Protests against ICE raids spread nationwide

(CN) — Protests erupted in Los Angeles Friday, June 6, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out a number of sweeps for migrant workers.

Officers appeared at several Home Depots, many in white vans, and arrested day laborers looking for work. Arrests also took place at an apparel manufacturing business downtown.

Since then, protests against ICE immigration raids have spread to cities across the U.S. this week, with more planned for the coming days.

Los Angeles

The situation in LA intensified on Wednesday as the commander overseeing military operations in the city confirmed that the 4,700 National Guardsmen and U.S. Marines now arriving there will have the ability to detain protesters.

Major General Scott Sherman told reporters Wednesday that the troops’ mission will be to protect federal personnel as they enforce the law, as well as federal buildings.

“They do not do any arrests. They are strictly there to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators,” Sherman said.

Under federal law, National Guard troops and Marines are usually not permitted to make arrests unless the president declares an insurrection is underway.

The troops are expected to be on streets of LA by Wednesday night.

Although most of the protests have been peaceful, reports of looting and vandalism prompted city officials to enact an overnight curfew in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night, which led to more than 200 arrests.

The vast majority of the 400 arrests related to the protests have been for failing to leave the area in defiance of requests from law enforcement, according to reports.

Additionally, two protesters were arrested for possessing Molotov cocktails, one of which was thrown at police officers.

City and state officials have repeatedly said that troops are not necessary to contain the protests in L.A. and have called President Donald Trump’s decision to order the National Guard and U.S. Marines into the city an example of executive overreach.

“California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in an address Tuesday.

Trump ramped up his aggressive rhetoric against LA protesters in a speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday, where he called them “animals.”

“We will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy. That’s what they are,” Trump said.

Seattle

Around 100 protesters gathered at the northwest corner of Cal Anderson Park in Seattle Wednesday evening to listen to speakers decry federal immigration policies. There was no apparent law enforcement presence.

Former Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant called out Republicans and Democrats for what she views as their disregard for the plight of immigrants both before and during the second Trump administration. A woman interrupted Sawant’s speech, shouting that undocumented immigrants couldn’t vote, making the point after Sawant discussed running for office as an independent socialist.

Another speech was given by a representative from a group called La Resistencia. The crowd shouted “Shame!” as the representative described the conditions immigrants faced in detention centers, which include a lack of basic amenities.

Next, a representative for the Tacoma chapter of the Black Panthers came forward, but she let someone else go first — the same woman who had interrupted Sawant’s speech. After the woman gave her speech in Spanish, a fellow protester took the microphone and said in English, “If you didn’t understand that, educate yourself!”

Afterwards, the Black Panthers representative told the crowd that daily action could lead to revolution.

San Francisco

Around 200 protesters gathered outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday, holding signs and chanting anti-ICE slogans. Confrontations between ICE agents and protesters eventually led the courthouse to shut down hearings for the day.

The courthouse protest came after thousands took to the city’s streets on Monday, resulting in around 80 arrests.

On Sunday around 400 people held mostly peaceful protests in the city. But things turned violent as the crowd began to shrink, and a clash with police led to more than 150 arrests, two injured police officers, as well as multiple vandalized businesses and vehicles.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said that while ICE’s tactics are being used across the country to target immigrant communities and instill fear, protesters should avoid using violence to get across their messages.

“But let me also be clear," Lurie said. “We will not tolerate violent and destructive behavior, and we will never tolerate violence directed at law enforcement or city workers.”

San Antonio

In a stark contrast with California state leaders, Texas Governor Greg Abbott became the first governor to say he would send the National Guard to upcoming ICE protests in San Antonio, Texas.

“We want to make sure that what has happened in California does not happen in Texas,” Abbott said.

Protests are planned in San Antonio on Wednesday night and in other cities around the Lone Star State this weekend.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, the governor refused to share his plans for how the troops would be used, saying only that they would be deployed to “strategic locations,” where they would be able to respond if needed.

“There are others outside of this room who would like to know that. And I’m not going to tell them,” Abbott said.

Meanwhile, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said his city didn’t ask for the National Guard to be sent, and Police Chief William McManus said neither the governor’s office nor the Guard has informed him of the number of troops in the city, where they will be stationed or what they will be doing.

Protests are also being staged in San Antonio on Saturday as part of the larger “No Kings” movement, protesting Trump’s military parade.

New York City

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets outside New York City’s main immigration court on Tuesday evening, leading to many arrests and clashes with police.

Multiple nights of protests have kicked off in the city since Saturday, June 7, when more than 100 demonstrators gathered outside a 41-story federal building and tried to block ICE vehicles carrying detained migrants.

Chicago

Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Chicago on Tuesday in solidarity with Los Angeles, although a car that drove into the crowd injured a 66-year-old woman at the event.

The woman, who attended with her husband, was taken to a nearby hospital for a fractured arm and other minor injuries.

Atlanta

Hundreds attended an immigration protest on Tuesday evening that ended with protesters throwing fireworks at police and being dispersed by police-launched tear gas, according to local media.

At least six people were arrested.

These nationwide demonstrations come just days before the president’s controversial military parade, for which he warned that protesters in D.C. will be met with “very big force.”