A limited curfew will take effect in parts of downtown Los Angeles, following several nights of unrest sparked by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions. Mayor Karen Bass announced the curfew during a press conference on June 10, stating it will run nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and may continue for several days. She clarified, however, that the restrictions will not apply to area residents or workers.
The move comes after days of protests, some of which turned violent, following US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting undocumented immigrants. Mayor Bass condemned the raids, calling on the federal government to halt what she described as inflammatory actions.
President Donald Trump, in response to the escalating unrest, has deployed more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to California. He has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act – a rarely used and controversial law – to justify further military involvement. In a statement, Trump characterized the protests as “an assault on peace, public order, and national sovereignty,” accusing demonstrators of flying foreign flags and engaging in coordinated violence.
Mayor Bass criticized Trump’s actions as a federal overreach, saying, “People have asked me what the Marines are going to do when they get here. That’s a good question — I have no idea.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom echoed the concerns, calling the federal deployment a violation of state sovereignty. On social media, he asserted that California’s law enforcement agencies are fully capable of managing the situation. He harshly criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard. “This brazen abuse of power inflamed a combustible situation putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk,” Newsom said.
President Trump called the protests a “full-blown assault on peace, on public order and national sovereignty.” He also called the protesters “rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country.”
