raised concerns among local officials that actions force immigrants to hide and ultimately damage local economy.
As immigration operations continue, Los Angeles Police Department officials report growing success in violence and property damage in the city’s core, thanks in part to the 8-6 p.m. curfew this week.
The curfew is imposed indefinitely on downtown civic centers, including the City Hall, the main county crime courts, the LAPD headquarters and federal buildings.
Times worker Nathan Solis, Andrea Castillo, Laura J. Nelson, Marie Sanford and Richard Winton contributed to the report.
