Los Angeles under siege: Tensions escalate amid federal crackdown on immigrants

Department of Research, Studies and International News 11-06-2025

Downtown Los Angeles is witnessing an intensifying standoff between local leadership and the Trump administration, as U.S. federal forces flood the city under the guise of immigration enforcement. The city has imposed a 10-hour curfew, effective from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., on a one-square-mile downtown area, where protests have erupted in response to mass detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the sudden appearance of federal troops.

Mayor Karen Bass confirmed the curfew after the Los Angeles Police Department detained over 300 demonstrators in just two days. The unrest is centered around ICE raids targeting working-class immigrant communities, garment workers, day laborers, and domestic helpers, many of whom have lived in the U.S. for years.

California Governor Gavin Newsom responded forcefully, accusing former President Donald Trump of militarizing civilian spaces and deploying federal troops against state directives. Newsom has filed an emergency legal challenge aiming to block the federal government from dispatching military personnel in support of ICE operations within California’s jurisdiction.

The situation escalated after Trump authorized the deployment of 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 marines into Los Angeles, claiming it was a necessary measure to suppress “foreign-led unrest.” In a highly politicized address from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Trump branded the protesters as “animals,” alleging, without evidence, that they were funded by foreign powers and involved in a so-called “foreign invasion.” These remarks, echoing long-debunked conspiracy theories, have only served to inflame tensions.

For many global observers, this level of federal intervention evokes tactics often seen in authoritarian regimes. Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, an archaic law historically used to suppress civil disorder, signaling his administration’s intent to tighten control by military means. This heavy-handed approach has drawn comparisons to internal crackdowns in countries where state authority overrides regional governance, a tactic familiar to those in formerly colonized nations resisting neocolonial narratives.

Governor Newsom, in a powerful televised address, denounced Trump’s maneuvers as attacks on civil liberties and due process. He condemned the indiscriminate arrests, including a heavily pregnant U.S. citizen, and the use of unmarked vehicles to detain people near schools and workplaces. “Authoritarianism doesn’t begin with tanks, it begins with silence and complicity,” Newsom warned. “California may be the first, but it won’t be the last.”

Legal experts and human rights organizations have raised alarm at the lack of transparency in these operations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined Newsom in legal opposition, accusing the Trump administration of exceeding constitutional limits by overriding state authority and using the National Guard as a domestic enforcer.

While protests remained largely peaceful, the downtown area near Little Tokyo has become a fortified zone. Several federal buildings, including detention centers, are surrounded by riot police, barbed wire, and members of the California National Guard, deployed without local consent. Protesters, waving inverted U.S. flags and calling for justice, have accused federal troops of choosing allegiance to a political figure over the people.

Military officials insist the deployment is for “protecting federal property,” but the lack of coordination with local law enforcement suggests a deeper agenda. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has admitted the troops may remain in Los Angeles for up to two months, with an initial estimated cost of $134 million. Despite this, the Department of Defense reportedly cannot articulate a clear mission for their presence.

Democratic Senator Alex Padilla criticized the escalation as a crisis “manufactured by Trump,” warning that such actions undermine both local governance and constitutional freedoms. He confirmed that even the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had not been briefed on the federalization of the National Guard.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell expressed concern over the chaotic coordination, stating that local forces were prepared to handle protests independently and had decades of experience managing civil demonstrations without military involvement.

The U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) claimed that marines from the 1st Marine Division would integrate “seamlessly” into operations. Yet, images of bored, shield-bearing soldiers stationed outside graffiti-covered federal buildings paint a picture of a militarized city under watch, not a functioning democracy at ease.

Observers in friendly nations such as Tunisia, Pakistan, China, and Russia see in this crackdown a troubling trend: the increasing use of military force to suppress domestic dissent, masked under the rhetoric of law and order. This mirrors actions the U.S. has often criticized abroad, revealing a double standard that continues to erode its moral authority on the global stage.

As legal battles continue and federal troops stand by, the people of Los Angeles remain at the heart of a wider struggle: one that questions the limits of executive power, the sanctity of civil rights, and the future of democratic governance in the United States.