Gavin Newsom condemns National Guard deployment amid ICE raids, protests in LA
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gov. Newsom criticized federal National Guard deployment to L.A. as excessive.
- ICE raids and protests led to 118 arrests and violent clashes in Paramount.
- Federal officials cited officer assaults and unrest to justify military presence.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday evening criticized federal officials’ decision to deploy 2,000 members of the California National Guard to the Los Angeles area as “purposefully inflammatory.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed flash grenades and tear gas to disperse a protest at a Home Depot in Paramount, where people had gathered to protest a series of raids immigration officials had carried out around the city on Friday. SEIU California union president David Huerta, a frequent Newsom ally, was injured while protesting Friday and remained in federal custody over the weekend.
Federal officials’ decision to send in National Guardsmen was a dramatic escalation in a long-simmering fight between California officials and the Trump administration over the state’s immigration, climate and anti-discrimination policies. Earlier this week, Newsom suggested he would withhold federal taxes after Trump purportedly began looking into cutting off funding to the state.
“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” Newsom said on social media Saturday evening.
On Sunday morning, 300 members of the Guard’s San Diego-based 79th Infantry Combat Brigade Team had arrived in Los Angeles to guard federal buildings and employees, according to an X post from the U.S. Northern Command. More protests were planned to take place in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said active-duty Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton — 80 miles south of Los Angeles — were on “high alert” and could be mobilized to help the National Guard.
“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens,“ Newsom said in response. “This is deranged behavior.”
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that recent ICE operations in the south state resulted in the arrest of 118 people, including five individuals the agency identified as gang members. The agency said those arrested included individuals with prior convictions for drug trafficking, assault and other offenses.
Federal officials linked the arrests to heightened tensions in the region, and said ICE agents had been targeted during protests. The department reported a “413% increase in assaults” on officers and alleged that some agents’ family members had been doxxed.
Homeland Security officials criticized the Los Angeles Police Department in the statement, claiming it took officers more than two hours to respond to a disturbance outside a federal building Friday night.
“The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor (Karen) Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. “The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.”
McLaughlin went on to criticize House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and others including Bass for “contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers.”
“From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end,” she said.
‘Lawlessness that has been allowed to fester’
Tom Homan, the White House “border czar,” told Fox News on Saturday that the administration planned to send in National Guardsmen to quell the protests, saying ICE would not “apologize for enforcing the law.”
Under the Insurrection Act of 1807, federal authorities can override state law and deploy state militia in specific circumstances, such as in “emergencies, civil disturbances, and other reasons authorized by state law.” In 2020, the Trump administration called up guardsmen from 11 states to put down anti-police brutality protests in Washington, D.C.
The White House released a memorandum late Saturday night citing a section of federal code that allows the president to mobilize national guard members in times of “rebellion or danger of a rebellion” against the federal government.
Trump said he was invoking that authority to send guard members to protect ICE agents and protect federal buildings for up to 60 days, citing “numerous incidents of violence and disorder.”
In a statement Saturday night, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the deployment, accusing California officials of failing to maintain order.
“California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” she said. “That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
“The Commander-in-Chief will ensure the laws of the United States are executed fully and completely.”
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The protests at the Home Depot in Paramount escalated into a violent clash with federal agents, prompting federal officials to declare the gathering an unlawful assembly. Flash-bang grenades and pepper balls were deployed, according to the Los Angeles Times, and several protesters were injured.
Federal officials said one immigration agent was injured when a rock shattered his vehicle’s windshield, and the U.S. Marshals Service reported arrests for obstructing operations, according to the Times.
Bass said reports of violence in Paramount, an independent city patrolled by the L.A. Sheriff’s Department, were “deeply concerning” and emphasized that while peaceful protest was protected, “violence and destruction are unacceptable.”
Showdown in Paramount ‘creates chaos and fear’
Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told the Times that the city had no prior notice of federal operations and was not coordinating with immigration authorities.
“That creates chaos and fear,” she said.
In a statement posted to social media, Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents south Los Angeles, condemned the use of tear gas and heavy-handed tactics by ICE and other federal agencies.
“This is unacceptable,” she wrote, urging constituents to “know your rights.”
Newsom, who was previously in Los Angeles this week, said in a statement that local authorities had “no unmet needs” and were able to “access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice.”
“The Guard has been admirably serving L.A. throughout recovery,” he said. “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2025 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom condemns National Guard deployment amid ICE raids, protests in LA."
