A wave of immigration protests sweeping across the United States has led to widespread unrest, with nearly 400 individuals arrested or detained in Los Angeles since Saturday, according to multiple media reports. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed that the detainees include 330 undocumented migrants and 157 individuals arrested for assault and obstruction. Tensions escalated significantly following the imposition of a curfew in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The LAPD reported 203 arrests for failure to disperse and 17 for curfew violations on the first night alone.
Curfew Follows Looting and Vandalism
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced the emergency curfew, which ran from 8:00 p.m. Tuesday to 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, following a surge in looting and property damage after largely peaceful demonstrations earlier in the day. Among the businesses targeted were an Apple Store, Adidas outlets, pharmacies, marijuana dispensaries, and jewellery shops. Videos circulating online show looters smashing windows, tagging buildings with graffiti, and ransacking store shelves. The LAPD, already stretched by widespread demonstrations, launched a sweeping response, but struggled to contain the chaos.
Federal Response and Political Tensions
In a controversial move, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of over 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines to the Los Angeles area, despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom and other state leaders. The President cited an “assault on peace and public order” and hinted at invoking the Insurrection Act—a rarely used federal statute allowing military intervention in civil unrest.
Protests Expand Nationwide
What began as protests focused on immigration enforcement under the Trump administration quickly spread to at least two dozen cities, including Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C.
In Chicago, demonstrators blocked traffic in the downtown Loop, with one CTA bus seen covered in anti-police and anti-ICE graffiti. Despite the disruption, the Chicago Tribune reported no immediate arrests. In New York, protesters marched from Lower Manhattan past federal immigration offices, while in Atlanta, over 1,000 protesters filled Buford Highway, with hundreds entering Doraville in a standoff with police.
Protest tactics have varied by city, ranging from sit-ins and traffic blockades to flash demonstrations, creating logistical challenges for law enforcement and reigniting national debates around immigration, civil rights, and federal authority.
