Protesters opposing immigration raids confronted security forces in Los Angeles for the second straight day on Saturday.
In tense confrontations, federal Border Patrol agents in riot gear and gas masks faced off with demonstrators in the city of Paramount in southeast LA.
Law enforcement used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
The demonstrations followed the arrest of at least 44 immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during raids on multiple locations on Friday.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, approximately 1,000 protesters “encircled a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and damaged taxpayer-funded property” on Friday.
The arrests occur amid a crackdown on undocumented migrants promoted by President Donald Trump, who has pledged to deport thousands of immigrants residing in the country without proper documentation.
LA Mayor Karen Bass has denounced the ICE raids, stating they “instill terror in our communities.”
Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest city with a long history of Democratic leadership, is home to millions of Hispanic-Americans and foreign-born nationals.
“We will not stand for this,” Bass said in a post on X.
In a statement, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons slammed the protests, calling the scenes “appalling” and accusing Bass of taking “the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement.”
“These violent rioters will be held accountable if they harm federal officers, and make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illicit aliens,” Lyons added.
White House aide Stephen Miller said on X that Friday’s protests were “an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.”
