Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run cities, including Los Angeles

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Last updated: Tuesday, June 17, 2025 5:54AM GMT
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- President Trump is calling for even more expanded deportation operations in several major cities across the country, including Los Angeles.

Trump in a social media posting called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials "to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History."

The moves comes after large protests erupted in L.A. and other major cities against the Trump administration's immigration policies.

So far, it's not known how exactly that will impact L.A. But Sunday, at the president's directions, the Department of Homeland Security said it would pause most raids on farms, restaurants and hotels.

The Trump administration has continued widespread immigration enforcement activities -- with a reported goal of up to 3,000 deportations per day.

The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested 575 people related to protest activity since they started earlier this month, police said Sunday, including 14 for looting.

Last week, President Donald Trump deployed 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to tamp down the disruptive demonstrations while the immigration raids continue.

A federal court hearing is set for Tuesday to determine whether Trump or California Gov. Gavin Newsom will control future National Guard activity going forward. Newsom challenged Trump's decision to federalize the Guard, an action U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said in a ruling last week did not follow congressionally mandated procedure.

His ruling was stayed by a three-judge appellate panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in response to a Trump administration notice of appeal, temporarily keeping the National Guard troops under federal control, at least through Tuesday.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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Jun 09, 2025, 6:26 AM GMT

'Our officers are really under attack,' LAPD chief says

During a press conference on Sunday, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell decried the escalation of violence in Los Angeles as "disgusting" as Molotov cocktails, fireworks, rocks and more were used to target officers.

"It's escalated now since the beginning of this incident," McDonnell said, calling the protests "increasingly worse and more violent."

"Tonight we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers that can kill you," McDonnell said.

The police chief said implementing a curfew was discussed with the L.A. County Sheriff and that officials will reassess if necessary.

-ABC News' Jenna Harrison and Amanda Morris

As protests against federal immigration enforcement continued in Los Angeles, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said violence during the demonstrations was "disgusting," adding that "our officers are under attack."
ByKelsey Walsh ABCNews logo
Jun 09, 2025, 5:47 AM GMT

Noem blames Newsom for need to deploy National Guard

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the need to deploy the National Guard to assist in putting down violent clashes between police and immigration protesters in Los Angeles.

Newsom has said local authorities don't need the help and accused President Donald Trump of inflaming the situation," calling the move "purposefully inflammatory" and saying it will "only escalate tensions."

Noem disagreed with Newsom.

"Margaret, if he was doing his, job people wouldn't have gotten hurt the last couple of days," she told CBS' Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation." "We wouldn't have officers with a shattered wrist from bricks thrown through their vehicles, vehicles being burned, flags burned in the street and Molotov cocktails being thrown."

"Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions, the president knows that he makes bad decisions and that's why the president chose the safety of this community over waiting for Governor Newsom to get some sanity," she said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.

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Jun 09, 2025, 4:06 AM GMT

Small fire erupts behind LAPD skirmish line during immigration protests

A small fire erupted behind an LAPD skirmish line Sunday night in downtown Los Angeles as protests against immigration raids escalated.

It was unclear who or what ignited the blaze, which burned on a sidewalk as Los Angeles Police Department officers on horseback chased several individuals who ran from the scene.

One man who was running away tripped and fell in the middle of the street and was immediately surrounded by officers on foot and on horses. Fireworks ignited as the man stood up and began walking away; a police officer grabbed him and quickly pulled him to the ground.

Whether the man was among the 27 people who were arrested during the protests was unknown.

A fire broke out while LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell was speaking to news media Sunday night about his department's response.
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Jun 09, 2025, 4:05 AM GMT

LAPD chief denies ICE director's claim of 2-hour response time during protest

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell responded Sunday to an earlier accusation by ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, who said the LAPD took "over two hours" to respond Friday to an incident were anti-ICE protesters confronted federal agents.

"Our brave officers were vastly outnumbered, as over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building," Lyons said in a statement, referring to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown L.A. "It took over two hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond, despite being called multiple times."

Speaking at a news conference Sunday evening, McDonnell did not mention Lyons by name but said the accusation was untrue.

As protests against federal immigration enforcement continued in Los Angeles, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said violence during the demonstrations was "disgusting," adding that "our officers are under attack."

"When we heard that, I think anybody who's a police officer couldn't believe it, and certainly anyone with LAPD couldn't imagine how that could happen," McDonnell told reporters. "Well, it didn't happen."

The police chief said the LAPD's response time was just under 40 minutes, citing traffic, crowd density and previous tear gas deployment by federal agents at the scene as factors in the response time.

McDonnell added that the Police Department was not made aware of the federal operation in advance, and LAPD teams were not prepositioned as a result.