LA Protests Turn to Riots Over Arrests of Illegal Immigrants

Weekend protests have drawn comparisons to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

A car burns in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. Melina Chan/The Epoch Times

Riots erupted amid protests in Los Angeles at the weekend over immigration authorities’ arrests of illegal immigrants.

Cars were burned out and shops were looted, as protests reached their third day on June 8.

Police tried to prevent protesters from pouring out onto the 101 Freeway, a major motorway system that runs through the city.

The National Guard was sent to the streets to protect federal buildings, which escalated conflicts as protesters taunted them and tensions were raised amid occasional breakouts of police firing tear gas in response to objects being thrown at them.

U.S. Northern Command issued a notice on June 8 stating that about 500 Marines were on standby.

The protests that began on June 6 were sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations resulting in the arrest of more than 118 illegal immigrants last week.

President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops, which sparked a row between him and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The National Guard is an army reserve belonging to each state, operating under the jurisdiction of that state’s governor, and would normally require the governor’s consent for its use.

Trump has talked about invoking an 18th-century law called the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to take control of state-based National Guard units in times of crisis.

In response, Newsom issued a request to rescind the order, accusing Trump of inflaming tensions.

Trump has criticised Californian governance during previous times of unrest, namely the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots over the death of George Floyd and the Los Angeles fires at the start of this year.

In 2020, the streets were filled with violence over the death of Floyd, which sparked racial tensions nationwide and has fuelled comparisons to this weekend in terms of civil unrest driven by public outrage over perceived systemic injustice.

Part of the Trump administration’s agenda has been to curb the illegal immigration crisis that escalated in recent years.

Los Angeles County, because of its proximity to the southern border, is often a hub for illegal immigration. Immigrants make up 34 percent of the city’s population, which has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 800,000 of them are undocumented, according to a 2023 SOILA report, which doesn’t disinguish between legal and illegal immigrants.

LA Mayor Karen Bass called for a stop to the violence on June 8, alluding to the Trump administration causing chaos.

“As a result of immigration raids, parents are afraid to take their kids to school, workers are unsure if they should go to work tomorrow, and young people are worried about their future.” she posted on social media platform X.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded in a statement, “Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?”

“These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets. Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer.”