Why anti-ICE protests are spreading across the US

Thousands of Angelenos experienced their second evening of curfew on Wednesday as Mayor Karen Bass continued her crackdown on looters and vandals in downtown Los Angeles.
More demonstrations were scheduled for Thursday, almost a week after a string of ICE raids last Friday sparked a wave of unrest in LA. By Saturday morning, President Donald Trump caused fresh outrage after deploying the National Guard before eventually mobilizing the U.S. Marines days later.
While Los Angeles remains the epicenter of unrest, The Independent found that demonstrations had flared up in at least 37 cities across the U.S. Hundreds of arrests had been made nationwide by Thursday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate hearing Wednesday that military personnel could be sent to other cities 'if necessary.'
While at the Kennedy Center's premiere of Les Misérables, Trump again defended his decision to deploy troops and said that, if he didn't, LA would be 'burning to the ground right now.'
Here, The Independent breaks down what you need to know as LA – and other major cities – experience further unrest.
How did the protest start?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted search warrants at multiple locations on Friday.
One search was executed outside a clothing warehouse in the Fashion District after a judge found probable cause that the employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers, according to representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S Attorney's Office.
Crowds tried to stop ICE agents from driving away following the arrests.
Another protest was sparked outside a federal building in downtown LA, after demonstrators discovered detainees were allegedly being held in the basement of the building.
Protests then erupted in Paramount after it appeared federal law enforcement officers were conducting another immigration operation in the area. The protests also spread to the nearby city of Compton. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna stated that as many as 400 people were involved in the demonstration.
The ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrests of 118 immigrants this week, including 44 people in Friday's operations, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrests led to protesters gathering outside a federal detention center, chanting, 'Set them free, let them stay!'
Why did Trump first deploy the National Guard?
On Saturday, Trump ordered the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard troops to LA.
'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' he wrote on Truth Social.
Newsom responded on social media that the ' federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.'
The state National Guard had not been federalized by a president, thereby overriding a governor, since 1965.
How have things progressed since?
The first National Guard troops arrived in areas of Los Angeles on Sunday, including Paramount and the downtown area.
Footage shared online showed an escalation in the clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, with police in riot gear using tear gas to disperse people.
Other videos showed protesters lobbing fireworks and other projectiles at officers, while vehicles were set ablaze, and 'f*** ICE' graffiti was sprayed in multiple locations.
By Sunday morning, the LAPD had already made dozens of arrests, with law enforcement braced for 'several more protests' in the city throughout the day. Police reported that there had been reports of looting in the city in the evening.
After sharply criticizing Newsom and Bass, Trump continued his rebuke against protestors on the ground. Late Sunday, he wrote on Truth Social that it's 'looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!'
By Monday, Trump ordered the Defense Department to take control of an additional 2,000 California National Guardsmen to bolster efforts to quell demonstrations. They will join the 2,000 guardsmen already stationed throughout L.A.
About 700 Marines were also mobilized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with Newsom deploying an additional 800 law enforcement officers in a bid to 'clean up President Trump's mess.'
Protests on Monday were mostly quelled by the evening and remained less violent than Sunday's fiery clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.
On Tuesday, authorities enforced the curfew in a portion of downtown LA between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Wednesday, with Bass warning that anyone who failed to comply would be detained. The LAPD said that it made 'mass arrests' after the restriction was imposed.
Police officers on foot and horseback dispersed crowds on Wednesday evening in downtown LA before Bass enforced a second curfew in as many days.
Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday that troops could be sent to other cities if law enforcement were threatened as protests flare up from Seattle through to New York City
Protests spill into other U.S. cities
Anti-ICE protests began spreading to parts of California and other major U.S. cities, from Seattle to New York City.
Approximately 60 protesters, including juveniles, were arrested Sunday in San Fransico after a group began to vandalize property. Over on the East Coast, around 20 anti-ICE protesters were also led away by police in New York, following demonstrations in lower Manhattan.
On Monday, multiple people were arrested near San Francisco's City Hall after two small groups broke off from thousands of protestors marching peacefully to commit 'vandalism and other criminal acts,' police said.
A peaceful protest in Santa Ana developed into violence with rocks thrown and fireworks set off at law enforcement officers, officials say.
By Tuesday, clashes broke out between police and protesters near the ICE office in New York. Protesters were thrown to the ground as police tried to handcuff them. Others lobbed water bottles at officers.
After a protest Wednesday afternoon outside an ICE office in Spokane, Washington, Mayor Lisa Brown imposed a curfew in the city's downtown area. Thirty arrests were made, police said.
By Wednesday evening, 37 cities (and 21 states) had experienced protests against Trump's immigration raids, The Independent uncovered.
What has the reaction been?
Newsom and Bass have both continued to speak out against the president's decision to deploy the troops, describing it as 'unnecessary' and an attempt by the administration to create 'chaos.'
In a statement issued via email, the governor said that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'want a spectacle' and violence.
Speaking to KTLA on Sunday, Bass said that Trump's action was unnecessary and 'just political.' By Monday, Newsom rebuked Trump's 'blatant abuse of power.'
'We will sue to stop this. The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling,' he said. 'This is a red line — and they're crossing it. WAKE UP!'
In a televised address Tuesday, Newsom lambasted Trump for 'fanning the flames' of the LA protests, stating his 'brazen abuse of power' had 'inflamed a combustible situation.'
Wednesday, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has peddled the White House's theory that some protestors in LA are being 'clearly paid.'
Other Democrats, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New Jersey Senator Corey Booker, backed Newsom and Bass, with Booker describing the president's actions as 'hypocritical at best.'
Why has the Mexican flag become a symbol of the protest?
A dramatic photograph showing a masked protester biking around a blazing car in Los Angeles has rapidly become a symbol of the anti-ICE riots.
Drone footage of the masked protester, in the Hispanic-majority city, was shared on X and went viral.
Many said it gave Trump a propaganda coup as he works to deport migrants from LA, and said the photo of the Mexican flag-waving protester was undermining their resistance.
Democrat supporter Armand Domalewski shared the video and claimed on X that the protester 'has to be a Republican plant,' with Australian political observer adding it was 'perfect propaganda footage for Trump.'

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