Trump's National Guard deployment in LA 'unlawful'

California National Guard troops have arrived in Los Angeles to quell demonstrations over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement, as the state's Democratic governor labels their deployment unlawful.

The National Guard began deploying on Sunday as demonstrations over federal immigration raids continued for a third day in Los Angeles, culminating in confrontations between protesters and police.

Los Angeles police declared one rally near City Hall to be an "unlawful assembly", alleging that some protesters threw concrete, bottles and other objects at police.

"Arrests are being initiated," the department wrote in a post on social media.

Demonstrators shouted "shame on you" at police and some appeared to throw objects, according to video. A group of protesters blocked the 101 Freeway, a major thoroughfare in downtown Los Angeles.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he requested the Trump administration withdraw its order to deploy 2000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles County, calling it unlawful.

Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty. "These are the acts of a dictator, not a President," he wrote in a post on X.

The White House disputed Newsom's characterisation, saying in a statement that "everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness".

Earlier, about a dozen National Guard members, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators that amassed outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles.

Trump called the demonstrators "violent, insurrectionist mobs" and said he was directing his cabinet officers "to take all such action necessary" to stop what he called "riots".

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or National Guard troops, saying "they spit, we hit".

"If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order," Trump said.

National Guard troops were also seen in Paramount, in southeast Los Angeles, near the Home Depot, the site of altercations between protesters and police on Saturday.

Law enforcement faced off with a few hundred protesters in Paramount and 100 in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, with federal officers firing gas canisters in efforts to disperse crowds.

Authorities in Los Angeles arrested about 30 people on Saturday, including three on suspicion of assaulting an officer. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said three deputies sustained minor injuries.

Despite Trump's rhetoric about the demonstrations, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events like civil disorder. Asked on Sunday whether he was considering invoking the law, he replied "it depends on whether or not there's an insurrection".

The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where a significant part of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made immigration enforcement measures a hallmark of his second term.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said her city's law enforcement would have been able to handle the protesters, and blamed the Trump administration for inciting tensions by sending in the National Guard.

"It's a feeling here of intentional chaos in a situation that had not broken out to violence short of a few people," Bass said on CNN.

Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the US-Mexico border, setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3000 migrants per day.

But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included people legally residing in the country, some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges.

Trump's justification for the National Guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the US Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the "orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States".

with reuters