Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have spread coast to coast as conflicts between authorities and anti-ICE protesters continue to mount in Los Angeles.
The riots in Los Angeles broke out over the weekend as demonstrators took to the streets to protest deportation raids and the enforcement of immigration policy by federal authorities. Some confrontations between protesters and law enforcement have turned violent with rioters torching self-driving cars, throwing cinderblocks at cars and law enforcement, and firing off commercial-grade fireworks at officers.
Demonstrations have since spread to cities across the country including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Tampa, New York, and San Francisco as protesters rise up in solidarity with the Los Angeles rioters. At least 25 rallies and demonstrations, involving a few dozen to thousands of participants, have broken out across the country, according to NBC News.
A series of “No Kings” riots are planned nationwide for Saturday to counter President Donald Trump’s planned military parade for the Army’s 250th birthday, which falls on the president’s 79th birthday.
President Trump authorized the deployment of 700 Marines and 2,000 National Guard to the city, despite the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who said they had the protests under control and criticized the move as executive overreach.
“President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power. Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous,” a coalition of Democratic governors said in a statement.
California filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump’s administration for his decision to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops despite opposition from Newsom.
“President Trump has repeatedly invoked emergency powers to exceed the bounds of lawful executive authority. On Saturday, June 7, he used a protest that local authorities had under control to make another unprecedented power grab, this time at the cost of the sovereignty of the State of California and in disregard of the authority and role of the Governor as commander-in-chief of the State’s National Guard,” the lawsuit states.