National Guard Arrives in Los Angeles After Protests Over Immigration Raids


National Guard troops deployed by President Donald Trump arrived in Los Angeles Sunday morning after two days of street clashes between law enforcement and protesters demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials’ raids of local businesses. 

Immigration and Custom Enforcement, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, led Friday’s operation, targeting at least one business in the L.A. Fashion District, Ambiance Apparel. Other companies including Home Depot were also impacted. The detainment of dozens of workers sparked a series of protests in Los Angeles.

A spokesperson for the police department in Paramount, Calif., where most of the protests took place, said Sunday that the number of protesters was in the hundreds Saturday, and that the crowd size would “grow and shrink depending on the area and the response from the deputies and Homeland Security.”

He described the damage, the vandalism, and the clean-up costs as “significant.” The damaged property included businesses like restaurants and tire shops throughout the community that were vandalized, including vehicles and structures in what is primarily an industrial and residential area. Saturday’s protests covered a radius of about three miles that encompasses the end of Paramount and the beginning of Compton.

U.S. attorney Bill Essayli confirmed Friday that federal agents were serving a search warrant for the L.A. Fashion District for alleged fictitious employee documents. He told an NBC affiliate in Los Angeles that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was working with federal agencies to serve search warrants. Video footage online showed a crowd gathering outside Ambiance Apparel, a manufacturer, importer and wholesaler, on the 900 block of Towne Avenue on Friday, as about two dozen people were loaded into white SUVs by agents.

There is also video footage on an ABC affiliate showing a crowd of people rallying against officials dressed in camouflage and riot gear. Pepper spray was used to disperse the group and a union official was among the injured, according to news reports. There is also online video footage that shows one individual being struck by one of the SUVs that was being driven by federal agents, following Friday’s raids in downtown Los Angeles.

Representatives at the ACLU and SEIU did not respond to media requests Sunday, nor did anyone at Ambiance Apparel or three executives at the L.A. Fashion District.

A man, who was only identified as an Ambiance Apparel employee in an Instagram post AJo2Media, said, “They came before, a couple of months ago. They were searching for specific people. One by one, they were interviewing us in the back. They were getting our information…needing our IDs and taking pictures of each one of us.”

A U.S. citizen by birth, the employee was released by ICE at the establishment, he said. 

LOS ANGELES, CA  - JUNE 6, 2025 - -  People gather in front of Ambiance Apparel after several employees were taken into custody by federal agents in the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles on June 5, 2025. Protesters gathered at that location and at one point, federal agents had to shove  protesters out of the path of a van that was being driven into the building's parking lot. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

People gather in front of Ambiance Apparel after several employees were taken into custody by federal agents in the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles on June 6.

Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A media request to ICE had not been acknowledged Sunday afternoon. Asked about the status of the dozens who had been detained after Friday’s raid in the fashion district, a public affairs representative for the Department of Homeland Security referenced a press release about ICE’s Los Angeles operation, (which was not restricted to the L.A. Fashion District). The release identified 11 individuals ranging in age from 26 to 55 who have been arrested and are said to have criminal histories.

One apparel manufacturer in the Fashion District said Sunday that the ICE raids “are impacting everyone,” but he declined to comment further or to be identified. Media requests to several Los Angeles wholesalers in the district — J Squad Clothing, San Pedro Wholesale Mart, Fashion Mint, Glamazon LA, Be Cool, Ampm Textile, Mezon Handbags, 3A Thread & Supply Co. and Collective Clothing — had not been returned Sunday afternoon.

As of Sunday afternoon, 300 of the 2,000 members of the National Guard that have been deployed by Trump had been stationed in three areas in Los Angeles. In a statement Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom described the federal government’s move as “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” Newsom said that L.A. authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance “at a moment’s notice.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 7: Protests and confrontations between immigration rights supporters and law enforcement take place in Paramount and downtown Los Angeles, California, following recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents on June 7, 2025. Demonstrators are seen using blockades and facing tear gas, flashbang grenades, and pepper ball shots, while rising tensions lead to damaged property across the affected areas. (Photo by Taurat Hossain/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Demonstrators are seen using blockades and facing tear gas, flashbang grenades, and pepper ball shots, while rising tensions lead to damaged property across the affected areas.

Anadolu via Getty Images

Media request to the Los Angeles Police Department were not returned Sunday.

“The Guard has been admirably serving L.A. throughout recovery,” the statement continued. “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”

Newsom also noted Saturday that California is the biggest “donor state” in the country, providing around $83 billion more to the federal government than it receives from the federal government.

“Donald Trump is threatening to defund California,” Newsom said on his Instagram account. “We help pay federal bills. So if Donald Trump is going to continue to threaten 40 million Americans that live in California, maybe we should consider withholding those resources.”

In the Homeland Security press release that was issued Sunday, the department’s assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Why do Gov. Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens? These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets. Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer.”

Los Angeles, CA - June 06: Demonstrators protest outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and the Metropolitan Detention Center in response to ICE raids in Los Angeles on Friday, June 6, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Demonstrators protest outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and the Metropolitan Detention Center in response to ICE raids in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag

Founded in 1999, Ambiance is a manufacturer, importer and wholesaler of casual basic apparel for women and juniors. The company’s corporate headquarters and a separately housed 50,000-square-foot showroom, which includes a “megastore,” are located in the Los Angeles Fashion District. Ambiance also has 600,000 square feet of warehouse space that has 30 to 50 million units in stock “at all times,” according to the company’s site. Ambiance Apparel also operates a China branch in Shanghai, where it oversees production for China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, whose Congressional district includes the L.A. Fashion District, did not respond immediately to a media request Sunday.

The Fashion District, which is referred to as the “Garment District,” is said to be the base for a few thousand wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers the majority of which are independently owned. The L.A. Fashion District Business Improvement District is a nonprofit that was created by and is maintained by property owners. It oversees a 107-block area that stretches between 7th Street to the north and the Santa Monica 10 freeway to the south, and from Broadway to the west and Essex Street to the east. The district serves a population of more than 220,000 people living in within a three-mile radius, according to the California Downtown Association.

As for reports of additional protests being planned for Sunday, the Paramount Police Department spokesman said Sunday, “Everybody has their opinion with social media about what they are or are not going to do. The position of the station is to respond to the area’s needs. That dynamic could change at any time.”



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