On June 6, 2025, protests began in Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided locations in the region to arrest individuals allegedly involved in illegal immigration to the United States. Some protests turned into riots after protestors clashed with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and ICE, but most remained peaceful and occurred within a small stretch of downtown Los Angeles.
On June 7, protestors and federal law enforcement agents clashed in Paramount and Compton during raids. President Donald Trump responded by federalizing the California National Guard, calling for 2,000 guard members to deploy to the city under Joint Task Force 51. Protests were organized and attended by multiple groups and unaffiliated protestors. On June 9, the president authorized the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members, and the Pentagon activated 700 Marines to deploy to the city, who arrived the next day. Critics, including California governor Gavin Newsom (who has sued Trump over the federalization), described the military response as premature, inflammatory, for political gain, and authoritarian. Reuters reported that the protests were the strongest domestic backlash to Trump since he took office in January, and became a focal point in a national debate over immigration, protest, the use of federal force in domestic affairs, the boundaries of presidential power, and freedom of speech and assembly.
On July 11, U.S. district judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong concluded that the administration likely violated immigrants' rights and ordered a stop to immigration arrests without probable cause, alleging that the administration targeted California residents based on race, language and place of work. The ruling was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On September 3, U.S. district judge Charles Breyer ruled the deployment of the military illegal and a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, and ordered the administration not to use National Guard or military troops for civilian law enforcement in California. Breyer found the rationale for deployment as contrived, writing that "There was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond to the protests and enforce the law." Prosecutors failed to secure indictments for the majority of protestors charged and dropped several cases after DHS agents were found to have made false statements.
The anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles inspired additional anti-ICE protests in other U.S. cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Dallas.
Background
Protests and movements against ICE have been seen throughout the United States, with a major movement seen in Abolish ICE, which gained mainstream traction in June 2018, following the Trump administration family separation policy. Prior protests against ICE and anti-mass deportations were seen in California in February 2025, shortly after Donald Trump's election in the 2024 United States presidential election.
In November 2024, following Trump's election, the Los Angeles City Council declared the city to be a sanctuary city. Trump's immigration policy elicited concern from California's immigrant population. Trump officials have warned that sanctuary cities would be the target of immigration crackdown efforts. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he would use the military to end protests without consent from state governors, actions which his aides had talked him out of during his first term. He also stated he would use the military against "the enemy within".
In May 2025, the Trump administration began to implement a deportation strategy that involved targeting workplaces.
Events
June 6
At approximately 9:15 a.m. PDT on June 6, an immigration raid was conducted within the Los Angeles Fashion District; two other raids occurred at a clothing wholesaler and a Home Depot in Westlake. Agents present at the raid were identified with Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives patches. Homeland Security Investigations stated that 44 people were arrested for suspected immigration violations and one person was arrested for obstruction. Bill Essayli, the acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California, said that David Huerta, the California president of the Service Employees International Union, was arrested for blocking a vehicle and charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer. Huerta was injured and taken to the hospital, where he was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center. Angelica Salas, the director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, stated that there were seven raids in which 45 people had been detained.
Clashes between protesters and ICE agents in riot gear occurred near the Westlake Home Depot. ICE also arrested several people at a clothing store and clashed with activists. Crowds formed in the evening outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. Approximately 200 protesters remained at the facility by 7 p.m., when the Los Angeles Police Department declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to disperse. LAPD was brought to stop civil unrest after crowds graffitied slogans on a federal court building and gathered outside a jail. After "some protesters hurled chunks of broken concrete toward officers", the LAPD engaged in intense standoffs with protestors in which tear gas, pepper spray, and flash-bang grenades were used to disperse the crowd. The police department authorized the use of less-lethal munitions the following hour. This was followed at 8:24 p.m. by a citywide tactical alert.
June 7
Protests continued through June 7. According to Peggy Lemons, the mayor of Paramount, California, a confrontation near a Home Depot in Paramount began after protesters observed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers staging near a local branch building. The DHS estimated that one thousand people were protesting and had surrounded the building. According to The New York Times, the protests delayed processing of detainees. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California Highway Patrol units would be deployed to protect Los Angeles freeways. By June 7, 118 undocumented immigrants had been arrested in Los Angeles, according to the DHS.
In Paramount, protestors blocked a street with shopping carts and a recycling bin. Federal agents then deployed flash bang grenades and pepper balls, injuring two people. Protesters threw rocks and cement at United States Border Patrol cars. According to an attorney with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, some protestors were throwing bricks, and others looked injured. At 2:30 p.m., LAPD issued a dispersal order using loudspeakers. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies then used tear gas against the protesters to disperse them. One ICE agent sustained injuries after a rock thrown by a protestor struck the windshield on the vehicle they were driving and cut their hand. At around 8 p.m., two people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting police officers, including one who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail, causing minor injuries to three deputies.
Protesters also gathered at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles, with law enforcement forming a skirmish line to disperse the protesters. Shortly before 11 p.m., protestors threw an object at and hit a police cruiser as it was leaving the area at an intersection in Downtown Los Angeles. By night, the protests reached Compton, where several demonstrators threw glass bottles filled with a substance that reportedly smelled like gasoline.
In an interview with Fox News, White House Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Tom Homan announced that the National Guard would be sent into Los Angeles that night. That evening, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum deploying 2,000 members of the California National Guard to the protests; the memorandum specified that the deployment would last for either 60 days, or for a length of time "at the discretion of the secretary of defense". Trump invoked 10 U.S.C. § 12406 to federalize the National Guard. In a tweet, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that active duty Marines were on "high alert" at Camp Pendleton.
June 8
Protests died down in the early morning of June 8, but were still ongoing, with organizers calling for another day of protesting. At 11:30 a.m., Centro CSO held a rally followed by a march to the detention center in downtown Los Angeles. Protests outside of Los Angeles City Hall occurred around 2 p.m.
Three hundred California Army National Guard troops from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were deployed to three separate locations in Los Angeles; most of the troops were seen outside of federal buildings. Under the direction of Hegseth, approximately 500 active-duty Marines from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms were put on a "prepared to deploy" status. At the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), the National Guard and DHS officers used smoke and pepper spray to displace protesters and make way for DHS, Border Patrol, and military vehicles to enter the facility. National Guard troops also arrived outside the MDC. Police had arrived to join the National Guard by noon.
Homan commented, while speaking to NBC News, that "someone's going to lose their life" if the protests continued, also noting that governor of California Gavin Newsom and mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass could potentially face federal charges over the response to the ICE raids. Trump later threatened to "have troops everywhere" if the protests spread to other cities and said "if we see danger to our country and our citizens", the Marines would be deployed to the city.
At 2:30 p.m., the LAPD Central Division announced that the City of Los Angeles is on "tactical alert". The LAPD Central Division later announced that less-lethal munitions had been authorized for use to disperse the protest, people throwing objects at officers would be arrested, and that the Incident commander had declared an unlawful assembly. Two LAPD officers were injured after motorcyclists attempted to breach a skirmish line and hit them at a protest in the Alameda and Temple area. Both riders were detained and the officers were treated at the scene. The Los Angeles Police Department announced that a number of people were arrested at the Civic Center area of Downtown Los Angeles, including several people who were detained and handcuffed with zip ties.
Before 4 p.m., protestors entered the U.S. 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles and blocked traffic, causing police to subsequently shut down the freeway in both directions. The LAPD announced that parts of the freeway and multiple streets were closed to drivers as a result of protests. Police reported people were shooting fireworks at officers. Rocks, scooters, and cinder blocks were thrown at police cars. People attempted to set police cruisers on fire. Protesters also threw cinder blocks at police officers and other people. Five Waymo driverless cars were vandalized, set alight, and destroyed. LAPD officials warned that burning lithium-ion batteries releases toxic gasses. The following day, Waymo suspended service and removed their vehicles in Downtown Los Angeles. A spokesperson for the company said they do not believe the cars were intentionally targeted. The service remained in operation in other areas of Los Angeles. At around 4 p.m., Newsom sent a letter to Secretary Hegseth requesting him to rescind Trump's order to deploy the National Guard, calling it a "serious breach of state sovereignty".
By night, the LAPD also announced on their social media that the entire downtown Los Angeles area was considered to be an unlawful assembly and urged everyone to leave the area.
The LAPD reported that looting had occurred at Downtown Los Angeles stores in the area of 6th Street and Broadway, as well as near 8th Street and Broadway. Also, several fires were reportedly set in dumpsters and trash bins. Numerous buildings, including the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, the United States Courthouse, and the old Los Angeles Times Building, were tagged with graffiti. At least one store had windows shattered by alleged looters. Multiple windows at the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters were also broken.
The United States Northern Command established a formal task force, Task Force 51, to coordinate the military response. An official statement said "as USNORTHCOM's land component command, U.S. Army North stood up Task Force 51, with a two-star general, as the ground command and control element over the Title 10 forces." The task force was commanded by Major General Scott Sherman.
Late in the night, the City of Glendale, California, decided to terminate its detention agreement with ICE, in part as a reaction to the protests and unrest in Los Angeles.
June 9
In the early afternoon of June 9, SEIU organized a rally at Grand Park with thousands of participants. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice demanding that a review of the arrest of Huerta be performed. Huerta was released later that afternoon from custody on a $50,000 bond. Centro CSO held a press conference followed by a rally at Mariachi Plaza at 5:30 p.m., followed by a march to Hollenbeck Police Station in Boyle Heights.