Shafaq News/ National Guard troops deployed to downtown Los Angeles on Sunday after President Donald Trump ordered 2,000 personnel to respond to escalating protests over immigration raids.

The deployment, initiated without a request from California Governor Gavin Newsom, marks the first unilateral National Guard mobilization of its kind in decades, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Newsom condemned the move as a “provocative show of force” likely to inflame tensions.

Units from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were positioned near the federal complex housing the Metropolitan Detention Center. Their arrival followed two days of unrest that began Friday in central Los Angeles and later spread to Paramount and Compton.

Clashes intensified after demonstrators attempted to block immigration enforcement vehicles outside a Home Depot in Paramount. Protesters threw rocks and chunks of concrete, prompting federal agents in riot gear to disperse crowds using tear gas, flash-bangs, and pepper rounds.

The protests were triggered by a spike in immigration raids, which have resulted in over 100 arrests, including a well-known union organizer charged with obstructing federal officers.

On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the Guard’s mission as maintaining peace while ensuring public safety. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that active-duty Marines could be activated “if violence continues.”

Trump and Newsom spoke by phone Friday night, but no further communication was reported over the weekend.

The deployment sparked sharp political backlash. Senator Bernie Sanders condemned it as “authoritarian overreach,” accusing Trump of bypassing Congress. In contrast, House Speaker Mike Johnson backed the decision, arguing that Trump acted because Newsom had “shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary.”

Trump has made immigration a centerpiece of his second-term agenda, vowing mass deportations and a crackdown along the southern border. The White House has set a daily arrest target of 3,000 undocumented migrants.