Protests against former President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies intensified across the United States on Wednesday, despite a military-backed crackdown in Los Angeles and Trump’s threats to use “heavy force” against demonstrators.
In Los Angeles, where protests first erupted last Friday, a nighttime curfew aimed at clearing the downtown area was largely effective. Police reported arresting around 25 people who refused to comply. Officers continued to patrol near government buildings as shop owners boarded up storefronts to guard against vandalism. By Wednesday morning, the area was calm.
“I’d say everything is hunky-dory here at Ground Zero,” said 66-year-old protester Lynn Sturgis, a retired schoolteacher. “Our city is not on fire, it’s not burning down — despite what our terrible leader is trying to tell you.”
Roughly 1,000 of the 4,700 troops Trump ordered to Los Angeles were actively deployed, assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and guarding federal facilities, according to Scott Sherman, Deputy Commanding General of Army North. The rest, including 700 active-duty Marines, were undergoing training in civil disturbance tactics. The Pentagon estimates the deployment will cost taxpayers $134 million.
The mostly peaceful protests were sparked by a sudden and dramatic escalation in the administration’s efforts to detain undocumented migrants. Isolated acts of violence — such as the burning of autonomous taxis and clashes with police — prompted an aggressive response from authorities, including tear gas and other crowd-control measures.
Trump, who won re-election last year on promises to combat what he calls an “invasion” of undocumented immigrants, has seized the unrest as a political opportunity. He ordered the California National Guard to deploy — overruling Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections — in a move not seen in decades.
“If our troops hadn’t gone into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now,” Trump claimed on social media Wednesday.
The White House reinforced his position.
“President Trump will never allow mob rule to prevail in America,” said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing.
Governor Newsom, a Democrat, accused Trump of deliberately escalating tensions for political gain.
“Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,” Newsom said in a televised address late Tuesday. “California may be first, but it clearly won’t end here.”
Nationwide demonstrations continue
Despite Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard in other Democratic-led states, protesters appear undeterred. Thousands marched through New York and Chicago on Tuesday night.
In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott announced the deployment of his state’s National Guard to respond to a protest planned in San Antonio. Demonstrations were also scheduled Wednesday in Seattle, Las Vegas, and New York.
Organizers are calling for a nationwide “No Kings” protest on Saturday — the same day Trump is set to attend an unusually large military parade in Washington, D.C. The event is being held in honor of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and also coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday.
In a speech at a military base on Tuesday, Trump warned that protests during the parade would be met with “very heavy force.” The last major military parade in the U.S. capital took place in 1991 after the first Gulf War.
A manufactured crisis?
The Trump administration continues to frame the protests as a national security threat, justifying the military intervention as necessary to restore order and support immigration enforcement.
On Tuesday, Trump described the situation as a “full-blown assault on peace, public order, and national sovereignty,” allegedly driven by a “foreign enemy.”
Critics — including many protesters and members of the Democratic opposition — argue that Trump is manufacturing a crisis and targeting low-income immigrants with no criminal records.
Governor Newsom accused the administration of going far beyond its stated goal of deporting dangerous criminals. “His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers, and seamstresses,” he said.
Footage obtained by AFP on Wednesday appears to show federal agents ramming a civilian vehicle in Boyle Heights, a working-class neighborhood of Los Angeles. A smoke device is deployed, and masked agents with assault rifles order a man out of the car. Witnesses said his wife and two young children were left visibly shaken.
