A short curfew at night will be implemented beginning Tuesday throughout portions of downtown Los Angeles as a response to a few nights of disturbances fueled by the Trump administration's immigration enforcement activities.
Mayor Karen Bass made the announcement, citing an escalation of violence, arson, and looting in the wake of recent federal immigration raids. The curfew will be daily from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and could be extended based on conditions. But residents of and workers in the affected areas will be allowed to move freely, Bass clarified.
The choice, she said, was made in response to an increasing sense of instability and the necessity to avoid further unrest.
Several stores, including an Apple store, were also attacked by groups of masked figures who broke windows, stole electronics, and spray-painted graffiti on walls. Several other businesses — like Adidas stores, pharmacies, cannabis stores, and jewellery stores — were also targeted. Social media videos reveal widespread devastation, with storefronts looted and inside stores left trashed.
Police made a few arrests as tensions climbed higher, but the Los Angeles Police Department encountered serious difficulties in attempts to get control back.
During her press statement, Mayor Bass recognized the strain on local police and strongly condemned federal overreach, especially the Trump administration's sending of military troops to the city without state consent.
"People asked me what the Marines are going to do when they arrive. That's a fair question, I have no idea," Bass said in an interview with reporters.
"The answer is not federal troops. The answer is ending the raids," she reiterated.
President Donald Trump has recently directed the dispatch of more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to California. His administration presented the move as a measure to maintain "peace and public order" and even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act — a rarely invoked federal law — to quell disturbances.
California Governor Gavin Newsom pushed back aggressively, blaming the President for infringing on state rights and ratcheting up tensions.
"We didn't have an issue until Trump intervened. This is a stark invasion of state sovereignty -- fueling tensions while drawing resources away from where they're truly needed," Newsom wrote in a post on X.
Newsom reaffirmed California's own law enforcement agencies are more than capable of handling the situation, without federal interference.
In defiance of resistance from state governors, the White House upheld its action by invoking three federal laws that it asserts allow the activation of National Guard troops without the governor's approval.
The confrontation speaks volumes about the long-standing battle over dual control of the National Guard, with California officials maintaining the President's move is both legally dubious and provocative in nature.
Behind the violence is last week's high-profile immigration sweep in Los Angeles, during which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers carried out visible raids.
The public outcry escalated after ICE agents rounded up more than 40 illegal aliens from places like a Home Depot parking lot and a garment factory on Friday.
The federal crackdown was denounced by Mayor Bass, identifying it as the catalyst for the recent violence.
"This isn't about looting or protests. It's about the frustration and fear within our immigrant communities," she said.
"We need a stop to these unfair raids, not an increase from Washington," she added.
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