Two days of isolated but intense clashes at several locations has put L.A. County at the center of President Trump’s immigration crackdown. And put the country into some uncharted territory.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Friday carried out a series of immigration sweeps, including two in downtown that sparked a tense standoff. There was more unrest Saturday in Paramount. Here’s what we know.
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The raids are the latest in a string of high-profile immigration enforcement actions over the last week, part of President Trump’s promised deportation crackdown. A few days ago, immigration agents raided a popular San Diego restaurant and made arrests, sparking a standoff with outraged residents. Agents also arrested Chinese and Taiwanese nationals at an underground nightclub in the Los Angeles area.
Violent clashes during the immigration raids have so far been limited to isolated areas including the Home Depot in Paramount, a location in L.A.’s fashion district and at the Civic Center.
Trump vowed to send the National Guard
The Trump administration said it would send 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles after the second day in which protesters confronted immigration agents during raids of local businesses. It’s unclear how many Guard members would arrive and exactly what their role would be.
Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the federal action in a statement Saturday evening, saying that local law enforcement was already mobilized and that sending in troops was a move that was “purposefully inflammatory” and would “only escalate tensions.”
Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the nation’s leading constitutional law scholars, said “for the federal…