Protests against President Donald Trump's immigration policies are spreading in the United States. Several major cities, including New York, Atlanta, and Chicago, prepared for demonstrations on Wednesday. Texas Governor Greg Abbott activated the National Guard. Parts of Los Angeles were placed under a curfew overnight to contain the unrest that has been going on for five days. Numerous arrests were made.
Due to looting and nightly violence, Mayor Karen Bass imposed a one-square-kilometer lockdown on Tuesday evening, which is expected to last for several days. According to police, 197 people were arrested in the West Coast metropolis on Tuesday. Bass reiterated that the deployment of soldiers was unnecessary. Police could handle the protests, most of which were peaceful and limited to about five city blocks.
Nevertheless, hundreds of Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday at Trump's direction, after the president had already ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops to the city. The decision is legally controversial, and the state of California has already filed a lawsuit against it.
During a speech at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina on Tuesday, Trump said he would send more troops to Los Angeles if necessary. He called the protesters"animals." He also claimed that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Bass had hired the troublemakers."They are participating in this deliberate attempt to override federal law and support the occupation of the city by criminal invaders," Trump said.
California governor sees"brazen abuse of power"
Newsom dismissed Trump's claims as "completely absurd" and sharply criticized the president's actions."This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president has escalated an explosive situation and endangered our citizens, our public officials, and even our National Guard. That's when the downward spiral began," Newsom said in a video address on Tuesday. Trump has once again chosen escalation."He chose more violence... Democracy is under attack," the opposition politician said.
Newsom's Texas counterpart, Abbott, however, activated the regional forces himself."The Texas National Guard is being deployed to various locations throughout the state to maintain peace and order," he wrote on the online service X on Tuesday evening (local time). Peaceful protest is legal, but"harming persons or property is illegal and will result in arrest." The Trump party colleague emphasized that the Texas National Guard would "use every tool and strategy to assist the police in maintaining order."
Spatially limited curfew in west coast metropolis
According to the Los Angeles Times, police in the West Coast metropolis announced on Wednesday night that 25 people had been arrested for possible curfew violations. Police said they began"mass arrests" shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday (local time), one hour after the nighttime curfew, which was imposed on a smaller portion of the central city area, went into effect.
The protests, some of which were violent, were triggered by the increased crackdown on migrants by the immigration authorities (ICE). Protests also took place in other US cities against the actions of masked and armed ICE officers, who sometimes forcibly drag migrants into cars to deport them.
